Black Caucus Sees Chance To Advance With Obama

by Erin McPike

Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008


The presidential candidacy of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has thrust the Congressional Black Caucus into the national political spotlight after a period in which they were viewed in some circles as something of a fringe group.

"He's part of the CBC," said a former staffer for the group. "One of their own is our party's presidential nominee. There's a lot of pride there."

The group's challenge now is transferring the momentum from Obama's nomination to other black candidates.

Rep. Artur Davis of Alabama, one of Obama's most vocal and earliest backers, has not been shy about his own plans to run for governor in 2010 and says an Obama White House would make it easier for him to win in Alabama.

The pattern some operatives see developing for younger black politicians is that Obama's rise has begun to mold how they can run statewide and be successful.

At the same time, the marked shift in the stylings of younger CBC members has irked some of those who have been in office longer. Noting the tensions, the former staffer said, "Sure, there's some jealousy there, but that's politics."

But Paul Brathwaite, executive director of the CBC for six years until he left in early 2007, does not subscribe to the generational breakdown. He pointed out that one of the group's founding members, Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, was one of the first members of Congress to endorse Obama. He added that another founder, Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, encouraged Obama to run despite his support in the primary for a fellow New Yorker, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Brathwaite also pointed out that Obama has relationships with individual members of the caucus, and some are stronger than others merely because of the work Obama has done with them.

When Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland was CBC chairman, he held a fundraiser in Baltimore for then-Senate candidate Obama. And when Rep. Mel Watt of North Carolina was chairman, he worked with Obama on the Voting Rights Act. Obama has also worked closely with Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey on foreign affairs issues.

Nevertheless, according to CBC spokeswoman Keiana Barrett, there is "not a concerted effort" by the group to promote Obama's candidacy for the general election. Barrett said the consensus of the CBC through its meetings was to direct individual members to get involved in their districts as they see fit. Some members have taken it upon themselves to lead voter education and registration initiatives within their districts.

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