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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
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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.
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SUCK*
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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
.
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• ••
* 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.
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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
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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.”