FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2010
KLMNO
POLITICS THE NATION
&
Blacks struggling in campaigns
Obama’s win apparently
hasn’t helped them in nationwide contests
by Perry Bacon Jr.
Eighteen months after Barack
Obama’s presidential win seemed to usher in a new era in racial politics, a different reality has emerged: African American can- didates in campaigns nationwide are struggling so much that it’s possible that there will be no black governors or senators by next year. The drubbing Tuesday of Rep.
Artur Davis (D), who was running to be the first black governor of Alabama, was the latest in a series of defeats this year of African American politicians in primaries for statewide office. And two of the three who already hold major statewide posts are leaving them. One of the nation’s two black gov- ernors, New York’s David Pater- son (D), who has been plagued by ethics scandals, opted not to run this fall — the same decision made by the only black senator, Roland Burris (D-Ill.). The only African American fa- vored to win a gubernatorial or Senate race is Massachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick (D), who is run- ning for a second term. Aspiring black politicians, such as Rep. Kendrick B. Meek (D-Fla.), who is seeking a Senate seat, are underdogs in general-election contests. And while a number of
black Republicans are running, many are losing in primaries. The defeats suggest that Oba-
ma’s victory did not herald great- er success for other black politi- cians. “We have had breakthroughs, but the obstacles are still there,” said Christopher Edley, who was special adviser for the President’s Initiative on Race in the Clinton administration and is now dean of the University of California at Berkeley’s School of Law. “The bench is weak. If you look at lower office levels or state legislatures, I think the picture is dramatically better, but we haven’t been able to bring enough people up from there.” The majority of black politi- cians in Washington are members of the Congressional Black Cau- cus, representing districts that are disproportionately liberal and African American, making it diffi- cult for them to build broader coalitions of supporters to win a statewide race. Two blacks, have been elected to governorships — L. Douglas Wilder (D) of Virginia and Patrick — and six, including Obama and Burris, have served in the Senate. The recent losses do not have one unifying factor. Davis strug- gled to woo white voters in the primary but could not galvanize blacks, either. He lost to Alabama insurance commissioner Ron Sparks, who is white, in some overwhelmingly African Ameri- can counties. Burris’s connections to former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich (D) probably doomed
his candidacy the moment he was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Obama.
Black voters and activists, per- haps because of doubts about some black candidates’ ability to win, have not rallied around them as they did Obama.
African Americans “are so in- vested personally in Barack Oba- ma the man, and it’s unique to him,” said Cornell Belcher, a black pollster who worked on the Oba- ma campaign. “They are invested in him in a way they are not in other black political leaders.” The primary process is thin- ning the ranks of black candi- dates, but among the few who re- main, Patrick has a double-digit lead in Massachusetts. And Meek could benefit from a three-way Florida race in which two of the candidates — Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running as an independ- ent, and GOP candidate Marco Rubio — could split the conserva- tive vote. “There were a lot of people who were in fantasy land about black candidates all of sudden getting elected to all of these offices,” said David Bositis, who studies black political trends at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Stud- ies. “But in most years, there are only a handful of Senate seats that are truly competitive, and a lot of people want these seats. And giv- en this is going to be a favorable year for Republicans, the notion that it was going to be a great year for African American candidates, it just wasn’t going to happen.”
baconp@washpost.com
White House, Ariz. to talk border security
President and governor meet but don’t agree on comprehensive bill
by Michael D. Shear
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R)
said Thursday that President Obama assured her that he would send White House staff members to her state to talk with officials about efforts to secure the U.S.- Mexico border. The governor said her meeting with Obama in the Oval Office was cordial, despite their dis- agreement over the widely crit- icized state law she signed in April, which gave police greater powers to enforce federal immi- gration laws.
