Believe it or not I'm glad to see this: Sanders courting black voters in mostly white Iowa

[Chitown Kev]

Sanders courting black voters in mostly white Iowa
by Kevin Hardy
Des Moines Register

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/12/14/bernie-sanders-courting-black-voters-mostly-white-iowa/76946524/

7:11 p.m. CST December 14, 2015

WATERLOO, Ia. — Sitting in a throne-like chair next to the pastor of Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church on Sunday morning, it was clear Bernie Sanders wasn't headlining any old Iowa campaign event.

The Vermont senator, who is Jewish, bobbed his head as the congregation sang along with the choir's organ, electric guitar and tambourines. Female ushers, donning white gloves and skirt suits, clapped and swayed in the aisles.

After being introduced as "the next president of the United States of America" by the Rev. Frantz Whitfield, Sanders gave an abbreviated stump speech in front of a mural depicting Jesus Christ's baptism by John the Baptist.

“I don’t have to tell anybody in this room that our great country today faces many serious problems,” he said.

While Iowa and New Hampshire are home to some of the smallest black populations in the country, the African-American vote will become crucial as the Democratic nominating contest moves to other states. Polling in other early state contests, particularly South Carolina, show Hillary Clinton holding a commanding lead among black voters.

The Sanders campaign is hoping a strong showing among African-Americans in Iowa will convince minorities in other states to give him a second look. Even with just 101,000 black Iowans, or 3.3 percent of the population, any political move here easily turns into national news in the lead-up to the Feb. 1 first-in-the-nation caucuses.

Waterloo, Des Moines, and Davenport are three of the centers of the black population in Iowa.

Remember that Obama won 72% of the black vote in Iowa in the 2008 caucuses. Given the closeness of that vote, the black vote was a part of a significant coalition of votes that gave Obama a win in Iowa.

If the race in Iowa further tightens then the black vote in Iowa, small as it is in terms of percentages (in 2008, black voters were 4% of the total Democratic caucus voters in Iowa), this type of outreach might be crucial (and I'm trying not to throw shade at all of those white faces in a historicaly black church).

This is critical for Sanders...from Hardy's story

Miriam Tyson, a longtime political activist in Waterloo, said much of Clinton's cachet with African-Americans comes from name recognition and the work of her husband, former president Bill Clinton. Tyson, a registered Democrat who hasn't decided who she is caucusing for, said after Saturday's Waterloo rally that she's drawn to Sanders' focus on the working and middle classes.

But Sanders needs to ramp up old-fashioned politicking with black communities if he wants to win them over, she said.

"He needs to go immerse himself in a culture," she said. "He needs to go to the churches. He needs to stop by the barbershops."

Tyson, who is black, said Democrats of color, like all voters, need to research all candidates and not rely on name recognition when it comes time to vote.

"Yes, you have an affinity or love or passion for Secretary Clinton," Tyson said, "but I think you should also look at what Bernie Sanders is talking about and what Martin O'Malley is talking about."

Wayne Steger, a political science professor at DePaul University, said both Hillary and Bill Clinton have spent decades building strong relationships with influential black politicians, activists and ministers.

"That kind of familiarity is hard to beat as a newbie on the national scene.," he said.

And while Iowa isn't nearly as diverse as other states, Steger said it still makes sense for Sanders to reach out to minority populations here, where so many reporters and cameras are camped out for coverage.

"Bernie isn't doing well enough nationally to get large numbers of media to follow him around the country, so he can stage events where the media are — which is in Iowa more than anywhere else at this point in the race," he said.

[gwheezie]

1. I'm glad he's doing it

And happy to see you back.
I'm an HRC supporter but before that, in front of that and always I will support black lives matter. So, if a dem nominee is actively courting the black vote, it's a good thing. No one running is owed the black vote. Each candidate has fallen short. Even the one I support. If Bernie earns it, then it's his. I can't get mad at him for it. I'm not going to turn around and dispute the validity of black voters over who the majority of them vote for. Whoever we nominate is not going to win if black folks stay home.

[Chitown Kev]

4. I'm all for him peeling off what he can

If the race in Iowa gets close, it could make a difference.

There's a BLM "chapter" in Des Moines, for example (although, to an extent, it seems to be not much more than a one-woman operation to this point although they have done rallies there)

http://urban-plains.com/impact/kaija-carter-localizing-the-black-lives-matter-movement/

[1StrongBlackMan]

3. I can't cut and paste; but, Tyson says ...

... much of (HRC's) cachet comes from name recognition and the work of her husband ...

Then, Steger says :

... both Hillary and Bill Clinton have spent decades building strong relationships with influential Black politicians, activists and ministers.

While the latter seems to be saying the same as the former ... these are two very different statements.

[Chitown Kev]

5. Both of those statements are true

but I do agree that they say two different things.

[1StrongBlackMan]

11. But, I would say, the former is expained bY the latter...

But, some use it dismissively, as if Black voters can't know AND appreciate the relationship HRC developed. ... Black voters knew the name Biden; but, didn't surplant HRC's support, largely because his relationship with the Black electorate was through President Obama; rather than, self-built.

[murielm99]

6. I am a Clinton supporter, but

I am happy to see this.

I hope it is genuine, not cynical or done out of expediency.

I get the feeling it is not. I have always liked Bernie. I think he is genuine. I can't see him as our nominee, but I don't see him as that type of person.

[JustAnotherGen]

7. This

I don't see him as that type of person.

Me either.

[Chitown Kev]

12. Well, to be fair about this

Pretty much every politician would do something like this out of a sense of expediency.

FDR did it, JFK did it, Bill Clinton did it...some do it better than others.

My argument would be that this is rather late in the game

[joshcryer]

8. You rock Chitown Kev.

[nc4bo]

9. He needed/needs to do this. Many voters do not know Sen. Sanders nor his unchanging message.

They need to know and there's no better way than meeting with people in their cities and neighborhoods. Nothing can take the place of developing a relationship with The People.

His message will resonate.

Keep going Sen. Sanders!

[ismnotwasm]

10. I agree

It's very good to see.

[cosmicone]

13. Deathbed conversions are always suspicious n/t