There’s a big and bitter Congressional primary race brewing in New York, typical of the political clashes between black candidates of late. And it’s happening in the 8th Congressional District in Brooklyn.
On the one hand, there is Charles Barron, New York City council member and a former Black Panther who has made controversial statements and, of all things, has been endorsed by David Duke. More on that later. And on the other hand, you have Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, the moderate, more establishment-friendly candidate who has the support of the corporate wing of the Democratic party, including a number of white members of the New York delegation such as Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Rep. Steve Israel and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
So far, Senator Chuck Schumer isn’t picking a horse in this race.
For those who don’t know New York: the district was redrawn with much of the territory of the former 10th Congressional district to form a new district that encompasses sections of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Primarily a black and Latino district, it includes some of Brooklyn’s poorest communities. But it also includes white and conservative Jewish communities that the two candidates must compete in for support. Rep. Edolphus Towns, the incumbent, is retiring, while Nadler, who represented the old 8th district, is running in the new 10th district.
Barron is a politician with a social activist background, who is perceived by his constituents as fighting for the underdog on local issues facing black, poor and working people. Consequently, he has received the support of the city’s largest public employees union, and Rep. Towns. Over the years, Barron has drawn attention from comments he has made, including calling Muammar Gadhafi a hero, and African dictator Robert Mugabe a freedom fighter.
He called Thomas Jefferson a pedophile, vowed to never salute the U.S. flag, and once said he wanted to slap “the closest white person.” And he angered Jewish leaders for calling Israel a terrorist state, and calling Gaza “a virtual death camp, the same kind of conditions the Nazis imposed on the Jews.”
“Sometimes my being assertive and speaking truth to power become reduced to controversial and defiant,” Barron said. “I raise contradictions when I feel people who have suffered cause suffering to other people,” he added.
Now, the Israeli policy of occupation towards the Palestinian people is fair game, and there are many well-meaning people of conviction who criticize that nation’s government. Further, black people who have known suffering might have something to add to the discussion of international human rights and problems in the Mideast. But there is a problem when an African-American candidate with a black nationalist background receives praise and an endorsement from David Duke, a white supremacist and former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
“In a race for Congress between an anti-Zionist black activist and a black activist who is a bought and paid for Zionist Uncle Tom, I’ll take the anti-Zionist any day,” Duke said in his confounding endorsement.
And yet, Barron is gaining momentum, because of his community ties, which resonates with his black voter base far more than Israel and other issues.
Meanwhile, Jeffries — who has raised more money, for what it’s worth — is known for building bridges across the political divide and reforms to the criminal justice system. “Now is the time, given all that’s happening down in Washington, for serious legislators to go down to congress and execute upon the business of the people and put aside partisan bickering,” said Jeffries.
Barron has criticized his opponent for his support from the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association while opposing the NYPD’s “stop and frisk” racial profiling policy, and for playing up the Israel issue for political gain.
“I actually think that it’s a strength,” Jeffries said. “Any reasonable person who looks at how do you get things done in a legislative body up in Albany, down in the United States Congress, will have to conclude that there needs to be an ability to form coalitions, to develop relationships, to get along with people on issues of principle in terms of advancing and moving an agenda forward.”
If the candidacy of Charles Barron — a so-called “angry black man” — raises red flags from certain constituencies, particularly whites, then those voters may view Jeffries as the better candidate, at least on paper. Yet Jeffries, the middle-of-the-road black conciliator who wants to “get along” draws the ire of others who have been down that road before.
To sum it up, Jeffries is being groomed by the corporate Democrats as a mini-Obama type of figure. And we know what happens next. Often hailed as a new generation of black leaders, Obama-lite candidates have a rather sketchy track record when it comes to issues that ordinary black people actually care about. And when they get into office, they aim to disappoint black supporters with their divided loyalties, hidden financial interests and shifty-eye syndrome.
For example, Newark mayor Cory Booker, in theory an Obama surrogate, found himself in politically treacherous waters when he defended Mitt Romney and his venture capital firm Bain Capital. That Bain and other venture capitalists, Wall Street bankers and investors gave Booker over $565,000 for his mayoral campaign — and presumably their investment in Newark—provides an explanation.
Former Rep. Harold Ford Jr., the centrist who defended Booker’s comments, claimed his grandmother was a white woman passing for black when he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2006. He lost his bid for the Senate in a highly racialized political campaign where his white opponent used a racially offensive and sexually suggestive television ad featuring a white woman.
Adrian Fenty, former D.C. mayor, was cited for an offensive leadership style and ignoring his constituents. He took an unannounced vacation to Dubai that was paid for by a foreign government, while he faced allegations of cronyism as his frat brothers allegedly enjoyed plum city contracts. And he didn’t share tickets to sporting events. Meanwhile, Fenty’s schools chancellor engaged in the wholesale firing of teachers and principals, many of them black, and black faces were missing in his administration. He lost reelection miserably.
Meanwhile, former Congressman Artur Davis recently turned his back on President Obama and the Democratic Party when he became a Republican and claimed the GOP is better for blacks. In 2010, he positioned himself as the race-neutral candidate for governor of Alabama and lost the Democratic primary as a result. Davis, who voted against the president’s health care reform and refused to court the black political establishment, became the first black candidate for statewide office to lose the black vote. He even lost his own district, and rightly so.
Taking it back to the congressional race in New York, it is plausible that Hakeem Jeffries could disappoint in the tradition of other anointed black candidates. So, is Charles Barron the lesser of two evils?
If Barron is angry, there are lots of reasons for the black community to be angry these days, with high unemployment, poverty, a cradle-to-prison pipeline and a conservative assault on voting rights. President Obama tried to play nice with his conservative adversaries as they plotted his political demise and refused to cooperate on anything. We saw what the middle of the road got him–lots of wasted time.
Activists are known to make incendiary statements, perhaps offensive at times, or take positions that are designed to challenge the establishment. That’s their role. And some activists may even find it difficult to govern when given the chance. While successful politicians must learn to work well with others and compromise in order to get legislation passed, activists have created change and forced the passage of legislation, particularly where black interests are concerned.
Ultimately, the voters of New York’s 8th Congressional district must decide.
Follow David A. Love on Twitter at @davidalove