Dem Race Shows Age Split In Black Vote

Several Civil Rights Elders Signed On With Clinton, But Younger Voters Are Siding With Obama

(AP)  When civil rights elders signed on to support Hillary Rodham Clinton's run for president, it was seen as a coup in the competition for the black vote, especially in the Deep South.

Yet many younger black voters seem to be shrugging off the sway of leaders such as Rep. John Lewis and former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, siding instead with Barack Obama's history-making bid to be the nation's first black president.

It's a generational struggle that should serve as a warning to Democrats as they head into primary contests in states with large black populations: The black vote today is anything but monolithic.

It also suggests the influence the civil rights leaders have enjoyed as political kingmakers is waning.

"The figureheads are not actually gatekeepers to the black vote," said William Jelani Cobb, a 38-year-old history professor at the historically black Spelman College.

"No disrespect, but they don't speak for us."

The candidates face their first showdown for black votes in South Carolina on Jan. 26 and another Feb. 5 in Super Tuesday states with large minority populations, such as Georgia, Alabama and Arkansas.

Clinton and Obama have been aggressively courting black votes for some time. Both visited Selma, Ala., in March for the anniversary of the "Bloody Sunday" civil rights march in 1965. And Obama is set to speak at Martin Luther King Jr.'s Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Sunday, a visit expected to be rich in symbolism coming the day before the King holiday.

In a sign of what's at stake, a heated dispute has erupted over Clinton's comment that King's dream of racial equality was realized only when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Bill Clinton's putdowns of the Illinois senator also have offended some blacks. Altogether, the scrap between the Clintons and the Obama camp has awakened racial sensitivities in the party that is supposed to know how to deal with race.

Blacks have traditionally voted overwhelmingly Democratic and Obama is picking up their support fast, according to new polls. An ABC-Washington Post survey this week found a 21-point increase in support for Obama among black voters in the last month, putting him up 60-32 over Clinton. He led the New York senator 49-34 in a CBS-New York Times poll.

Still, Clinton's husband enjoyed such strong support from black voters that he was dubbed the first black president. And Hillary Clinton has been able to capitalize on long-standing friendships with the black political elite in scoring endorsements. Whether that will translate into black votes is anyone's guess.

"For me personally, I have a long association with the Clintons and I'm very loyal to my friends," said Lewis, an Atlanta Democrat.

Younger blacks don't share the same loyalties. And some lump older black leaders with the political establishment they say Obama is aiming to upend.

One civil rights veteran who is backing Obama shares that view. Joseph Lowery, former head of the Southern Christian Leadership Council, calls colleagues who are supporting Clinton "good old boys."

"They are business-as-usual, old-guard politicians and it's hard for them to break out of that mold," Lowery said.

At a speech Wednesday before the Hungry Club at the Butler Street YMCA in Atlanta, Lowery said blacks who doubt Obama's ability to compete are guilty of "a slave mentality."

"No matter how much education they have, they never graduated from the slave mentality," Lowery said. "The slavery mentality compels us to say, 'We can't win, we can't do."'

Clinton has lined up the support of baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, one-time basketball superstar Magic Johnson, Motown founder Berry Gordy and Black Entertainment Television founder Bob Johnson among others. Obama has Oprah Winfrey in his corner as well as R&B crooner Usher.

Clinton has poet Maya Angelou; Obama has the rapper Ludacris - a generational split all its own.

The campaign has divided some prominent households, too.

Jesse Jackson, who tried to become the first black president in his 1984 and 1988 campaigns, and his son, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., are backing Obama. The elder Jackson's wife, Jacqueline, is supporting Clinton.

Georgia state Rep. Bob Holmes, former director of Clark Atlanta University's Southern Center for Studies in Public Policy, said blacks in the South could once count on a rigid brand of machine politics in which black churches and civic leaders delivered their voters.

That machine is no more, he said. "The younger generation is more independent and make up their own minds."

Holmes also said younger blacks feel the old guard set its sights too low.

"This isn't the generation of slow struggle," he said. "This is the Me Generation and if they see a viable black candidate for president they don't see a reason why that shouldn't be possible right now."

Rick Dent, a political strategist who has worked for Democratic campaigns throughout the South, said older black leaders adopted a more pragmatic political approach out of necessity.

"For the John Lewises of the world, who've been hit in the head with a baton, they have a different perspective," Dent said. "You've got a new generation of African-Americans with no contact or understanding with what he had to go through, thank God."

LaDawn Jones bounced her 5-month-old daughter Lyndon on her knee at a party that brought several hundred Obama supporters together to watch returns in the New Hampshire primary won by Clinton. She said she backed Clinton at first because she thought the New York senator had a better chance of winning in November.

Now Jones is behind Obama, explaining, "I want to go for the gold."

[glaswolf]

What bothers me is that reverse racism and reverse sexism seem to be conspiring against Senator Edwards because he is white, male and heterosexual. During the Presidential election we should not have such blatant discrimination against working class white males. It''s a little disgusting and I attribute it to the monoliths that own too much. Foreign media moguls with transient citizenship are undermining the American system of fairness by blighting out Senator Edwards'' voice and solutions. If the black or the white female were in his place, they would be getting reflection. How pathetic, deport the media moguls for undermining our communications systems with their imported corrupt unethical methods.

