With Edwards Departure, Will the Candidates Ignore Our Nation’s Poor?

In 1968, I bore witness to a pivotal presidential election that would shape the contours of our society for almost half a century. Much like today, poverty and war were central themes that drove the country into a frenzy and inspired a new generation of Americans, myself included, to become involved in the political process. It was a time when a real debate was occurring over the future of our nation, and young people, many of whom were not eligible to vote at the time, made their voices heard.

It is one of the fascinating parallels that we see unfolding in the current presidential election. As was the case in 1968, a war and rising inequality are two of the major issues that threaten our nation’s economic security. What is different today is that while the Iraq War has certainly been at the heart of the debate between candidates in both political parties, poverty has taken a back seat despite all of the indicators – Hurricane Katrina, the subprime mortgage crisis, the credit crunch – that millions of hard working Americans, many of them Black, are losing their fight to stay afloat.

It is one of the reasons I was impressed when former Senator John Edwards participated in the Community Service Society’s “Working Cities” presidential forum series and shared his concerns about the nation’s poor. More so than any other candidate, Senator Edwards made poverty the centerpiece of his campaign. In many ways Mr. Edwards, through his work at a University of North Carolina think tank, had made fighting poverty his life work. It is why his decision to withdraw from the race is a loss for all of us. No matter your candidate preference, John Edwards’ conviction to speak out on behalf of the poor is deserving of our thanks and admiration.

It has become commonplace to dismiss and cast as naïve any public official who raises the issues of poverty and income inequality. Journalists and political pundits constantly exercise a double standard toward those candidates who bring up issues affecting the nation’s poor. Any attempt to talk about the vast gulf between rich and poor opens you up to the charge of being a liberal, playing the race card, or instigating a class war.

Since that critical election of 1968, the nation has moved farther away from its democratic ideals and embraced a materialism that casts poverty as a condition of personal failure. What separates this election from the one that inspired me in my youth is that many of the candidates, like Senator Edwards today, confronted these issues head-on.

The late Senator and Vice President Hubert Humphrey, a civil rights pioneer and presidential candidate in 1968, expressed his thoughts in his book “Beyond Civil Rights,” released as a campaign primer.

Humphrey noted, “We are the first large society in the history of mankind of which it may be said that the majority of the people are comfortably fixed. That is a great accomplishment. At the same time, it makes all the more galling the life of the minority of our total population that is left out of the prevailing riches. We appraise our life not by absolute standards but by comparison with those around us; from the misery of Watts, men view the luxury of Beverly Hills. Especially when there seems to be no door from the one to the other, the anger and frustration mount.”

Sadly, the very conditions that plagued our nation in 1968 continue to take their toll today.

Watershed Election

For a number of reasons, this presidential election will be a watershed in American history. This is truly an election that is wide open. It has been 56 years since a presidential election took place without a sitting president or vice president as one of the candidates. More important, it is an election highlighted by a focus on generations, gender, and race. Senator Edwards’ departure ensures that a major political party will nominate either the first Black candidate or the first female candidate for president. Our politics will never be the same.

And the campaign, rather than turning off the public, has served to energize voters, especially young voters. Voter turnout in the first several primary states was at an all-time high. For those of us who are middle age, we may never see anything like this election again in our lifetime.

Along with the new hopes and aspirations of these candidacies, we should be forging a consensus on the need to address poverty in America. This should include real educational reform – with funding equity – federal funding of affordable housing, programs that help the formerly incarcerated reenter and succeed in society, and access to preventive health care rather than trips to the local hospital emergency room. It should also include help for duped homeowners in the subprime loan scandal rather than the usual bail out for predatory lenders.

November Election

The major ingredient necessary to accomplish these goals is political will. The starting point - holding our elected officials to their promises to confront America’s problems - is this campaign. Although New York’s primary election is over, the November general election has yet to be fought. The outcome will affect us and our families for years into the future.

If you are not registered to vote in the November election, you have until October 10 to register. Call the Board of Elections phone bank at 212-868-3692 for a mailed registration form, or go online at http://www.vote.nyc.ny.us/ for information about registering to vote. If you don’t vote, you don’t count.

From the New York Amsterdam News
February 7 - 13, 2008