FORMER VIRGINIA Gov. Doug Wilder has reappeared on the state political scene. His re-emergence will give Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Warner some reasons to doubt his support in the African-American community. This is a good thing for largely-ignored African-American voters and for Republican candidate Mark Earley.
Simply stated, the Virginia Democratic Party has taken minority support for granted over the past 40 years. Wilder, as a leader of a portion of that voting bloc, may hold the key to bringing them some much-warranted attention.
Wilder recently made his presence known when he served as the moderator of the first televised gubernatorial debate. On two separate occasions, Warner lost his temper following persistent questioning from Wilder. Some reasonably might have thought that Wilder's pointed questioning of Warner gave the first debate to Earley.
While his debate activity may simply have resulted from the thought that Warner "...was more responsive to the question than [Earley]," Wilder's behavior may foreshadow a decision on an endorsement that could determine the election's outcome ("Foes spar on sales tax," Richmond Times-Dispatch, Oct. 4).
Wilder is a former Democratic governor of Virginia and the first African-American governor to be elected in Virginia. Given that unique position, he holds influence over a segment of the Virginia African-American voter base.
Within the Virginia Democratic party, Wilder is known to be a bit of an Independent. While governor, Virginia suffered a budget shortfall, a problem in a state with a balanced budget requirement. Rather than raise taxes to keep government spending at promised levels, Wilder raised some taxes and cut spending to higher education. Numerous Democrats, predictably those in higher education, continue to resent Wilder for those cuts.
In 1994, Wilder ran as an Independent against then-Democratic Sen. Charles Robb. Eventually, Wilder dropped out of the race and endorsed Robb.
In 1996, Wilder declined to attend the Democratic National Convention and gave tepid support to President Clinton. He complained that the convention would have "too much anti-Republican rhetoric, and not enough solutions" (WDBJ-7 News at Noon, Aug. 26, 1996).
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Throughout these fits of independence, Wilder has remained a Democrat. In each election, he has ultimately endorsed the Democratic candidate. Not surprisingly, Wilder has failed to endorse any candidate in this race.
Wilder's lack of an endorsement coincides with Earley's genuine and persistent efforts to attract African-American support. In 1997, Earley attracted the greatest amount of African-American support of any Republican candidate that year ("Black Pastors Back Earley," The Washington Times, Oct. 5).
Earley has made efforts to maintain this unique support by pushing youth mentoring, faith-based initiatives and anti-gang measures. Against a background of fierce disagreement, he has opposed placing the Confederate flag on Virginia license plates.
Oct. 4, Earley showed that he has maintained at least the appearance of that support, garnereing the endorsements of 30 African-American pastors from across the state ("Black pastors' group backs Earley," Richmond Times-Dispatch, Oct. 5). Given that such pastors carry a great deal of influence in their communities, Earley may have greater-than-average backing in areas that Republicans normally do not court.
Democrats appear to be treating African-American support as a given. In a speech delivered July 1, ("Remarks by Terry McAuliffe, DNC Executive Committee Meeting") Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe explained why Earley would not garner more than 16 percent of the African-American vote in the state: "Our democratic ticket includes an African-American candidate for Attorney General."
Such a statement contains some very superficial and insulting assumptions regarding African-American voting behavior. It would seem that McAuliffe naturally expects African-American support this November simply because of the presence of an African-American on the Democratic ticket.
Such wording mirrors the kind of take-African-Americans-for-granted attitude Wilder has justifiably decried.
In most recent polls, Earley trails Warner by single digits. This reduction in Warner's lead has come without Wilder endorsing either candidate.
Wilder might do one of three things: endorse the Democrat, something that the polls probably already assume; endorse nobody, leaving a certain segment of the African-American population with perhaps a certain dislike for Warner or the chance to like Earley; endorse Earley, possibly giving critical votes to Earley.
While the third outcome is unlikely, it wouldn't be inconsistent with Earley's relatively successful attempts at attracting minority support. It would give Wilder the chance to re-emerge as an important figure in Virginia politics. It might make both parties take note of minority votes in a way not previously done. It would be something Wilder and some under-appreciated minority voters should enjoy.
(Seth Wood's column normally appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at swood@cavalierdaily.com.)
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