I know, another post about the open-seat Long Beach-area race that essentially looks at identity politics. But this is pretty interesting. The Congressional Black Caucus will not endorse a candidate in the race, which includes two high-profile black candidates, Assemblywoman Laura Richardson and neophyte politician Valerie McDonald, daughter of the late Juanita Millender-McDonald. Apparently, it got heated within the CBC:
The decision, in part, stems from an internal political feud between two of California’s most visible black members of Congress: Rep. Maxine Waters and Rep. Diane Watson, who split over who should get the Caucus’ backing in the June 26 special election. In the end, the Caucus declined to endorse either one in the Long Beach-area race. Waters favors Assemblywoman Laura Richardson and Watson supports Valerie McDonald, the daughter of the late congresswoman. The dispute over the endorsement was marked by heated exchanges involving Waters and Watson.
The Congressional Black Caucus’ decision was in sharp contrast to the state Legislature’s nine-member Black Caucus, which endorsed Richardson.
Diane Watson is one of the few California legislators to back McDonald, and she was enough to get the CBC not to endorse. I still think the California Federation of Labor support for Richardson will ultimately be crucial, but the CBC would have been a nice capper as well.
I’ll be covering this race a bit more in my Congressional roundup (look for it next week), but I’d say right now, Richardson has a slight edge over State Sen. Jenny Oropeza because of the labor endorsement and the fact that turnout will be low.
UPDATE III:Our friends from Color of Change stopped by to say, “Big news — James, our director, talked with a credible reporter who talked with Carolyn Kilpatrick, who, after being pressed, said that there is a Fox debate in the works, it just hasn’t been announced.” Is Barbara Lee going to let this happen?
UPDATE II:ColorofChange worries that the CBC Institute is still in talks with Fox and says, “This is no time to let up the pressure. They could be waiting for it to blow over so they can announce next week.”
UPDATE:No need to call, the CBC Institute made a smart move, Fox lost out to CNN. Huge victory for Color of Change and a great day for the Democratic Party
Can a couple of Californians — armed with little more than internet connections and the truth — change the Congressional Black Caucus?
Fox News has a horrible record of attacking Black people, leaders, and cultural institutions. But at this very moment, the Congressional Black Caucus Institute is negotiating to partner with Fox to host presidential debates prior to the 2008 elections.
For the CBC Institute to partner with an organization like Fox News-given its hostility to Black political interests-would be shameful. You can help prevent them from making this serious mistake by calling on them to drop negotiations with Fox […]
Given its record, Fox News shouldn’t enjoy the support of Black political or cultural institutions connected to the Congressional Black Caucus. We believe the CBC Institute will change course once it realizes that Black America, if not all of America, is watching. Please join us in making sure they hear us, loud and clear:
It should be expected that this video will be seen widely, in just three weeks his video Fox Attacks Barack Obama has been viewed 349,341 times.
Following the massive backlash and victory against the Nevada Democratic Party’s attempt to get in bed with Fox, Matt Stoller explained:
Over the past three weeks or so, the progressive movement – bloggers, Moveon.org, grassroots activists, filmmakers – pressured the Nevada Democratic Party to drop Fox News as the host of a presidential debate in August. In pursuing this short campaign, we made two basic arguments that were eventually accepted by party leaders.
First, we argued that Fox News is not a news channel, but a propaganda outlet that regularly distorts, spins, and falsifies information. Second, Fox News is heavily influenced or even controlled by the Republican Party itself. As such, we believe that Fox News on the whole functions as a surrogate operation for the GOP. Treating Fox as a legitimate news channel extends the Republican Party’s ability to swift-boat and discredit our candidates. In other words, Fox News is a direct pipeline of misinformation from the GOP leadership into the traditional press.
The current trend in the Party to hold leaders accountable for counter-productive decisions will now be waged in the Congressional Black Caucus and against the CBC Institute. Where do California members stand? Who knows, but you can ask them:
CA-09: CBC 1st Vice Chair Barbara Lee – (510) 763-0370
