Rep. Maxine Waters and the Democrat’s “Race” Problem
By Rod Pennington
It is standard operating procedure to release bad news late on Friday in the hope all of the adults in the media have already left for the weekend and no one else will notice. Thus Friday was no exception. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) joined Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) as the second prominent member of the Congressional Black Caucus to be charged with ethic violations.
Waters is famous for her “No Justice, No Peace” tirade during the Rodney King Riots in Los Angeles in 1992 that did little to calm the situation. She has been charged with improperly intervening with federal regulators to help a bank in which her husband held stock. The Wall Street Journal covered this story in detail earlier this year: Waters Helped Bank Whose Stock She Once Owned.
This is an ominous development for the Democrats and their fading hopes to retain the House of Representatives this fall. African-Americans are easily the most loyal part of the party’s base; routinely giving democratic candidates over 90% of their votes. Recent polls show they are the only group of voters whose support for President Obama has not waned in recent months.
However, along with the Rangel and Waters problems, the Obama Administration and the Democrats have other problems that might keep this vital part of their base from being motivated. Blacks have watched as Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) was sentenced to 13 years in prison for bribery and the Mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick, got 5 years for obstruction of justice.
Another factor is the lukewarm support the Black candidate for the US Senate in Florida, Rep Kendrick Meek (D-FL) has received from President Obama which hasn’t gone unnoticed. Combine that with the way the administration threw USDA employee Shirley Sherrod under the bus before all the facts came out about her alleged “racist” remarks and the Democrats may have a looming problem.
Waters and others members of the Congressional Black Caucus have been grumbling about a double standard in the House ethics process for years. Considering Waters’ willingness to play the race card at her convenience, this could be ugly and embarrassing for the Democrats.
With two high profile Black politicians on trial in the House on complex ethics charges, voter apathy in the African-American community could start to build. If Blacks stay home this November, what should be a bad year for Democrats could turn into a complete disaster.
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Posted by Rod Pennington
on Jul 31 2010. Filed under Featured Stories.
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