http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/index/ en michaelfauntroy@crimsonmedia.net Copyright 2013 2013-04-12T17:35:34+00:00 http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/the_new_arithmetic_of_black_political_power/ http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/the_new_arithmetic_of_black_political_power/#When:16:35:34Z President Barack Obama’s reelection confirmed many of the long-seen demographic changes occurring in the United States. The 2012 electorate was younger, more educated, and more racially diverse than any in our nation’s history.  The lesson in all this for African Americans is just as profound: be prepared to use the new arithmetic of Black political power or watch it diminish in an increasingly diverse and more resource competitive nation. First, the Demographics African Americans comprised 13 percent of the 2012 electorate, the same percentage as 2008; however, the 2012 national electorate and African American electorate were down relative to 2008. There is still room for significant growth. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, there are roughly 26.6 million voting-age eligible African Americans as of 2008; of that number 16.68 million (or 62.7 percent) cast ballots in 2012. Latinos comprised 10 percent of the 2012 electorate, building on the 2008 total of eight percent. As the largest racial minority in the nation, and with projections indicating that 50,000 Latinos will turn 18 years of age each month for the next 20 years, their political impact relative to their proportion of the nation’s population has not been fully realized. Whites comprised 72 percent of the 2012 general electorate, down from 87 percent in 1992. The white share of the national electorate has consistently fallen for nearly a generation, from 87 percent in 1992, to 83 percent in 1996, to 81 percent in 2000, to 77 percent in 2004, to 74 percent in 2008, to 72 percent in 2012. Asian Americans comprise three percent of the 2012 electorate. However, they are America’s fastest-growing ethnic group and are an important and underrated portion of the swing vote in states like Virginia and North Carolina. Bottom line: With the white share of the electorate in continued decline, the Latino vote not yet solidified, and the Asian American vote still in growth-mode, African Americans are presented with an opportunity to apply political power, not just influence, in the years ahead by picking who wins elections. Now, the Politics Conventional wisdom has held that because African Americans comprise a relatively small segment of America’s population, it cannot amass enough political power to make real, lasting, and effective change in some of the areas that still besiege our communities. I disagree. I think the power does exist, but has been unrealized because of low electoral turnout. Early analysis of the 2012 election returns suggest that  2012 election is the first in recorded history in which the African American turnout rate exceeded the white turnout rate. If confirmed, that milestone may well prove to the be launching point for a new arithmetic of Black political power. African American turnout has increased in each of the last four presidential elections. That has great potential for down ballot races and, if continued and coupled with further erosion of the White vote, greater political power for African Americans. This, then, opens the door to real change on issues ranging from the prison-industrial complex, which warehouses Black men in community-damaging proportions, to access to college which, in an era of diminishing resources, has the power to be the salvation for Black people in America. Utilizing public policy to reroute the pipeline from community-to-prison to community-to-college  can only occur with overwhelming electoral turnout that results in the elections of people who will put into practice those policies that reflect our collective ideals. So while African American turnout has been at or near record levels in the last two elections, the post-Obama era will require even greater participation from African Americans, in all elections at all levels, to truly result in change. This will not be easy. Exercising power, and not just settling for symbols, is difficult. It requires that we sometimes be tough with our friends and punish our opponents. Ultimately, however, African Americans will have to be comfortable with the use of political power for achieving policy ends. Politics without policy change is nothing. Failing that, we will continue to get what we’ve always received. Michael K. Fauntroy is associate professor of public policy at George Mason University and author of Republicans and the Black Vote. His next book, Attacking Democracy: Conservatism and Black Voter Suppression, will be published in 2014. He blogs at MichaelFauntroy.com and can be followed at Twitter @MKFauntroy. Note: This essay was originally published in the National Urban League's 2013 State of Black America. 