Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 2014)
Opinion What’s on Our Holiday Wish List? “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ERNIE F OSTER Founder/Publisher B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER Executive Editor J ERRY F OSTER Advertising Manager L ISA L OVING News Editor H ELEN S ILVIS Multimedia Editor P ATRICIA I RVIN D AVID K IDD Graphic Designer M ONICA J. F OSTER Seattle Office Coordinator J ULIE K EEFE S USAN F RIED Photographers The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. Telephone (503) 285-5555. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Associ- ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. © 2014 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. To see The Skanner News on your smart phone go to theskannermobile.com or scan this QR code with your app. • • • • • • • • Local news Opinions Jobs, Bids Sports Entertainment Music reviews Bulletin board RSS feeds N ow is the time Mr. President. It’s been six years since you prom- ised to act to prevent the US immigration enforcement from breaking up families. Simply by using the power of the presidential executive order, you could prevent mil- lions of deportations that hurt families, hurt our economy and destroy lives. Many peo- ple have been waiting for 10 years or more. Under the cur- rent system there is no avenue for most of these peo- ple to legalize their status. Immigration reform is not a bone to throw at America’s newcomer communities. It is a necessity. Extending work visas to highly skilled and educated people is one no brainer. Finding a way for the Dreamer generation to con- tribute to our society is anoth- er. And when the children of immigrants are citizens, we should find a way for their parents to become citizens too. Breaking up families is not in the best interests of a civil society. These are the people who will be caring for aging baby boomers and paying into EDITORIAL The Skanner News social security so the next generation can also afford to retire. With a Republican-con- trolled Congress, the presi- dent knows there is no chance of a comprehensive change it. The Republicans claim an executive order on immigra- tion would “poison the well,” and scuttle any chance of an immigration law from Con- gress. They all have the same talking points. That’s laughable. For the last six years House Republi- cans have been blocking any and every piece of legislation that comes their way. They’ve threatened to shut down gov- Breaking up families is not in the best interests of a civil society immigration bill anytime soon. Congress has had years to enact reforms. They did noth- ing. Now Republican leaders are taking to the media, threatening Obama with impeachment and urging him not to act. The executive order is part of the president’s powers. The Republicans like it well enough when the president is a Republican. And if they don’t like the law they should ernment and wasted count- less hours voting to repeal the president’s healthcare act – even though that was not ever going to happen. And now that Republicans have control of both the US Senate and the House they claim they might work on immigration reform. They won’t. President Obama needs to push forward with his execu- tive order on immigration. With a stroke of his pen he can accomplish what Con- gress will never do. Millions of families will be grateful. And our economy will benefit. So stop the hesitation Mr. President. Do what you know is right. We can’t think of a better Thanksgiving and Christmas gift than immigra- tion reform. Can you? What do you think? What do you think? Post your comment on articles in The Skanner News at www.theskanner.com Democrats: Invest in Black Candidates A total of $172 million. That was the record amount the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) raised in 2013 and 2014. But that money was poorly spent, which helped account for such a decisive midterm defeat. Look at the record. On Oct. 26, the DCCC spent $242,421 on a media buy to assist conservative Democrat John Barrow get re- elected. It didn’t work – Barrow lost. It wasn’t until four days before the election that the DCCC dropped money for Rep. Steve Horsford (D-N.V.), who was tar- geted by Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS. Horsford narrowly lost and the episode provides a classic les- son in campaign spending and timing. That’s right, in a year featuring a record number of African Ameri- cans running for Congress and statewide, not a dime was spent on a Black candidate for Congress until the 11th hour. If you dare look at FEC.GOV at the way millions were spent on some of the races, do it sitting down – preferably with a stiff drink in your hand. Here are five worthy candidate who didn’t get a dime, but should have: (La.-5) Jamie Mayo – Remem- ber the time Rep. Vance McAllis- ter (R-La.) was caught kissing a staffer on video and it exploded into a big scandal? Well, McAllis- ter pulled a David Vitter and for- got to resign and is still in Congress. McAllister should have been an easy mark for Democrats. With a district that is 34 percent African American and a Senate race in Louisiana, who knows NNPA C OLUMNIST Lauren Victoria Burke what would have happened if the Dems had invested in the race. Mayo is set to win the “jungle pri- mary” in December and then everyone assumes he’ll lose. But once again, the DCCC rolled the dice on other candidates who were running in red seats. Why not invest in the mayor of Monroe, La.? gia, right? It is a state that’s 30 percent Black, the third most Blacks in the U.S. That Georgia. Georgia’s 1st district was open for the first time in 22 years. (Minn.-3) Sharon Sund vs. Erik Paulsen (R) – This is the case of a “lean Dem” seat that Democrats haven’t bothered to compete in. This seat went 51 per- cent to 47 percent for Obama in 2008 and 49 percent to 48 percent for Obama in 2012. You under- stand there is always some reason not to try to win a seat with an incumbent R sitting there — unless there isn’t. Sund is a pro- gressive candidate in a progressive leaning district. But watch care- fully: DCCC went after incumbent In a year featuring a record number of African Americans running for Congress and statewide, not a dime was spent on a Black candidate for Congress until the 11th hour (Ga.-1) Brian Reese vs. Buddy Carter (R) — The unwritten rule for Democrats appears to be: All money spent on anyone running for Congress in Georgia must go to John Barrow. Even though Bar- row was helped by Democrats to the tune of $2.3 million, he lost. In a year where there is a governor’s race, a Senate race, five Black women on the ballot and big fat spending by DSCC on Black turnout, one would think Democ- rats might catch a clue that 2014 may have been be a good time to fund a Black congressional candi- date in Georgia. You know, Geor- Page 2 The Portland and Seattle Skanner November 19, 2014 Republican Lee Terry in what is a red seat. Perhaps the gamble will pay off but why not go hard after seats that lean blue? (Fla.-16) Henry Lawrence vs. Vern Buchanan (R) – Arkansas-2 went 54 percent to 42 percent for Romney in 2012. Florida-16 went 54 percent to 44 percent for Rom- ney in 2012. Which seat are the Democrats spending millions on? That would be the Arkansas seat and not the Florida one. Henry Lawrence is a former NFL player who played for the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s. Lawrence played in Super Bowl XI, Super Bowl XV and Super Bowl XVIII, giving him three Super Bowl rings. Come on Democrats you couldn’t market that? Soon-to-be former Republi- can Congressman Jon Runyun has no rings and he was in Congress for four years. Lawrence’s oppo- nent was do-nothing fatcat Vern Buchanan. While Democrats knocked themselves out to elect Gwen Graham in Florida’s 2nd district, there wasn’t a dime for NFL star Henry Lawrence. (SC-7) Gloria Tinubu vs Tom Rice (R) – One of the mysteries of the Democratic Party’s strategy is why did they give up on seats with large Black populations in an era of mega-voter registration and GOTV efforts. South Carolina’s 7th district is 30 percent Black. Nick Rahall sits in a seat that went 65 percent to 32 percent for Rom- ney and next thing you know mil- lions are spent to save him. It’s just interesting that Tinubu is on her own against a relatively new Republican with not much to say for himself in a 30 percent Black seat and that doesn’t spur a chal- lenge. And Democrats are mystified by how they lost? Lauren Victoria Burke is free- lance writer and creator of the blog Crewof42.com, which covers African American members of Congress. She Burke appears reg- ularly on “NewsOneNow with Roland Martin” and on WHUR FM, 900 AM WURD. She worked previously at USA Today and ABC News.
