----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Henwood" <dhenwood at panix.com>
Carrol Cox wrote:
>So we blame black Americans for the state of the nation?
-You're the one who's always talking about taking black leadership.
Although the odd thing about the article is the whole animosity to recognizing leadership based on actually receiving votes by blacks. The problem for minorities of any kind-- racial, religious, political -- in the US is that without proportional representation, no elected politician outside of Congressional districts can ever be deemed a leader of that group, since by definition they had to be elected by additional groups.
So the Jesse-Sharpton strategy of establishing national leadership of the black community by actually seeking votes seems as valid an approach as any. Julian Bond sits on top of the NAACP, which reflects a broadbased constituency in the black community, but both by the nature of how people are solicited for membership and having to pay to join, it may not reflect all of the passions and priorities of a community that an electoral campaign may reflect.
People often ask, who elected Jesse? And the answer is a hell of a lot of people in the 1988 Democratic primaries, more than who voted for anyone else you can mention in either the black or progressive community.
Voting as a measure of political voice and leadership has been sadly discounted on the left. But that's hardly surprising with the self-interest of foundation-funded or media-designated leaders having such an interest in downgrading the value of actually getting votes in order to claim leadership.
-- Nathan Newman