2013-04-12T16:35:34+00:00 http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/gop_outreach_is_doomed_to_failure/ http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/gop_outreach_is_doomed_to_failure/#When:14:09:09Z Much has been made of the Republican Party "autopsy" done in the wake of its poor showing in the 2012 national elections. Some party watchers and activists blamed its nominee, Mitt Romney, for their failure to overcome a beatable President Barack Obama, takeover the Senate, or expand its majority in the House of Representatives. As usual, some beat up on their old standby, the media, charging it with the usual indictment that they have it in for the Republicans. The more conscientious among them see poor minority outreach as at least some of the problem. They believe that the key to the hearts and votes of minorities can be found once the party ramps up its outreach, particularly to Latinos and Latinas. While they are right to be alarmed about their abysmal performance among minority groups, they are missing the point if they think it is about outreach. The Grand Old Party's fundamental problem is not outreach. It is policy. As long as the GOP is dedicated to being more conservative today than it was yesterday, then its minority outreach is doomed to failure. What makes the party so strong among White voters - its militant conservatism - is exactly what hurts it among minority voters. Emphasizing this conservatism has worked well for the GOP. It began moving toward militant conservatism in the 1960s, priming White voters with talk of states' rights and reverse racism. The reward was the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan as president. Continued success only emboldened the Right to push out liberal and moderate voices. The purification is nearly complete and after close to two generations of scapegoating, demonizing, and otherwise vilifying minority voters, the party now stares in the face of a new reality: the old ways won't work in an increasingly diversified nation. Professor Robert C. Smith's incredible book Conservatism and Racism, and Why in America They Are the Same, reveals the Republican conundrum. If he is correct when he writes that "in no country, none, anywhere, ever can a people be ideologically conservative if they are dissatisfied with the status quo", then it is difficult to see a time when conservatism will ever be attractive to anything other than token numbers of minority voters. Nearly two generations of Republican stiff arms to the face of minority voters won't be turned around time soon. So far, the party outreach strategy appears to be to find minorities to sell the same failed policies that pushed away millions of potential voters. That is a losing plan. I am  confident that current party leaders do not fully understand the hole they are in. After all, they have risen to their positions while defending the policies that put the party in its current predicament. I am equally certain that some elements of the party are perfectly fine with a nearly Whites only GOP. Of course, that faction is ignoring America's racial reality: The Republican Party as we now know it is headed for extinction if it cannot become more competitive in the fight for minority voters. It will not be able to become competitive if it does not turn away from its militant conservatism and adopt policies that minorities can support. Changing faces without changing policies is the political equivalent to moving the deck chairs on the Titanic. Michael K. Fauntroy is associate professor of public policy at George Mason University and author of the book Republicans and the Black Vote. His next book, Attacking Democracy: Conservatism and Black Voter Suppression, will be published in 2014. He blogs at MichaelFauntroy.com and can be found on Twitter @MKFauntroy. 2013-04-07T14:09:09+00:00 http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/part_two_stop_shedding_tears_for_roland_martin/ http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/part_two_stop_shedding_tears_for_roland_martin/#When:17:59:32Z It has been an interesting few days since I wrote about Roland Martin and political punditry. People who have never seen me on television or heard me on radio have called me a handkerchief head, a house nigger, an uppity Negro, an educational elitist, and a few other things that are not fit for print. I am a big boy and can live with the criticism; I know I picked on a sacred voice among some African Americans. One thing this whole episode has reinforced is the importance of tone. I used a lot of hyperbolic language in my original post. I regret that and am sorry about it not just because it is out of my character, but because it obscured the larger, more legitimate point that deserves re-emphasis: Too many non-experts have the microphone and our political media needs a greater emphasis on expertise. We deserve it. I think it is irrefutable that the public is influenced by media. People say all the time that they think for themselves, but the truth is that thinking is shaped by what one sees, hears, and experiences. All of these factors are impacted by media. So, the political analysts who get the privilege of regular air time also have a responsibility to meet a significantly high entry bar. I am sure many, if not most, of the gatekeepers of American commercial media disagree. I reject the notion that expertise has to be submerged in the quest for ratings. There are numerous experts who can break down complex issues interestingly and succinctly. We should hear their voices. So what is my threshold? I think it is fair to expect national media political analysts to have at least one of the following in their background: high-level academic training in politics and government; significant campaign experience (strategy, policy, fundraising, etc); relevant employment in government, an important interest group, or a large think tank; or long tenure, perhaps at least a decade, as a daily national political reporter at a major media outlet (covering the White House, Congress, the judiciary, the bureaucracy, national elections, etc). That is my list; I get that others may differ.  