Anderson@Large

Black Voters to Democrats: We Are Not Your Negroes

Last month, Tom Perez was elected the first Latino chair of the Democratic National Committee. In remarks to the International Association of Fire Fighters, Perez acknowledged the party has work to do:

I understand that one of the basic pillars and adages of politics and of life is often, “What have you done for me lately? What do you stand for today?”

Democrats stand for illegal immigration. In a statement following his election, Perez said fighting President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration is a high priority:

The Democratic National Committee will fight back by (shining) a spotlight on the real faces of those impacted by Donald Trump's cruel mass deportations. We will not allow this administration keep their stories in the dark.

The DNC’s program, “Faces of Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan,” Latino Victory Fund whose tagline is: We are the future. Latinos may be the Democrats’ future but African Americans are asking: What have you done for me lately?

In a post-election survey for the Congressional Black Caucus, pollster Cornell Belcher found that African Americans feel they are being taken for granted.

Rep. Cedric Richmond, chairman of the CBC, told the Grio:

African Americans are the Democratic Party’s most loyal voters and they should be treated as such. The results of this survey are clear marching orders for the Congressional Black Caucus — African Americans want Democrats to stop using the same old playbook and to make substantive progress on the issues that affect their communities.

African Americans muted their opposition to illegal immigration while President Obama was in office. But the Age of Obama is over.

The fear of criticism keeps most people from speaking out. African Americans’ absence from “A Day Without Immigrants” protests speaks volumes about how they feel. A recent Pew Research Center poll found a 14 percent approval rating for President Trump. With ± 2.9 percent margin of error and 7 percent refusing to say, Trump’s approval rating among African Americans’ could be as high as 20 percent.

The Democratic Party must face the reality that African Americans are not their Negroes.

Democrats in the Age of Obama

President Barack Obama reportedly will go on a "farewell tour" in mid-January. In light of Democratic losses since 2009, he may want to fly over some states.

Washington Post political commentator Chris Cillizza recently wrote:

What Democrats expected to be the historic election of the first female president was instead a devastating loss — for Clinton, Obama and their political vision. That reversal of fortune was palpable in the days following the election as Democrats reeled from a knockout blow that they never even saw coming.

When President Obama passes the baton to President Donald J. Trump, Democrats will be left with memories.

Jill Stein’s Vanity Recount

I am a founding member of the Election Verification Network. The membership includes University of Michigan computer science professor J. Alex Halderman, the computer science expert who sparked Jill Stein’s petition for a recount in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Since its founding, EVN has pushed for voter-verified paper ballots and a forensic audit of every election. So it’s not surprising that Alex and other members have latched on to calls for recounts in three states.

But Jill Stein’s vanity recount is not advancing election integrity. Instead, it’s setting back electoral reform.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorialized, it smacks of a “vanity project”:

Maybe ‘democracy’ will be served by Jill Stein’s quixotic moralizing. More likely, Jill Stein and the Green Party will be served.

Jill Stein may actually believe that demanding a recount of presidential tallies in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania will ensure that “democracy” is served.

More likely, she believes the Green Party will be served by her audacious PR stunt.

Either way, the Stein recounts are a colossal waste of money and energy when there is not a shred of credible evidence of fraud or error and when the final vote in these three states likely will not change very much.

Stein’s quixotic moralizing damages the credibility of the very institution she claims to protect — the sanctity of the ballot box.

Those who donated to Recount 2016 did so voluntarily. Stein paid the state of Michigan $787,500. But taxpayers could end up paying $5 million in additional costs. So Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has filed a lawsuit to halt the “dilatory and frivolous” recount:

Michigan voters rejected Stein’s candidacy by massive margins but her refusal to accept that state-verified result poses an expensive and risky threat to hard-working taxpayers and abuses the intent of Michigan law. We have asked the court to end the recount which Stein is pursuing in violation of Michigan laws that protect the integrity of our elections. It is inexcusable for Stein to put Michigan voters at risk of paying millions and potentially losing their voice in the Electoral College in the process.

Meanwhile, the Green Party has withdrawn its lawsuit for a statewide recount in Pennsylvania. Although Stein has raised over $7 million, they claim the petitioners “cannot afford to post the $1,000,000 bond required by the Court.”

In a tweet, Stein asks, “How odd is it that we must jump through bureaucratic hoops and raise millions of dollars so we can trust our election results?”

What’s really odd is that the candidate who received less than 1% of the vote is pushing for a recount in Pennsylvania rather than the candidate of the 1%, Hillary Clinton.

Facing long odds in Pennsylvania, the nutcase is taking her case to federal court. If the case winds its way through the federal court system and makes it to the U.S. Supreme Court, President Trump’s pick will be there waiting for Dr. Jill Stein.

President-elect Donald Trump

Poll after poll shows Americans think the country is heading in the wrong direction. Donald Trump may not make America great again, but he’s now President-elect Donald Trump.

Hillary Clinton fought the law (read: FBI) but the rule of law won.

All Soles to the Polls

The end is nigh: The end of Hillary Clinton’s and Donald Trump’s nightmarish presidential campaign.

Your vote is your voice so express yourself.

But here’s the thing. There have been a lot of election changes so be careful how you vote.

If stuff happens, call 866-OUR-VOTE.

 

All soles to the polls on November 8.

Halloween 2016

It’s a ghoulish presidential election when the choice is between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

 
And now this.

Trick or treat?

Why the Arts Matter

Being an arts advocate, it should come as no surprise that events at Philadelphia’s iconic museums were among the highlights of my Democratic National Convention schedule. The Philadelphia Citizen held a panel discussion on innovation and local government and watch party at the Barnes Foundation.

I’m a policy wonk and civic app developer so the discussion was in my wheelhouse. But the real attraction was the opportunity to view the Barnes collection without the usual crowds. Although I’ve visited the museum several times, I somehow missed that Horace Pippin’s paintings, including "Supper Time," are in the collection.

The painting immediately brought to mind Irving Berlin’s "Supper Time" from the 1933 Broadway musical As Thousands Cheer. Written for Ethel Waters, the song is about a wife’s reaction to the news of her husband’s lynching. The almost daily occurrence of state-sanctioned racial terror fueled the Great Migration.

Americans for the Arts Action Fund held an ARTSSPEAK@DNC panel at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The speakers included Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, and musicians Ben Vereen and Ben Folds.

The panelists discussed the economic and transformative impact of the arts. I dutifully nodded my head when Vereen acknowledged the panelists were singing to the choir, i.e., “warriors for the arts.” But when he broke out in song, I had to fight back the tears.

To be sure, the Tony Award winner can sang, but it wasn’t just any song. Vereen sang the song that inspired me to believe that I would be able to rise above my station in life. I grew up in deep poverty in Brooklyn. While walking the streets of Bed-Stuy, I would sing “The Impossible Dream” from the 1964 Broadway musical Man of La Mancha.

The lyrics inform my lifelong activism and commitment to social justice. Indeed, I’m living proof that art changes lives.