[elsylee28]

Great analysis of the topic on www.SAVAGEPOLITICS.com

[l00ker]

Hillary is toast; besides, street punks need love too.

[rowdytexan2]

Go Hillary!

The kids are going for the street punk Obama. It''s kind scarey that the group that might vote for him is the bunch that can''t get up outta bed and get to work, especially on Mondays, has no work ethic, the females have five kids and five baby daddies, stay on welfare, and housing assistance. You probably think I''m a bigot, but I''m not talking about just black young people. This is a trend of our youth across racial lines.

On the flip side of this is there are no jobs left where unskilled young labor can gain employment and better themselves through experience and longivity. Those jobs are gone. Service-based employment with no benefits, not even full time, forces them to work for their play money, and live off assistance.

Many of these kids are not taught to work hard for grades, nor taught the importance of higher education in order to get the upper eschelon of employment and be abel to support a family.

In order to prosper, we''ve got to find working niches for these young kids, and make sure that they''re trained and or educated to support themselves.

Now are we going to trust a street punk like Obama, or someone with the ability to work with these big corporations to figure out a win win situation for the corporations AND the people?

[l00ker]

Hillary may not be black, but if she is the nominee, she will definately be toast. Ain''t that the truth.

[l00ker]

And we thought that the Democrats were above judging people by their race. If that is the case, then blacks would be fools if they voted for her; they should go GOP, or stick with uncommitted even. Hillary is not going to be president, not gonna happen. At least Hillary''s not electable, as president that is.

[apprxam]

Infidel,don''t worry. There''s no way Obama is going to get the nomination. Not gonna happen. Well, at least Hillary ain''t black.

[l00ker]

Naaw, it''s not Hussein, it''s Husseinstein. And it''s pronounced, HOOOZENSTEEN.

[riverbank3]

*Hillary refuses to answer how many African American attorneys (not janitors) worked at her legal offices in Arkansas.
*Hillary wants to change MLK Day to LBJ Day.
*Oh yeah... Hillary voted for the war.
Posted by CBSVerified at 01:07 PM : Jan 18, 2008

1. Hillary didn''t work in the Legal office as HR manager.
2. Hillary had never ever mentioned about change MLK Day to LBJ Day.
By the way all decisions were made by LBJ as US president.
3. Hillary voted for the war when she sincerely believed that this was only answer for Islamo-Terror challenge (Sept.11).
4. The reasons for Senator Barack Hussein Obama to vote against war after Sept.11 are not so clear.

[hwy71so]

BTW, had I been in the house or senate, I too would have voted for the war.

[hwy71so]

Dude, IU, I forgot about Al Gore inventing the internet!

We should vote for him... lol

[infidel_us]

5 REASONS BARACK GETS ENDORSEMENTS

*Hillary refuses to answer how many African American attorneys (not janitors) worked at her legal offices in Arkansas.
*Hillary uses a fake accent when speaking to black churches.
*Hillary wants to change MLK Day to LBJ Day.
*The dot-com boom of the 1990s was a once in a lifetime event that had nothing to do with Hillary.
*Oh yeah... Hillary voted for the war.
Posted by CBSVerified at 01:07 PM : Jan 18, 2008

This is too GOOD! Let me try to answer.

1) ZERO
2) ''I''m no ways tarrrrrred.......I comes too farrrrr"
3) Maybe they can share the day :)
4) True. It had everything to do with ALGore

[infidel_us]

''By Jon Birger, senior writer

Hillary Clinton''s proposal to freeze interest rates for five years could be disastrous.

(Fortune) -- Hillary Clinton is no dummy. Even her detractors know that. And yet in last night''s Democratic presidential debate in Nevada, Clinton floated what is perhaps the dumbest solution to the current mortgage mess I''ve heard from a top presidential contender.''

This woman utters nonsense every single day! But you''ll never hear it in the LAMEstream media.

[obama1289]

Obama supporters heres a short moving video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=jPev5sEdTjg

[hwy71so]

Actually, I think this will be the first time since I came of age that I won''t be voting for the president. I will not vote for a Democrat and the "top 3" choices on the Repub side have too many wide open questions surrounding their history, with Thompson being a weak "maybe".

[hwy71so]

I think the FIRST order of business if we screw up and elect Barracks is to figure out just exactly what the dickens his name really is!

[shutupnvote]

this is another mis step by the dem party who in their zeal to be inclusive are elevating minority impacts over women and what they refer to as the old guard. News flash DNC you do not need to alienate and disenfranchise others in the quest....for your goals for the Partys future this is about the country not party power%u2026

[infidel_us]

see the ugliest and dirtiest campaign we have ever seen run by the GOP!!!
Posted by chitown639 at 11:04 AM : Jan 18, 2008

Didn''t Biden say Ubama was clean?

[pepperp1]

Maybe but I have no fear if Senator Clinton is President she has made the case that she can protect our country day 1 of any term unlike that pansy in the WH now. Republicans did this country a great disservice by supporting and electing Bush he had and still has no respect in the world he made us appear vulnerable and ba boom.

[infidel_us]

Oh, and speaking of the politics of fear......''And if you look out the right side of the plane, you''ll see tax cuts for the wealllllllllty''

Oh PAHLEEEEEZE!!!!!! Talk about pandering to the uninformed.