She said Obama declined to
discuss whether the Justice De- partment plans to file a lawsuit to block the law before it takes effect next month. The White House said in a
statement that the meeting went well but that Obama reiterated his concerns about the law, in- cluding that a patchwork of state immigration regulations would complicate the federal govern- ment’s role in setting and enforc- ing immigration policy. The White House said Obama would like Brewer to work with him to
MARVIN JOSEPH/THE WASHINGTON POST
Protesters outside the White House denounce Arizona’s plans to increase screening for undocumented immigrants while Gov. Jan Brewer (R) and President Obama meet inside to discuss the issue.
help pass comprehensive chang- es to the immigration system that would provide a path to citizen- ship for those already in the country illegally. White House press secretary
Robert Gibbs told reporters that, in particular, the president hoped Brewer would help persuade Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to support broad immigration legislation, as
DIGEST
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Fewer Americans in local lockups
The nation’s local jail popula- tion has declined for the first time since the federal govern- ment began keeping count, offi- cials said Thursday. The number of inmates in
county and city jails was about 767,600 at the end of last June, down by nearly 18,000 inmates, or 2.3 percent, from a year earlier. Growth in the U.S. jail popula- tion had been slowing since 2005. The decline was the first since the Bureau of Justice Statistics began its annual survey of jails in 1982. The reversal took place as crime in the United States fell dramatically. Violent crime fell 5.5 percent last year, and proper- ty crime was down 4.9 percent, the third straight year of declines.
— Associated Press
TEXAS
Man charged with trying to aid al-Qaeda
A Texas man has been charged
with attempting to provide sup- port for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and authorities said Thursday that he communicated with Anwar al-Aulaqi, the Mus- lim cleric whose name surfaced in the shootings at Fort Hood. A federal grand jury indict- ment in Houston alleges that Bar-
ry Walter Bujol of Hempstead, Tex., attempted to supply al-Qae- da in the Arabian Peninsula with personnel, currency and other items. Court documents say that Au-
laqi gave Bujol a document titled “42 Ways of Supporting Jihad.” The cleric, who lives in Yemen, has emerged as a prominent al- Qaeda recruiter.
— Associated Press
DELAWARE
Topless, transgender
and within the law
A few transgender women prompted complaints over Me- morial Day weekend when they went topless on Rehoboth Beach. But they were doing nothing il- legal, police say, even though Re- hoboth is not a topless beach. Since the sunbathers have
male genitalia, they cannot be charged with indecent exposure for revealing their surgically en- hanced breasts in public, Police Chief Keith Banks said.
Rehoboth Beach Commission-
er Kathy McGuiness said the mat- ter will be discussed at a town hall meeting next week.
— Associated Press
Kirk apologizes for errors in his
biography: Rep. Mark Kirk (R- Ill.), a candidate for the U.S. Sen- ate, apologized Thursday for making inaccurate statements about his service in the Navy Re-
serves. “They were my responsi- bility entirely and I will fix” the errors, Kirk said.
— Associated Press
he did several times earlier this decade. “I doubt we are going to get comprehensive immigration reform if we don’t have John Mc- Cain doing what he did during those years,” Gibbs said. But as she was leaving the White House, Brewer said that she thinks the border must “be secured” first.
shearm@washpost.com
S
A3
RICH PEDRONCELLI/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Alyse Kolb of Placerville, Calif., left, talks with U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina after a forum.
3 models for a GOP comeback
U.S. Senate candidates in California offer distinct choices
by Dan Balz
in sacramento
W
hen Carly Fiorina ap- peared before a “tea par- ty”-sponsored candidate
forum in nearby El Dorado Hills here last week, she was full of fight.
