Hillary Clinton and her campaign will fly into South Florida Friday to jump-start the local troops -- a job she knows how to do well. But you have to wonder how many of those troops will be black, and how many will know how to deliver critical black votes in 13 months?
Here's the reason I ask:
Talking to the Clinton team at Hillary's Brooklyn, N.Y. headquarters, I discovered those folks are depending on the Florida Democratic Party to provide the expertise. Said campaign aide Mandy Rolando, "I don't know the particulars, but I do know our people will be taken in hand when we get to Florida."
Clinton's going to put herself in the FDP's hands? Oh, my. Not necessarily good news.
In the first place, leadership in the Florida Democratic Party has a show-and-tell credibility gap when it comes to race. Meaning, Chair Allison Tant & Co. talk a good game about racial equality and inclusion, but signs are scarce they actually put it into practice. The latest scandal is the bail-out of black faces at FDP headquarters.
It's all documented. Read this and this and this and this and this. A litany of disaster.
In the second place, Hillary Clinton isn't Barack Obama. Obama's campaign and his election were historic and emotional moments for people of color especially. More than one African American told me voting for America's first black president was beyond a privilege and they would have walked 10, 20, 50 miles to cast their vote for him.
Clinton -- even considering the historic moment she represents as potentially the first woman president -- plain doesn't match up. Not as far as the African-American community is concerned.
Some progressive analysts even claim Bernie Sanders has greater empathy and a better plan for effecting racial equality and social justice than Clinton does.
The Daily Kos is one of them. An editorial by staff writer Eric Stetson compares the two:
"Could Bernie Sanders have done better when Black Lives Matter protesters heckled him on stage at Netroots Nation (in July)? Yes. He did come across as pissed off and took too long in his prepared remarks before he shifted to specifically address the issues raised by the protesters.
"Could Hillary Clinton have done better? Yes. She could have shown up to the event and said something, anything at all. Instead, she opted not to appear at one of the most significant gatherings of progressive Democrats -- by which decision she totally disregarded their issues and concerns, whether white or black, in scheduled discussions or unscheduled protests."
In the end, Stetson concludes, "As all Americans consider the candidates for president, let's look at the evidence before assuming that voters of a particular race should support one candidate or another. I, for one, have taken a look and I believe that Bernie Sanders is a more credible voice on issues of racial equality and justice than Hillary Clinton."
But here's my point. As important as the black vote is to Democrats trying to win Florida, nobody on Clinton's team has contacted Leslie Wimes, founder of the Democratic African American Women Caucus (DAAWC). Not even one. Yet, Symone Sanders, Bernie Sanders' national press secretary (no relation), did. She sought out Wimes at the Congressional Black Caucus less than two weeks ago in Washington, D.C. and the two stay in touch.
Sanders is keenly aware that 28 percent of registered Democratic voters in Florida are black. "I'll help any candidate understand black issues and meet African Americans they can relate to," Wimes told me. "I would do the same for Hillary, my door is always open ... but I'm not going to beg her to take my vote."
Let's be honest. Allison Tant is unlikely to put Clinton and Wimes together -- Tant is openly dismissive of the outspoken Wimes, who has spent the last two years doing her best to shed light on racism within the party. But nobody has a better handle on issues meaningful to the black community in Florida, particularly black women's issues, than Wimes.
Meanwhile, the DAAWC membership has reached 5,000 in the Sunshine State alone and is growing daily, many claiming they feel the party has abandoned them. As a matter of fact, with Wimes' help, five other states are in some process of establishing DAAWCs.
Political observers have told me Clinton has "blacks and browns" sewn up, that she will win the Democratic nomination, they will vote for her every time and her struggle rightly is to capture the white votes.
Maybe, but as Bernie Sanders has observed, if you are Hispanic, the youth unemployment rate is 36 percent. If you are African American, the youth unemployment rate is 51 percent. Emotionally anyway, a candidate ignores figures like that at his or her own peril.
It seems to me the problem in the national election isn't which party or candidate appeals most to African Americans. It's giving African Americans a reason to vote for a candidate -- really go out and cast a ballot for a candidate -- they can believe will represent their interests.
Might be a good idea if Clinton and/or her people started by reaching out to Wimes and the DAAWC.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
