Tag: Maxine Waters

What The H**l Happened Down There?

On May 25, 2017

In Politics and Elections, Race Discrimination

The Question – What the Hl Happened Down There?**

Me at the CDP General Session on Sunday!

What the hell was going on down there? That was actually the question. “Down there” is Sacramento, California, and yes, it was wild!

The upheaval within the Democratic Party came home to California this past weekend. The deep discontent that I saw simmering just below the surface at the CDP Convention last summer in San Jose blew up the house in Sacramento.

And it seems the party leadership never saw it coming. So when it happened, they had no idea how to deal with it.

This weekend, Eric Bauman became the Chair of the California Democratic Party. His mission, “should he decide to accept it,” is to repair the breach of trust and unify the base. It is his mission, his job, his responsibility. It’s why he now will get paid “the big bucks.”

So, why all the fuss? What the hell happened down there?

My Report on the Convention

So what happened (from my view) is that the delegates had a clear choice between (a) someone relatively new to the party and (b) someone who had waited years for “his turn.” A choice between (a) an outsider with a track record of recruiting and training women to successfully run for office and (b) the ultimate insider who presides over a party chapter with a history of exceptionally low voter turnout.

Kimberly Ellis

It was a clear choice between (a) someone who managed to unify Berniecrats and Hillary supporters, and (b) someone who will have a very difficult time gaining the trust and support of new people who came alive in the party because of Bernie Sanders.

An obvious choice between (a) an energetic smiling young Black woman and (b) a somewhat “entitled” middle-aged gay man. Their positions remind me a lot of the contest Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2008.

I know some people want to make Kimberly “an angry Black woman.” And some perceive Eric as “your mean older brother.” Their personalities was not the deal-breaker for me, anymore than their age, race or sexual identity. Make no mistake. I supported Kimberly Ellis for Chair. What mattered most to me were two things: (a) who had the best vision for the future of the Democratic Party; and (b) who had conflicts of interest that might impact his ability to advocate for the needs of everyday people. Kimberly’s message about redefining what it means to be a Democrat was inspiring, particularly in light of the party’s failures for at least the past two decades.

Fortunately, the contest was not simply a case of “identity politics.” It is well known that many Black politicians do not support Kimberly. Most notably the Chair of the CDP African-American Caucus. I know gay men who did not support Eric. Still, it troubles me that Black women have the highest voter turn-out as Democrats (meaning we are the backbone of the Democratic Party), yet, we do not have a single Black woman in charge of a statewide Democratic Party. Not here, not there, not now, not ever. This is a big problem for the Democratic Party.

Who Turned Off the Mike on Auntie Maxine?

Then there was the insulting treatment of senior political matriarch, Congresswoman Maxine Waters. On Saturday night, as Kimberly’s candidacy was going down in flames, a young white man decided to interrupt Maxine Waters’ speech. In full view of the African-American Caucus. He was completely un-intimidated. He stepped up to the Congresswoman and told her to stop talking. She just happened to be giving her bad report on No. 45. And talking bad about No. 45 “for real.” It seems that the young man could not take it. So he just walked up and interrupted her. When she would not stop talking, he turned off her mike.

What really scares me is that if he wanted to harm her, he could have. Maxine Waters is an America icon. She is currently serving her 13th term in Congress. She was elected in 1990. Congresswoman Waters has served on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) since 1980. She was a key leader in five presidential campaigns: Sen. Edward Kennedy (1980), Rev. Jesse Jackson (1984 & 1988), and President Bill Clinton (1992 & 1996). Before she went to Congress, she spent 14 years in the California State Assembly.

In the California Assembly, “Auntie Maxine” as she is fondly called, served as the Democratic Caucus Chair and is credited with pushing some of the boldest legislation California has ever seen. She lead the fight for divestment of state pension funds from South Africa. She authored landmark affirmative action legislation; the nation’s first statewide Child Abuse Prevention Training Program; the prohibition of police strip searches for nonviolent misdemeanors; and the introduction of the nation’s first plant closure law.

Outrage and Accountability

The way that this man boldly stepped up and interrupted Auntie Maxine was absolutely shocking. I seriously doubt that he would have stepped to Congressman Paul Ryan or Congressman Kevin McCarthy in such a way. Certainly, he would not have turned off the mike while either one of those Congressmen was still speaking. The entire African-American Caucus is outraged by such blatant disrespect. Even those of us who were not there. The video is quite alarming!

So, one of Eric Bauman’s first tests on accountability to the party is how he responds to the complaint lodged by the African-American Caucus. Mr. Bauman not only has to address the outrage of Kimberly’s supporters (who booed him from the floor on Sunday and then walked out), but also the outrage of those who have love and respect for Auntie Maxine.

Mr. Bauman needs to get busy right away! Otherwise, he may never gain the credibility he needs to lead us in the fight against Trump!

