Keep the White House White

My purpose here is to provide a context for the fear mongering that will predictably occur in the 2008 US presidential election. That context is the 1983 Chicago mayoral election. There are a number of eerie parallels between these electoral contests. It is by no means a coincidence that the Chicago election was a significant inspiration for Barack Obama’s current run for president.

To provide a little background, Chicago in the 1980s was a city in transition. The first Mayor Daley had died in office and his son had not yet ascended to the throne. African Americans were slowly gaining in political power but the city was still politically dominated by European Americans. One fact that seemed constant was that politically the city was completely ensconced in the Democratic Party.

In 1983 the Democratic Primary for mayor came down to three candidates, Chicago’s first woman mayor, the incumbent Jane Byrne, the mayoral heir apparent Richie Daley (who combined represent Hillary Clinton in today’s drama) and the dark horse Harold Washington (obviously played by Barack Obama today). Thanks to an evenly split electorate along with Harold Washington's rhetorical skills and personal charisma, he pulled a huge upset to win the Democratic nomination of mayor.

Normally in Chicago at that time, being elected the Democratic Party’s nominee would represent an automatic ticket to the becoming the next mayor (this is somewhat analogous to how near the beginning of this election cycle most political pundits predicted that the Democratic nominee for president would be a virtual lock to be elected in a year in which America is suffering from acute Bush-fatigue). But the completely unexpected nature of Washington's win combined with its implications regarding the changing nature of the city awakened something ugly in a significant portion of the electorate and their representatives in government.

As a result, the true political power brokers in the city rallied around that year’s Republican sacrificial lamb, a little known former government functionary named Bernard Epton (yesterday’s version of John McCain). Their efforts managed to transform this political "dead man walking" into a seemingly viable candidate. The irony that a Jewish politician was Chicago bigotry’s last best hope for salvation was not lost on many of us. One of the “wits” at the time came up with an unofficial slogan to explain the ballot options: “Press 2 for the Jew or 9 for the Shine”.

Bernard Epton’s official slogan perfectly epitomized that campaign. I still derive a certain perverse amusement from it: “Epton, Before It’s Too Late!” This was the perfect catchphrase for speaking to unspoken (and sometimes unspeakable) fears. Vote for Epton or whatever you’re most afraid of will happen: black people moving into your neighborhood, taking your job, burglarizing your home, raping you or one of your loved ones. Whatever you’re afraid of, voting for Epton will prevent it. A vote for Epton is not a shameful vote for racist bigotry; it’s a noble vote for stability, safety and security.

Nonetheless, Harold Washington won the Chicago mayoral election of 1983 and after a long hard struggle actually won over the heart of the city; only to die shortly after being re-elected to a second term. But the fact that Epton, a candidate who under normal circumstances would have done well to garner 4% of the vote, only lost by that amount says something about how effective such an approach can be.

Barack Obama was a citizen of Chicago in 1983. He admits to having been deeply moved from the saga of Harold Washington. Somehow circumstances have Senator Obama playing out or portion of that bygone municipal drama on today's national stage. Now that he has secured the Democratic nomination, the threat of him having to face a Republican 527 version of “Before It’s Too Late” is palpable.

Today “Before It’s Too Late!” sounds a bit heavy-handed but rest assured, it captures the essence of the promised Republican campaign against Barack Obama. Listen for the setup in lines like “He is too different from us”, “He doesn’t share our values” and “He associates with the wrong kind of people”.

In a campaign where for once, the candidates are poles apart on almost every major issue, how could such blatant fear mongering be more important than the issues? Because some people are looking for an excuse to not vote for someone who to their minds, embodies the fears that they are no longer free to articulate in polite company.

Today's Republicans can’t explicitly use “Before it’s too late” as a slogan but their contemporary fear mongering has a similar, though unstated objective: “Keep the White House White”! Directing this message at the low information white voters making less than $50,000 per year (the Information Age euphemism for “poor white trash”) represents like a cynical attempt to go after a demographic that is stereotypically seen as racists.

This is not to say that the Republican Party and John McCain are racist bigots; they are simply political creatures willing to win the White House by exploiting the not insignificant racist bigot constituency that spans party lines within the American electorate. As such, the 2008 presidential election represents a litmus test of sorts that will indicate how far America has truly advanced over the past 25 years.