August 23, 2000
Page A4
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Articles do not
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represent the views of
(Tlje fth irtlz u iii (D h s e ru e r
Religion and politics cause jitters for Gore-Lieberman among many blacks
After Waters spoke every top gun
black Democrat rushed to swear their
allegiance to Gore-Lieberman and
assured that blacks have no problems
withtheGore-Lieberman ticket. They
backed up their contention that the
D em ocrats have not abandoned
minority issues by pointing out that
black delegates make up more than 20
percent ofthe Democratic Convention
delegates and have a prominent place
in managing the convention and in
formulating the platform.
Lieberman beat a fast path to meet
with Waters and the Congressional
Black Caucus to reassure them that
he does not oppose affirmative action.
In his convention acceptance speech
as E a r l O f a b i H i r t h in s o n
Dallas N AACP head Lee Alcorn had
barely gotten his rash, bigoted words
o u t o f his m outh q u e stio n in g
D e m o c ra tic
v ic e -p re sid e n tia l
c a n d id a te Jo sep h L ie b e rm a n ’s
presum ed allegiance to “Jew ish
interests” when NAACP president
Kweisi Mfume promptly suspended
him. A few days later California
C ongressw om an M axine W aters
wisely kept Lieberman ’ s religion out
o f it but said she had major problems
with his centrist-conservative political
positions on affirmative action and
school vouchers.
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Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor
In light o f the upcoming World Conference on Assisted Dying Sept. 1-3, in
Boston, I wanted to bring attention to what 1 feel is a greatly important cause.
My name is Erica Hanlin and I am a 20-year-old college student from Illinois.
I would like to say thank you for supporting a cause, which 1 have been adamant
about for quite awhile now. In 1992, my paternal grandfather, whom I was very
close to, committed suicide after a battle with emphysema and cancer. My
grandfather had always been a spunky, and that is an understatement, man
with an acid tongue and razor sharp wit. It made me so sad to visit him after he
started becoming i 11 and each time I saw him seemed to get weaker and weaker.
The weeks went by and soon, my uncle, with whom he made his residence,
started to do everything for him, including feed him, when he actually could
eat, change his bed linens, bathe him and even change his disposable adult
undergarment.
I could tell, since my grandfather had always been very independent, that
relying on someone else made him very uncomfortable. He was on oxygen
almost 24 hour a day and during his last couple weeks o f life, was completely
bedridden. Losing his dignity was not an option and around midnight on a
night in August 1992, my grandfather put a gun to his head and pulled the
trigger. He made a choice that I know any one o f his sons would have made
in order not to see their father suffer.
I saw how much he suffered and I know that if there were any way I could have
ended it I would. I also saw similar things happen with my maternal grandmother,
who basically starved to death over a period o f a year, getting progressively
thinner from her usually robust figure. Her throat muscles would shut down
after a few bite o f food and eventually she could not eat. She had signed a living
will some years earlier and therefore, could receive no feeding tube, resuscitation
or no other means o f artificially prolonging her life. Therefore, her suffering
was immense, until she finally succumbed in November 1998.
Though I am only 20 years old, I have seen many o f my family members suffer
as resulted o f terminal illnesses and I do not believe that they should be allowed
to suffer. I believe that they have the right to die with dignity and if that means
“mercy killing,” then so be it. They should not have to suffer through one more
day o f agonizing pain and emotional embarrassment because they are, after all,
people... human beings that live and breathe and have emotions.
Again, I would like to say thank you for all o f your dedication to this cause and
I know I speak for many o f those who have seen the suffering o f family members
or friends with terminal illnesses when I say God bless you all.
Sincerely,
Erica Hanlin
news@portlandobserver.com
he extended the olive branch even
further by playing big on themes o f
diversity, support o f civil rights and
social programs.
Despite Lieberm an’s conciliatory
words and the happy assurances o f
black leaders that black voters will
dutifully support Gore-Lieberman, the
Alcorn and Waters flap poses two
big problems, one legitimate, the other
disturbing, forGore-Lieberman. The
first is Lieberman’s politics. This is
still a legitimate concern. Lieberman’s
past ambiguous support o f affirmative
action and public education does
absolutely nothing to inspire black
voters to make a headlong dash to the
polls for Gore. Many blacks wonder
out loud whether Lieberman will do
anything to champion these issues.
The other problem is Lieberman’s
religion. This is inappropriate for
anyone to raise as an issue, but the
fact that some blacks raise it at all is
deeply troubling. It again stirs latent
and ugly anti-Jew ish sentim ents
among some blacks. On some black
radio talk shows callers railed against
the NAACP for dumping Alcom and
defended his remarks. It was a horrid
reminder that the breach that Nation
o f Islam ’s leader Louis Farrakhan’s
contentious rem arks about Jews
caused between blacks and Jews a
few years ago still has not completely
healed.
Still, Gore must worry whether the
silly, thoughtless remarks by a few
blacks about his religion and the
concern about his stance on crucial
social issues will damage G ore’s
chances against Bush. In a race to the
wire with Bush the black vote will
loom large. For the past four decades
no group has been more passionate
and loyal in their support o f the
Democrats than blacks. They have
routinely given the Democrats 85 to
90 percent o f their vote.
According to a recent survey by the
Jo in t C e n te r F o r P olitical and
Economic Studies, a Washington D.C.
public policy think tank, in 1996 the
black vote was crucial to Clinton’s
reelection victory in ten Southern
and Midwestern states. More than
half o f those who voted for Clinton in
Louisiana, Georgia and a third o f those
who voted for him in Maryland were
black. These same states will be hotly
contested by Gore and Bush. Also,
the possibility that Green Party
presidential candidate Ralph Nader
can swipe 3 to 7 percent o f the vote
almost all o f which would come from
disenchanted Democrats make the
black vote even more indispensable
to Gore.
There are some early warning signs
that G ore’s core black support may
be softening. Recent polls show that
m ore b la c k s are b u y in g the
Republican’s diversity pitch and are
willing to give them a closer look. The
number o f black voters who say they
like what they hear and see in Bush
has inched up not only in Texas and
Florida, but also California. While 80
percent o f blacks still identify
themselves as Democrats, among 18-
to 25 year olds that number has
plunged to 60 percent. This hardly
means that younger blacks will rush
to B u sh b u t it does p o se the
possibility, maybe danger, that the
Democrats could lose some o f their
votes. If Bush can even slightly
loosen the vise like grip Democrats
have on black votes, by winning as
little as 5 to 7 percent more o f their
vote, this could doom Gore to defeat.
Democrat strategists remind hlnrlc
voters that during his college days
Lieberman was a civil rights fighter.
(Please see 'Leiberman-
Gore’ page 6)
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