The Vote for DNC Chair

By pypriceesq

On February 23, 2017

In Black Lives Matter, Economic Opportunity, Politics and Elections

Credit: David Paul Morris, Bloomberg

This weekend in Atlanta, the Democratic National Party will elect a National Committee Chair. The progressive favorite is Keith Ellison, a veteran Congressman from Minnesota. Keith Ellison is the first Muslim ever elected to Congress. He is also the first African-American Congressman elected from Minnesota. Keith is running to succeed Donna Brazile who served as the Interim DNC Chairperson.

Who Votes for the DNC Chair?

According to VOX News, there are 447 potential voters for the DNC Chairperson. They include state party chairs and vice-chairs, 112 slots evenly divided by sex. State party officials, allocated by population and Democratic vote fill 208 slots. California has 20 slots in this category. Our representatives include Hon. Barbara Lee, Rep. Maxine Waters, NAACP State Chairwoman Alice Huffman and Christine Pelosi. 48 slots go to various national Democratic groups. The outgoing DNC chair gets to appoint up to 75 slots. 8 slots go to Democratics living abroad, but they each only get to cast half a vote. The DNC roster appears to include fair representation of women who will get to participate and vote in this important decision.

Contested DNC Chair races are rare. In 1985, Nancy Pelosi ran for DNC Chair. Pelosi reportedly urged the Party to “move to the center” and become “the party of capitalism.” Nancy Pelosi stamped down younger leadership in November 2016 when she held onto her position as the leader of the Democrats in Congress. It will be interesting to see if her daughter Christine will vote for Keith Ellison. The chair (and eight other leadership officers) are elected by a majority vote. Another impressive candidate for DNC Chair is Jehmu Greene of Texas.

Who Is Keith Ellison?

Keith Ellison was raised in Detroit Michigan by two professional parents. Keith and three of his brothers became lawyers. Another brother became a doctor. Keith is a former trial lawyer who started his career as a civil rights lawyer. He also worked for a time as the Executive Director of the nonprofit Legal Rights Center in Minneapolis. He says his grandfather’s work with the NAACP in Louisiana influenced him in his youth. In his first week as a member of Congress, Ellison voted with the new Democratic majority as part of the 100-Hour Plan to raise the minimum wage, for federal funding of stem cell research, and to allow Medicare to negotiate pharmaceutical prices. He has a plan for his first 100 days as DNC Chair that focuses on organizing the massive opposition to the Trump administration.

Keith Ellison is probably the only candidate for DNC Chair that has an African-American Agenda as part of his platform. This is especially relevant because the relationship between the party and the African-American community has become increasingly strained. In 2016, many Black leaders urged Blacks to “abandon” the Democratic Party. Hillary Clinton’s reluctant discourse with Black Lives Matter activists was not enough to give her the victory.

In 2014, PowerPac+ issued its Fannie Lou Hamer Report. The report showed that of $518 million spent in 2010 and 2012, the Democratic Party spent a measley 1.7% of its money on minority owned political consulting firms. One difference between Keith and former Labor Secretary Tom Perez, also running for DNC Chair, are their views on conflicts of interest within the party. Keith opposes conflicts by DNC members who also have contracts with the Committee. Perez is apparently not inclined to take on this issue.

Who Supports and Opposes Keith Ellison?

Keith Ellison is endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Rep. John Lewis among others party leaders. Keith is opposed, not surprisingly, by Zionist Jewish leaders, including major Democratic donors like Haim Saban.

Credit: Wikipedia

Mr. Saban is Hillary Clinton’s biggest donor and reportedly has a net worth of $3.6 billion. He has also contributed between $5 million to $10 million to the Clinton Foundation. Mr. Saban is a leading member of the .01% of wealthy Americans. Saban says that his greatest concern is to protect Israel and he entered politics for that purpose. Regrettably, American politics has long been defined and divided by support for Israel (or not). In my experience, there is a very thin line between folks who are “pro-Israel” and straight racist Zionists.

“Evidence” used to label Keith Ellison as “anti-Semitic” is his support of Stokely Carmichael‘s right to speak at the University of Minnesota in 1990 and his support of the 1995 Million Man March. As someone who hosted Stokely Carmichael at Yale in 1975, and a businesswoman who closed her business on the historic day of the Million Man March to support my brothers, I find this “evidence” completely ridiculous.

Why Does It Matter?

The DNC Chair position is historically a bureaucratic one. The DNC will set the rules for and administer the election primary process. And it’s the DNC that will help determine whether Democrats can in fact make gains in the 2018 midterm elections. But, the Chair does lead on Democrats’ decisions, organization and spending priorities. The Chair can be a prominent voice in the national dialogue on issues that matter to Americans. In addition, the Chair provides direction and hopefully, inspiration to Democrats locally and nationally.

This election really matters, however, because it will either define or expose the Democratic party. Most of all, it will show whether we are really a grassroots party, or the party of capitalism. Whether we want progressive, younger members to lead us, or to continue to be dominated by those who have power, money, control and conflicts of interest in the party. Today, progressive activists everywhere proclaim our opposition to the “Muslim ban” issued by the Trump administration. There is a question whether we will also see a “Muslim ban” inside the Democratic party this weekend.