Race, Gender and the Iowa Caucuses
Category: Uncategorized
Like many Americans, I was captivated by news of the Iowa caucuses last night.
It was exciting to see so many qualified, inspiring nominees among the Democrats. It gave me some hope that race and gender are less of a barrier than they once were to seeking the most powerful political office in America.
Obama’s win last night showed that Iowa Democrats took seriously the responsibility to choose a stellar candidate and a stellar president, and were willing to confront whatever racial prejudices they may have held, so that our country will have an excellent candidate for president.
But at the same time, as I watched the news coverage on CNN, I was saddened by how the network’s own commentators demonstrated the very prejudices we all should be trying to overcome.
One pundit referred to the candidates as “the guys,” as if Senator Clinton had vanished.
Another pundit oozed praise about how Barack Obama supposedly never discussed race in media interviews leading up to Iowa. (Why would not discussing one of the most pressing social problems in this country, i.e. institutional racism, be a positive thing?)
The worst, of course, was Bill Bennett, who remarked about Obama:
“He has taught the black community you don’t have to act like Jesse Jackson, you don’t have to act like Al Sharpton…”
Oh please. Bennett is just reinforcing the old white prejudice that people of color need someone to ‘teach them how to act.’
And he reduces the history of African American leadership to two men, obscuring the importance of such figures as Martin Luther King Jr., Harriett Tubman, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Malcolm X, W.E.B. Du Bois, Frederick Douglas, Rosa Parks and Booker T. Washington.
This primary season and the general election are an opportunity for Americans to struggle against the old prejudices, urging one another to put the best interests of all Americans ahead of the racism, classism, sexism and other forms of oppression that are keeping us from living up to our full potential as a diverse, democratic country.
January 4th, 2008 20:30
Yeah, I’ve been noticing all the subtle race-centric remarks. Such as in a normal story about yesterday, it said something about Obama, “who seeks to be the first black president …”
I don’t think he’s seeking to be the first black president. I think he’s seeking to be president. Period.
Makes me think about Thandeka’s challenge to refer to everyone as “my white friend (name).”
January 4th, 2008 20:50
Er, Uh, Wow. The moment a black man runs for president it becomes okay to be blatantly racist on national television. This is why I don’t like politics.
Namaste.
January 4th, 2008 23:59
Great post Shelby.
One other thing I noticed about the media coverage: at least on CNN and Fox, pundits and newspeople kept referring to Hillary Clinton as “the Clintons,” for example, “Don’t count out the Clintons yet,” as if to remind people that if you vote for her, you’re most definitely getting him too. The media still have to link her to her man at every turn.
January 5th, 2008 18:11
Lizard Eater, John and Karyn, Thanks for commenting!
Lizard Eater - You’re right, Thandeka’s challenge is quite relevant in light of what we are seeing right now.
John, The level of racist discourse that is tolerated on television is astounding to me. Slurs (such as what Imus used) shock people, but racist ideas expressed in the language Bennett used are barely commented on.
Karyn, I noticed that too, how the media is putting a lot of focus on President Clinton when analyzing Senator Clinton’s candidacy. However, I can’t tell how much of that is the media spin, and how much Senator Clinton’s campaign has intentionally put him in the spotlight. Another UU blogger, Rev. Christine Robinson, had a post on this:
http://iminister.blogspot.com/2008/01/hillary.html
January 7th, 2008 18:50
I’m having this problem, too, since the debate: how much is it the media and how much is it Clinton’s campaign relying on him as a key tool. Whichever it is, right now she seems down because of the likability factor, which really upsets me. That’s how we wound up with Bush. Regardless of Obama’s qualifications and message, I’d hate to think that people would vote for him because he’s the guy with whom they’d most like to have a latte.
January 7th, 2008 20:06
Yes, I think that likability factor has always plagued her, perhaps unfairly (I can’t see that she’s really so unlikable!) And, as you noted, that interest in likability led to catastrophe in the previous presidential election (although there were other factors at work there too).
January 9th, 2008 20:30
[…] Regarding the Iowa caucus results, I wrote that Barack Obama’s victory demonstrated that Iowa Democratic primary voters were able and willing to deal with whatever racial prejudices they may have held that would have stood in the way of their voting for an excellent candidate. […]