• • * * > < Page 2, Portland Observer, November 24, 1988 OPINION EDITORIAL Election ’88: The Significance of The Black Vote Along the Color Line Dr. Manning Marable by Norman Hill, President, A Philip Randolph Institute Now that the 1988 election and all of the attendant hullabaloo are (finallyI) over, we need to sit back and take a look “ Dukakis Lost, But Bush Didn’t Win” by Dr. Manning Marable, Along The Color Line ■ V * ■»« . '. V, S '. • u.. * •.> :<C * • .V »?2& Conventional political wisdom has declared that George Bush's massive electoral victory over Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis represents a smashing triumph for Reagan con servatism over the ideology of liberal ism. Superficially, the electoral and popular vote totals appear to validate this interpretation. Bush won forty out of fifty states. Souther voters backed Bush by a three to two margin, and the Republican candidate held a substan jfic tial majority among voters earning $25,000 more annually. Nearly 60 30 or m percent of all whites supported Bush. Although President-elect Bush indeed will be inaugurated next Janu ary, his "victory" is tar less substantial than it seems. Given his monumental advantages going into the presidential campaign, as well as the election re sults for Congressional and guberna torial races, it would be more accurate to assert that Dukakis lost, but Bush didn't win. President-elect Bush had several notable advantages over his Demo cratic challenger. Most Americans haven’t forgotten the painful period of double-digit unemployment and infla tion from the late 1970s. For better or worse, it is identified with former President Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Bush scored easy points by reminding voters that the inflation rate was over 12 percent in 1980, but only 4.2 percent this year. Joblessness in • 1980 - 3 0 ' was ” 75 percent, ------ and only 5.2 percent today. Never mind the fact That hundreds of thou sands of working people have be come "discouraged workers,” and aren’t even calculated in the unem ployment statistics. Or that millions of blue collar workers have e i xperienced severe pay cuts and reduction in their families’ standard of living. The Bush strategy in the general election was to promote the selective use of positive economic statistics, and to obscure or distort the bulk of the economic truth. Fortunately for Bush, however, the country was not in the midst of an unpopular foreign war. The initiatives taken to reduce the nuclear arms race with the Soviets were widely popular, and the Reagan administration has been somewhat less bellicose on for eign affairs recently. Bush was largely successful in projecting himself be fore the public as an experienced if u imaginative number two man, elitist yet sufficiently competent to reduce the national deficit and to address urban crime. Although the selection of Dan Quayle as Vice Presidential can didate threw into question Bush’s capacity for leadership, the Presiden tial nominee neatly distanced himself from the unpopular Indian Senator throughout the last six weeks of the campaign. But the election was actually a repudiation of the philosophy of Re- aganism - best represented b y mas sive military expenditures, cutbacks in social and health care programs, simplistic anti-Communism abroad an d welfare for the rich at home.. In P« the triumphant Republican candidate has succeeded in shifting the balance of Congressional power to the right. Back in 1968, for instance, Richard Nixon’s election produced a net gain of six GOP Senators. When Reagan defeated Carter in 1980, the Republi cans gained one dozen seats in the Senate. This November, however, the situation was reversed. The Democrats picked up seats in both the Senate and the House of Representa tives. Pro-labor, pro-Civil Rights candi dates generally did much better than Dukakis state after state. In Ohio, liberal Democratic Senator Howard M. Metzenbaum withstood an unprin- □lic cipled media attack by Republican challenger George Vomvicn. in New Jersey. Democrat Frank Lautenberg ran a successful campaign against conservative candidate Pete Dawk ins. As all predicted, Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy was reelected in a landslide In Nebraska, former governor Bob Kerrey trounced Re agan-Republican David Karnes, the incumbent, in the Senate race. And in almost all of the House of Representa tives races, liberal and pro-labor Democrats elected in 1984 and 1986 were re-elected. The real political question of 1988 is not why Bush won, but how Dukakis lost. A central reason was the failure of the Massachusetts Democrat to embrace progressive values and public policies which would have repu diated the legacy of the Reagan administration. At the Atlanta Demo cratic convention, Dukakis mistakenly asserted that this election was not about ideology, but competency. His image of the presidency was manage rial, not executive. Any successful president must articulate a vision of where the country needs to move - an ideological road map. He hires aides and administrators to carry out the technical decisions which fall into his general ideological approach toward public policy. By distancing himself from the ricn traditions of liberalism, populism, and social justice which are central to the democratic protest movements of American working people, Dukakis sent the wrong mes sage to his potential friends and gave rhetorical ammunition to his oppo nents. He