Earl Ofari Hutchison Gets It Right

The black political power structure has been very involved in trying to determine the chosen black candidate. Earl Ofari Hutchison says what's been happening since Millender-McDonald passed away is disgusting:

The tragic and untimely death of California Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald ignited a raw outburst of political jockeying by local politicians to fill her seat that hasn’t been seen in years.

It was a near textbook case of unchecked ambitions, egos, opportunism, and pure naked publicity seeking run rampant.

The spectacle was appalling, disgraceful and totally disrespectful to the beloved congresswoman’s family members and legions friends who barely had time to mourn her passing before being stampeded by the pack of hungry wanna-be office seekers and climbers.

He follows by making a very perceptive observation that gets lost in all the jockeying:

The idea though in picking a viable black candidate is to insure that another black fills the seat held by Millender-McDonald.

The rationale is that blacks are so under-represented politically that the loss of that seat to a non-black would further dilute black political power, and also that a black officeholder best understands the needs and problems of black constituents. The real, but unstated, reason is the great fear that a Latino will get the seat and will tilt toward Latino interests.

But Millender-McDonalds’ district is a multi-ethnic district, and non-black elected officials have represented Los Angeles, state and congressional districts with a significant number of black constituents for decades; and in many cases quite effectively. If black elected officials are in any peril of losing offices, they must do some deep soul searching as to why that is.

The whole article is worth reading.