Soledad O’Brien joined Anderson Cooper last night after the post Democratic Debate analysis for an hour long AC 360° special entitled “Race and Politics”. It looked at the current campaign from several different aspects, highlighting subjects such as “Race & Gender” (report from Randi Kaye), “Black, Christian & Republican” (report from Soledad O’Brien), and “The Other Racial Divide” (report from Gary Tuchman).
The in-studio panel discussing these subjects were Roland Martin, Amy Holmes, Leslie Sanchez (GOP strategist) and Professor Matt Barreto.
Randi’s report focused on choices faced by Black women voters in South Carolina and what, if any, ‘loyalty’ they may follow in the upcoming Democratic Primary. Would they vote for Obama based on a race loyalty, or Clinton based on a gender loyalty? Well, in a perfect world, they’d vote for whomever is the candidate of their choosing (maybe even John Edwards) based on issues. I understand that the feedback on Randi’s essay on this topic at the CNN Election Center site has been heated, but it is a topic that should be looked at if only because there are women that won’t give enough consideration to issues and will cast votes based either solely or largely on race or gender. I’ve been asked many times, by both men and women, why I don’t support Hillary Clinton – I mean, aren’t I a member of the ‘sisterhood’? And my answer is ‘nooooooooo ...’ – my vote will be based on issues and other related factors (such as trustworthiness and integrity) as best as I can determine them. Not based on artificial or media-hyped factors. OK – sermon over (for now) ...
Soledad’s report on the current status of GOP inroads with Black voters was enlightening, but certainly not surprising. Among others, she interviewed Rev. Floyd Flake of the Allen AME Cathedral in NYC – and although some hope remains that Republicans can revitalize the ties that were established in 2004, there’s also the other side of the story and can be summed up through this exchange:
REV. FLOYD FLAKE, ALLEN AME CATHEDRAL: I think what they want to hear from the GOP is that we understand the depth of the problems of these communities.
O'BRIEN: Are you hearing any of that from the GOP now?
FLAKE: I have not heard that from the GOP at all.
O'BRIEN: What do you hear?
FLAKE: I hear nothing of any significance that would move an African-American to fill the need to vote for a Republican.
O'BRIEN: What was the biggest mistake you think the GOP made in its outreach to black churches?
FLAKE: I think the biggest mistake was making promises and not delivering.
Gary’s report centered on how immigration is factoring into this political season, and a prime location to get opinions is in Los Angeles. It’s fascinating to see how the immigration issue has become such a hot-button topic. I always wonder what would have happened if employers had followed the law as written in 1986 and not hired those who were not legally eligible to work in this country? Now, our economy is dependent to a great degree on the 12-20 million illegal workers residing here. Reaching any kind of consensus about what path to follow in dealing with border security, amnesty, ‘guest’ workers, expedited citizenship, deportation, etc. will be extremely difficult. There are no easy answers and the process will take courage, patience and leadership.
Other news & notes from today:
Tim Masters is a free man: The conviction sending Tim Masters to jail in 1999 for a murder he didn’t commit has been thrown out and Masters has been freed from prison. This was the story covered on 360° this past Friday. Justice at last!
Fred Thompson bows out: Fred Thompson has called it quits for his Presidential bid – not a surprising announcement at all. No report yet on any endorsement, but John McCain seems to be the logical choice, if any. As a side note, Duncan Hunter also officially dropped out last week.
Thanks for visiting - updates posted as needed - have a terrific Tuesday!
2 comments:
Soledad & AC - I thought your show on race and politics was a good effort to bring up these issues that many people are trying to ignore. I enjoyed all of your panelists, it was nice to see a balanced and diverse panel of experts. Well done.
- Cris D.
(Chicago IL)
I missed the show the first time around, but just caught it tonight (Jan 25) on the replay. I can't belive Sanchez said half of Latinos want to build a fence, that is outrageous, she must be an idiot who has never seen a public opinion poll. Barreto slammed her, his numbers were correct, 70% support pathway to citizenship. Otherwise, I enjoyed the show, good debate among AC and the panelists.
/ Elena
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