refused to answer scurri- PITTSBURGH (UMNS) -Directors of the United Methodist Church’s big gest investor have further tightened policies against apartheid in South Africa. In a unanimous action November 11 here, the 32 clergy and lay direc tors of the Board of Pensions said that, effective immediately, no firms operating in South Africa beyond those already on an approved list will be eligible for Investment. The ap proximately 50 firms now on the ap proved list must meet specified stan dards to remain eligible. In a related move, following up on earlier actions, the directors in structed the board’s staff to begin divesting holdings totaling more than $25 million in two international corpo rations - Royal Dutch/Shell and Im pe rial Chemical. Beginning January 1, no more stock will be purchased in three U.S. oil companies - Mobil, Texaco and Chevron. If these firms have not with drawn from South Africa by December 31, 1989, divestment of board hold ings will begin. The Board of Pensions manages an investment portfolio that had a market value of about $3 billion on November 10. On June 30 this year the board’s holdings in 52 companies active in South Africa totaled about $304.5 million. The investments cover retirement benefits for appr approxi- mately 50,000 clergy, churcn lay employees and beneficiaries. efic' The Rev. Madge Floyd, Pitts burgh, said the latest action related to South Africa are in "response to the concerns of (the board’s) constituen cies,” and are in keeping with the stance of the United Methodist Church against apartheid as reflected in its Social Principles and actions of the 1988 General Conference. Ms. Floyd is chairwoman of the board’s committee on corporate and fiduciary responsibility. A tie vote in the committee on whether to present the latest recom mendation to the board was broken py Ms. Floyd. She said such a closely contested question should be decided by all the directors. ERVER OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PUBLICATION Established in 1970 A lfre d L. H enderson/P ubiisher Leon H a r r is /G e n e r a l M anager Gary Ann Garnett Nyewusi Askari Business Manager Editor Joyce Washington Mattie Ann Callier-Spears Sales/Marketing Director Religion Editor Ruby Reuben Marie Decuir Sales Representative Photographer Rose Marie Davis Richard Medina B. Gayle Jackson Comptroller : i t *V'.» Photo Composition Lonnie Wells Circulation Manager PORTLAND OBSERVER is published weekly by Exie Publishing Company, Inc 525 N E Killmgsworth St • Portland Oregon 97211 P O Box 3137 • Portland Oregon 97208 SUCK* » 0 $ I am saddened and disturbed by the incident of Sunday, November 13, 1988, which resulted in the ° f 1 A l 23iBlackOCongressional Incumbents were re-elected, and Donald Payne carried New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District to become the State’s first Black Representative. So there are now 24 Blacks In the House ot Representatives, an all-time record. In addition, early estimates Indicate that the Black share of the total vote cast was a bit higher this ye ar th a n in 1984. Even the results of the presidential election show the Importance of the Black vote. Blacks gave Mike Dukakis some 86% of their votes, while winner George Bush received only about 12%. But these numbers show that the Black vote is . ~ . r • •• * tor — economic ---------- ; _ __.u — — .¡ — l t. justice. A And because of demographic rOQp |Q iSClOiS the most solid element of . . the Black-labor alliance and — social factors and the voter participation activities of such organizations as the A. Philip Randolph Educational Fund and the affiliates of the A Philip Randolph Institute, the Black vote will become a greater portion of the total vote in the years ahead Now what'does that mean for the future of American politics? For one thing, it means growing political Influence for :ynlcs say, ----------------------------------------- It also means Increased success for a . progressive (dare Blacks. And therefore, despite what some cynics _ . . . we say - liberal?) brand ot politics. Why? Because the Black agenda includes a deep concern about economic and social justice and therefore appeals to the great majority of Americans. L _ , ,. , . If you don’t believe it, think back to the last weeks of the campaign. The polls didn't begin to turn in Dukakis s favor until he took off the gloves and began speaking aggressively on behalf of ordinary people, black and white. The I m on your side" slogan was the one that worked, because It appealed to blacks, trade unionists, and a large segment of the middle cldss W e’ll never know tor sure whether Dukakis would have won if he had changed his approach earlier. But it is clear that progressive candidates can’t win the presidency by talking like managers or technocrats. They must present themselves as the advocates of working people. .i_ u-» < The cvnlcs I referred to earlier say that as blacks become more prominent in a political party, the whites move out. But consider this: Black Congressman Mike Espy defeated his opponent with 66% of the total vote, including some 40% ot the white vote. And this happened in_Mlssissippll Some1 people are calling it a miracle. But to us at the Randolph Institute, it’s not a miracle. We realize that the problems Blacks in their communities and work-places are simply more extreme versions of the problems all working people /ace~~And as the poison of racism evaporates, more and more Americans are