President Barack Obama may have an excellent resume when it comes to attempts at bi-partisanship with the GOP but he seems to have an entirely different effect on his own party’s unity. Obama’s become a surprisingly polarizing figure within one of the most unified and consistent bastions of political power in the African American community: The Congressional Black Caucus.
The CBC appears to be going through one of its
roughest periods in history and the most recent problems for the august caucus
are centered right on the president that so many of them were enamored with
just 2 years ago.
The last year has been one of the roughest for
the Congressional Black Caucus with problems coming from both the inside and the
outside. Within the Democratic party James Clyburn, D-S.C., has been
bamboozeled out of a legitimate leadership bid in order to placate Nancy
Pelosi, D-Calif., and Elijah Cummings, D-Md., is being put out to pasture
because Democrats don’t have the backbone to stand up to future investigator in
chief Darryl Issa, R-Calif.
Then from the outside ethics charges against
old stalwarts like Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., have
hamstrung the caucus’s leadership yet again. In particular Rangel’s rants about
Obama not supporting him during his recent trials and tribulations further
speaks to the chasm between the main leaders of the CBC and the white house.
However, in the face of all of these problems, Chaka Fattah’s, D-Pa., public
break with the CBC last week shows one of the biggest cracks in the foundation
of the caucus’ that the public has ever seen.
The Congressional Black Caucus leadership
announced two Friday’s ago that they were against Obama’s tax cut deal with
Republicans and that the members would stand firm against it. And then Chaka
Fattah turned right around last Monday and publicly announced he was backing
Obama over the CBC. In political terms the CBC just got “Punk’D” by one of its
own members.
The real reason is because he feels snubbed by
the Congressional Black Caucus from earlier this year. Fattah wanted to run for
a Democratic leadership position on the powerful House Appropriations
committee. Unfortunately he did not have seniority on the committee. While
Democrats usually hold to the seniority rule when it comes to leadership
appointments on committees Fattah felt, rightly on or wrongly, that in the face
of the horrible losses in the 2010 mid-term elections that he was the best man
for the job regardless of how long he had been in Congress. While few will admit it publicly the
CBC quietly backed senior Democrat on Appropriations Norm Dicks, D-Wash., for
the position snubbing one of their own for a not only a white member of
Congress but one whose abilities are not necessarily any more suited for the
battles ahead with Republicans than Fattah. So what does our insulted
Congressman do? He publicly backs the president of the United Sates over his
own caucus, even though they’re all supposedly on the same team.
The significance of Fattah’s move, and the
role Obama plays in it, cannot be understated. Yes there are many Democrats who
were unhappy with Barack Obama’s tax plan, but the Congressional Black Caucus
spoke with one voice in their opposition. What’s more, the timing and intensity
of Fattah’s break with the organization speaks to just how fractured the CBC
has become and this is before a Republican takeover in 2011 that promises to
bring even more intense battles to both chambers.
It appears as though a generational shift is
occurring in the CBC, where older members’ powers may be waning in D.C. as
younger members are seeking more influence. In the coming months a Black
Republican might even join from South Carolina. But in the midst of all of
this, when siding with the African American president of the United Sates is
the ultimate public snub of the most powerful body of African American
politicians in the country a brave new era of politics has finally come.
Jason
Johnson is an associate professor of political science and communications at
Hiram College in Ohio, where he teaches courses in campaigns and elections, pop
culture and the politics of sports.
