Obama's anti-gay South Carolina strategy: "Signs of Desperation?" [View All]

By KEVIN ALEXANDER GRAY
and MARSHALL DERKS

November 15, 2007

There's a point in a campaign that's behind in the polls when desperation sets in. That's the time when trailing candidates try to throw the haymaker punch hoping for a knockout blow on the frontrunner. We are not at that point in this campaign season, but it's getting close.

It's no surprise that part of Barack Obama's South Carolina primary strategy aims at black church-going voters. The church is the most organized part of the black community and churchgoers are reliable voters. In addition, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton's hiring of local high-priced preacher-politician-businessman Darrell Jackson and her husband Bill's clout with blacks puts additional pressure on Obama. The Illinois senator has to cut into Clinton's black support as well as establishing his own African American base.

If Obama doesn't win South Carolina with its large African American voter base the race may be over for him. His poll numbers in South Carolina have been up and down. Right now Clinton appears to have the overall lead in the state as well as with black voters. Clinton also has the edge with black women who regularly vote at a higher rate than black men.

Oddly, Obama threw a premature haymaker but it wasn't aimed at Clinton. The target was the GLBT community. Obama's wild swing involved having four abrasively anti-gay gospel singers represent his campaign on his "Embrace the Courage" gospel music tour in South Carolina. The gay-bashing headliners included Reverends Donnie McClurkin and Hezekiah Walker, Pentecostal pastor of Brooklyn mega-church, the Love Fellowship Tabernacle and Mary Mary (a sister act duo).

McClurkin's previous political involvement for George Bush included a performance at the Republican National Convention in 2004. Now he's singing for Obama. And, while stumping for the candidate McClurkin didn't just "get on stage, sing, and shut up" as some in the Obama campaign hoped he would do. He sermonized; "God delivered me from homosexuality" as though one could simply "pray the gay away." The predominately black crowd inside the Township Auditorium in Columbia clapped their approval of McClurkin's message. Meanwhile a small, predominately white group of gay rights supporters picketed outside the venue.

Obama justifies his embrace of the evangelicals saying he's "reaching out to people he doesn't agree with." Responding to a controversy he should have or did anticipated - Obama mentioned the black community's "problem with homophobia." Yet after the tour when asked why the campaign would seemingly reject gay voters for far-right leaning blacks a campaign insider replied, "We got what we needed to get out of it."...

America may one day elect a woman or black as president. As to whether or not Obama or Clinton can break into the white men's club is not a short answer question. In the meantime, the most important questions for us revolve around what will a candidate do or say to win office. Are they consistent in their message and actions? Do they pander from group to group? Do they pit one group of people against another group? At this point the answers for Obama appear to be no, yes and yes. Hopefully, in the days before the primary vote we can get better answers or at the very least, a bit of consistency as opposed to acts of desperations.

Kevin Gray is a civil rights organizer in South Carolina.

http://www.counterpunch.org/gray11152007.html