Here Comes the Scum

It is about to get nasty. With John McCain slipping quickly in the polls (both nationally and in key states – McCain’s campaign announced THIS WEEK that they were conceding Michigan), we are bracing for the most racially-charged rhetoric and advertisements to surface in the coming days and weeks.

Here is what to look for:

1. We certainly haven’t seen the end of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Since the high-profile release of snippets of selected sermons by Rev. Wright this spring, there has been almost no mention of him in the mainstream press. But conservative radio hosts bring him up all the time, so it is virtually certain that ads will surface that attempt to link Barack Obama to the incendiary remarks by Obama's former pastor. The plausible deniability of racism here is that it is Wright’s radical position, not his race, that makes him (and Obama’s association with him) scary. Wright’s radical positions, though, are based on theories of racial oppression and black liberation theology. Since that is not understood or endorsed by most of white America, and because it will highlight Obama’s “blackness,” the result is an effective prime of white fears and resentment about the potential policies of a black president. These concerns are reinforced by the fact that even though Obama does not espouse similar beliefs, a stereotype of African Americans is that they are shifty and untrustworthy, so it will be easy for white Americans to believe that Obama is simply being deceitful.
2. Look for associations of Barack Obama with former member of the Weathermen Underground William Ayers. Even though Ayers is white, there are racial undercurrents to Obama’s relationship with him because portraying a black candidate as “a radical,” “out of the mainstream,” or “extremely liberal” has been an effective mechanism for priming racial resentment in biracial campaigns over the past twenty years. Add to this ostensibly race-neutral (but very racially-infused) terms such as “street agitator” and “thug” (both used by Rush Limbaugh), Obama will be portrayed as “dangerous,” which plays into the stereotype of the dangerous black man that has been cultivated over the past 400 years in America.
3. While it is possible that the first two items might come primarily or exclusively from 527 groups and the Republican Party, expect the McCain campaign to hammer home a broader theme about Obama that “he’s just not like us.” Part of that will focus on policy differences (which are largely non-racial), but a large part of the strategy will also be suggestions that he is at once too black (he is liberal, he cannot be trusted, he associates himself with shady people) and elitist (he has contempt for fundamentalist Christians, he is not in touch with common people because of his Hollywood connections and Ivy League education, he has shown a disregard for American troops in battle, he is getting a pass from the “liberal elite” media while McCain and Palin are continually grilled over irrelevant issues like having seven homes or being unable to name one Supreme Court case).

The real question will be the degree to which these racist attacks will be effective. Remember that the most powerful defense against “stealth,” "implicit" or “dog whistle” racist appeals is pointing out the inherent racism in the appeals. When moderate and progressive whites realize that their deep-seated racism is being activated, the result is usually the reverse of what would be the case if consciousness is not heightened, with folks pushing against the discomfort of the realization. In this case, though, Republicans have learned from the Clintons’ strategy from the nominating contests and will accuse Obama and his surrogates of “playing the race card” when they point out the racism. Because the most dangerous thing for Obama in the remaining weeks is being seen as “the black candidate,” he can hardly afford the risk. We expect that Obama himself will avoid mentioning race at all in the coming weeks (unless there is a direct question asked of him in an interview or a debate), leaving the spotlight shining to surrogates and media analysts. Because of Republican efforts to equate the media with the Obama campaign proper, though, there will still be plenty of fodder for accusations of Obama playing the race card, which, as noted above, will be a consistent element in McCain’s attacks.

Bias Against the Young?
Tuesday is the next presidential debate, moderated by Tom Brokaw in a town-hall format. We expect that the folks who believed that Gwen Ifill could not be objective in her role as the vice-presidential debate moderator because she’s finishing a book on African American politicians will be equally vigilant about arguing that Brokaw, who wrote a best seller about “the greatest generation” will not be able to be fair toward the 40-something Obama in a debate with the 70-something McCain. Unless the attacks were more about African Americans not being able to resist helping each other at the expense of whites (or otherwise being cheaters) instead of the issue of the book. Hmmmm.

Stephen on the Move
Stephen will be making several appearances next in October. All are open to the public (with the exception of the October 24 event), so if one or more is in your area, please stop by and say hello. All times are local.

• Monday October 6: “Race in the 2008 Elections,” Perkins Auditorium, Penn State University—Berks, 6:00 p.m.
• Wednesday October 8: “Race and Politics” (panel), ATC Auditorium, Elgin Community College (Elgin, IL), 12:15 p.m. Lunch provided, though reservations required by 10/4/08. RSVP to Joyce Fountain, 847-214-7534 or jfountain@elgin.edu
• Friday October 24: “The 2008 Presidential Elections,” St. Mary’s Cathedral third grade classes (Lafayette, IN)
• Tuesday October 28: “Fairytales, Radicals and Crooks: The Role of Race in the 2008 Presidential Election,” Hart Chapel, Clarion University of Pennsylvania (time TBA)