“Barbara Boxer knows I can de-
feat her,” the former chairman and chief executive of Hewlett- Packard said of the incumbent Democratic senator. “It is why her left-wing allies have been attack- ing me for months and months and months. . . . You know what I say? Bring. It. On!” To Republicans, Boxer has nev-
er looked more vulnerable. As she seeks her fourth term, her poll numbers are lackluster. But Boxer is a combative and resilient cam- paigner in a state that has regular- ly frustrated Republicans in state- wide races. Which is why the over- riding issue for Republican voters as they prepare to select their nominee is not just who is suffi- ciently conservative, but also who can win in November. Republicans have three choices
in Tuesday’s primary. Each offers a distinctly different model for Republicans seeking a comeback after their disastrous election re- sults in 2006 and 2008. Fiorina is the newcomer to politics in a year when outsiders appear to have an advantage over established politi- cians. Tom Campbell is a former House member and former Cali- fornia budget director who is con- servative on economic issues and moderate on social issues, which fits the state’s electorate. Chuck DeVore is a member of the Cali- fornia Assembly and the least known but most conservative of the three.
“Since November of 2008,
there’s been a debate within the Republican Party about how to best rebuild itself,” said Dan Schnur, a former GOP political consultant who directs the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern Cali- fornia. “Some people say the party needs to reinforce its conservative principles. Others say you need to combine economic conservatism with social moderation. Others say reach out of politics entirely to private sector and job creators. The Republican primary is an al-
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most perfect distillation of the three roads back for the national party.” The most recent poll, released over the weekend by the USC Col- lege of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles Times, showed Fiorina leading the pri- mary field with 38 percent. Camp- bell was second at 23 percent and Devore third at 16 percent. How- ever, in general election match- ups, Campbell was beating Boxer 45 to 38 percent and the incum- bent was topping Fiorina 44 to 38 percent. Campbell’s latest Web video us- es the poll to stress his electability. “I can beat Senator Barbara Boxer, and none of my opponents can,” he says in the video. Asked in an interview why, he said, “Because I’m the social moderate.” Those moderate views could
frustrate Campbell’s hopes of win- ning over a conservative elector- ate in the primary. But Campbell says this year is different. “With so many people focusing on unem- ployment [and] being out of work, the typical areas that divide Re- publicans do not.”
Fiorina, who opposes abortion
and gay marriage, supports gun rights and has the endorsement of Sarah Palin, argued in an inter- view that her conservative views on social issues would not doom her candidacy if she becomes the nominee for the same reason Campbell says his views will not hurt him in the primary. “I think it can be different this time because the number one is- sue on Californians’ mind is jobs,” she said. “The number two issue on Californians’ minds is out-of- control government spending. And that’s true whether they’re Democrats or independents or Republicans. And I think this time is different because Califor- nians are seeing what is happen- ing in California.” DeVore is a candidate who can
rouse tea party audiences, as he did last week when he appeared at the same forum as Fiorina. He is conservative on economic and social issues and has accused Fio- rina of running away from posi- tions she took in the past, partic- ularly when she was a major sur- rogate for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the 2008 presidential campaign.
Acknowledging his disappoint- ment over Palin’s support for Fio- rina, he said his fundraising had spiked after that endorsement, which created uproar among some conservative activists. “She may have gotten Sarah Palin,” he said. “I think I got the heart and soul of the volunteer conservative movement in the state.” Some strategists see the Palin endorsement as a problem for Fiorina if she wins the primary. “Barbara Boxer is an extremely ef- fective campaigner,” said a GOP strategist, who spoke on the con- dition of anonymity in order to discuss the race candidly. “You can’t run as a Sarah Palin Repub- lican [in California].” Ken Khachigian, a veteran GOP
strategist who is advising Fiorina, said he believes she can win in November even though no Re- publican who opposes abortion rights has won a Senate, guberna- torial or presidential race in the state in two decades. “There’s going to be a lot more
focus on Boxer’s record and on the issues that are very difficult for the Democrats this year,” he said. Fiornia also knows that her
stormy tenure at HP — she was eventually fired by the board of directors — will be an issue if she ends up challenging Boxer. “The Boxer case against Fiorina will be: I outsourced jobs. I laid people off. That will be her case,” Fiorina said. But she said she welcomed such a campaign. “I’ll run on my record all day long.”
balzd@washpost.com
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