realizing this. When asked why he received so much ot the white vote, Congressman Espy cited his record on economic issues and said "If people are thinking about their pocketbooks, they often forget about color." The Congressman is right on target, and Americans who hunger for more progressive politics would do well to remember his words. ip a I CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL Help Angolan War Victims by Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. Mayor Bud Clark death of Mulugeta Seraw. T h e ^ violent loss of life ot any citizen of ,* the City of Portland at the hands of violent attackers cannot be toler ated. This incident is ot particular con cern because it was probably ra cially motivated. The Police Bu reau is conducting a vigorous and thorough investigation, and Police Chief Richard Walker has directed the Detective Division to keep him personally apprised of develop ments in the case. Pending the outcome of the inves tigation, it would be premature to hold any group responsible for the attack. While I deplore the exis tence of gangs and of racial su premacists, It is inappropriate to ascribe Sunday’s violence and tragic loss of life to the Skinheads or to any other group before any such assertions can be docu mented. The Police are coordinat ing their investigation among de tectives and the officers who are already assigned to the Youth Gang Detail, in order to determine the facts and bring the perpetrators to justice. Chief Walker and representatives of my office are in communication with the Youth Gangs Task Force, Black United Front, Metropolitan Human Relations Commission, and other community representa tives, and will continue to share in formation so we can address this tragedy. The likelihood of racial motivation in this attack makes it imperative that involved citizens and public officials maintain a con structive dialogue to work toward eliminating racial hatred and vio lence in our city. I want to express my deepest sym pathy to Mr Seraw’s family and friends, ort behalf of the citizens of Portland W eallshareinyourloss (503) 288-0033 (Office» Deadlines for all submitted materials Articles Monday 5 p m Ads Tuesday. 5 p m The PORTLAND OBSERVER welcomes freelance submissions Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled end will be returned if accompanied by a self-addressed envelope All created designed display ads become the solo property of this newspaper and can not be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad V • r MAYOR CLARK RESPONDS TO SERAW’S DEATH at the impact of the Black vote on the results. The most obvious fact Is that Black voters did not swing the presidential election. But if we look beneath the blaring headlines, we can find a great deal with which to be satisfied. tisfii n ^ v in c The Black vote decided the New Jersey Senate race. White voters preferred conservative Republican Pete Dawkins by 54% to 46%, but Blacks gave Incumbent Democrat Frank Lautenberg an overwhelming 7 9 /o to 18 /«, eage. It appears that Black votes also made the difference in Connecticut’s Senate contest, where Democrat Joseph Lieber man narrowly beat incumbent Republican Lowell Weicker In what was a virtual dead heat. This reminds us that even in ----- of ---------hold the balance ot power inclose elections. ono/ . constitute . only r , a small — ■■ portion States where -■ Blacks the electorate, they hold the Of course, Black votes were crucial in many of the 71 Congressional districts in which Blacks make up 20 /» or more United Methodist Church TIGHTENS SOUTH AFRICA POLICIES PORTL Sales Representative lous and false attacks clearly and unambiguously. He failed to make any serious overtures to the Black American electorate, the most loyal Democratic constituency in terms of voting percentage, until only several weeks before the election. Finally, in late October, Dukakis rediscovered his ideological com pass. “ I'm a liberal in the tradition of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman and John Kennedy," the candidate finally declared, after months of run ning a non-ideological campaign. The tactic worked. In mid-October, ac cording to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, Bush led Dukakis by a commanding 17 point spread. By election day, that margin was reduced to 8 percentage points. Most Ameri cans now recognized that Bush's policies would favor the wealthy over the middle class, and would escalate poverty. But Dukakis was too late In declaring how a progressive, liberal agenda served the interests of the vast majority of Americans. Subscriptions S20 OO pe» year in the TrnCounty area Tlfe PORTLAND OBSERVER — Oregon • oldest African-American Publication — is a member of The National Newspaper Association — Founded In 1885, The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, end The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers. Inc New Vort AFRICA The co ntin en t w here all life originated. During this season of Thanks giving, we all should be reminded that there are millions of people throughout the world who have been victimized because of injus tice. Recently, a delegation of eight persons from the People’s Republic of Angola arrived in the United States under the sponsor ship ot the Commission for Racial Justice of the United Church of Christ. Six members of the delega tion are victims of the unjust war being waged in Angola by a group of terrorists known as UNIT ‘ ' TA, led by Jonas Savimbi. Savimbi gets his support from the Reagan-Bush Administration and from the racist apartheid regime of South Africa. This small delegation from Angola only represents thousands of other victims of the war who remain in Angola and who are in need of our help and assistance. When I first greeted the delegation last week, I was filled with emotion to see the sight of five children and one adult who had lost their legs and limbs because of explosives planted by UNITA. I was also filled with a sense of responsibility to try to do something effective and positive about their condition. Too often we may view suffering as if it is a hopeless situation. The good news about Angola is that there is a lot that concerned citizens of the United States can do to assist these victims and to prevent future victimization. Bernarda N’guvulo is twelve ^ears old. Earlier this year, the JITA mercenaries attacked her T that you who read Civil Rights Journal will remember them in your prayers. We were very fortunate that in the City of Newark, New Jersey to find an African American physician who is not only an out standing orthopedic surgeon but also a person committed to justice. In addition, this delegation has received enormous support from the entire administration staff of the United Hospital Medical Center of Newark, New Jersey. Dr. Ade- wale Troutman, the Medical Direc tor of the City of Newark, has been effectively helping to coordinate the medical care that the delega tion has received. Newark Mayor Sharpe James should also be given great gratitude for his leader- ship and support on this matter. Tt The delegation is led by Mrs. Luzia da Silva Ingles, who is an experienced child educator trom Angola and works under the Divi sion for Social Affairs of the People’s Republic of Angola. Mrs. Ingles is assisted by Amelia Matias Neto, who also has been working in Angola on behalf of those [3er- sons victimized by the war. eighth member of the delegation is Mrs. Iria Geremias, a mother of five and a member of the Organi zation of Angolan Women. Mrs. Geremias lost her foot due to an aerial bombing attack by South Africa. Dr. Staggers has also ar range d for her to receive an artifi cial foot.and by the President of the United States. The support of UNITA must stop and it must stop now! N ow What????? By: The election is over and we are back to normality. The question is what is normality? George Bush has been elected President, the Democrats control the House and the Senate, Bud Clark is Mayor, Margaret Carter is the Represen tative for District 18. Now What? The now what will be what do the Blacks want now and our answer will be control of our own political destiny and fair plan in the economic progress ot this country We have the power. It is time to use it. Now who will address the Black agenda? Will we sit on our butts and assume that somebody else will take care of our issues for another tour years and wait for a political Messiah to come and rescue us, or will we be attentive to our needs as other groups are at tentive to their’s, making our . » t » family's house in the Huila Prov ince of Angola. Members of her family were killed and Bernarda was shot in the back. Now she is paralyzed from the waist down. It is our prayer, however, that a team of highly skilled African American inly skill surgeons at the United Hospital Medical Center of Newark, New Jersey will be able to give Ber narda another chance to walk. She is scheduled for surgery in the next tew days.. Rufino Octaviano is eleven years old. He stepped on a land mine planted in a civilian area in the Benguela Province of Angola. This land mine was planted by UNITA. Both of Rufino’s legs have been amputated above the knees. Dr. Buel Staggers, Chief Orthope dic Surgeon at United Hospital in Newark, has offered to help Rufino get a set of artificial legs. Clementina Cassavo, another amputee victim, is sixteen years old’ Dr. Staggers performec suc- cessful surgery on Clementina which will enable herto be fitted for an artificial leg. Fernando Segunda, another teenager and amputee victim ot UNITA, has also been treated by Dr. Staggers. G a b rie la N ’am b on g a, who stepped on a land mine planted by UNITA while she was playing with a group of children, is scheduled to undergo surgery by Dr. Staggers to also make it possible for her to receive an artificial leg. Most of these children from Angola will be in the hospital on Thanksgiving Day. It is our hope * * A *• 4 Harold C. Williams agenda the paramount agenda for the next four years. The Republican party has not been sensitive, but they control the economic purse strings. We must do a social and economic balanc ing act by participating in both par ties and never allowing any party to take u 3 for granted again. The now what is we must take control of our destiny, be more active in the political process, study both par ties to see what advantages each offer and only play when it is to our benefit. If we do this, we will be taken seriously in the next four years. The Democratic party has proven that they could care less about our agenda and all we are to the Democratic party nationally are flunkies that they take for granted when it comes to our vote. They slapped us in the face with the treatment ot Jesse Jackson and that national slapping could have trickled down effect if we don’t make our agenda for ourselves a priority. ROSA PARKS [I want to help] "young people grow, develop, and reach their potential.”