I stand by my belief that Roland Martin is an unimpressive political analyst. He is not in the same class as Cornell Belcher, Donna Brazil, Clarence Page, or Eugene Robinson, among others. He is not an expert on any angle of American politics. I have asked him to tell me otherwise. He has been silent, so I think he knows it too. But, to be fair, I must acknowledge that he is a symptom of a larger problem. I hope we can move from just being happy to see Black people on television saying things we like to hear to assessing their messages to find out if their analyses give us greater clarity on what is going on in the world. We will be better off if we do. My earlier comments have gotten a fair bit of attention. I’m pretty sure that these less hyperbolic ones will not get as much play. I just hope those who read these words will take a broader view of political media and demand more from our news outlets. More experts. More information. More quality. Michael K. Fauntroy is associate professor of public policy at George Mason University. His third book, Attacking Democracy: Conservatives and Black Voter Suppression, will be published in 2014. He blogs at MichaelFauntroy.com and can be found on Twitter @MKFauntroy. 2013-04-03T17:59:32+00:00 http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/stop_shedding_tears_for_roland_martin/ http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/stop_shedding_tears_for_roland_martin/#When:12:43:19Z Update 2: Roland Martin and I have had some interesting exchanges on Twitter. He has responded to quite a bit of points, including those offered by his supporters. However, he won't respond to my question: Do you, Roland Martin, consider yourself an expert on any aspect of American politics? I'll consider his non-response as a "no." Update:  After sleeping on it, I decided to delete the last sentence from the original version of this column. It was gratuitous and unnecessarily harsh. I apologize. My overall premise still stands: Roland Martin is not an expert on American politics and his punditry is unimpressive. He should stick to hosting and leave the analysis to people who know what they are talking about. We, as consumers of political media, should demand more from network decision makers. More experts. More information. More quality. I got into a back-and-forth on Twitter this past weekend with someone who is a fan of soon-to-be former CNN political analyst Roland Martin. The writer took umbrage with some of my tweets regarding Martin’s departure from the network. My position? Let's resist the urge to make Roland Martin out to be some wrongly aggrieved talking head. He is a marginally knowledgeable loudmouth who was more sizzle than steak. No academic training in politics and government. No significant campaign experience. No experience as a political reporter at a major media outlet; he wrote opinion pieces at CNN. He is lucky to have had his turn. So, to those who are shedding tears following the announcement of his departure from CNN: your time would be better spent applying pressure to the cable networks to put minorities on the air who actually know something about politics and government. America’s public discourse on politics and government is infested by too many people with thin or nonexistent credentials. They are on television and radio because they're are either well connected, telegenic, or otherwise project the image the network wants you to see; expertise is not at the top of the list of traits. Their exposure gives them a level of popularity that legitimizes their analysis while, concurrently, inoculates them from criticism of their inanity (“they’re on X network, so they must know what they’re talking about”). While Roland Martin is the subject here, he is not the only person I’m thinking about. There are many experts on television, but in political media, those who know are almost outnumbered by those who don’t. I wonder why we accept this. We wouldn’t listen to a science and technology analyst with no academic or employment history in the fields in which he or she is commenting. We wouldn’t listen to a Wall Street analyst with no academic training in corporate finance or employment as a stock and bond trader. We wouldn’t listen to a medical analyst with no academic medical training or employment. So why should we listen to a political analyst with a similarly thin background? We deserve better from our media. We deserve a political discourse that includes real experts, not just well practiced-talking heads. Roland Martin is an overrated political analyst. But because there are so few political analysts of color getting serious run on cable news networks, we accepted his inane, somewhat self-promotional pundit routine (And were happy to see a brother on CNN). I hope as we continue to debate where CNN is going after reducing the role of talented people like Soledad O’Brien or not renewing Roland Martin’s contract that we also include discussions about the kinds of backgrounds we want in our political analysts. I also hope the conclusion results in our demanding more of an emphasis on expertise. We can have expertise and personality. We will all be better for it. And if you’re interested, there is a long list of Black political scientist professors who actually know politics and government. Let me recommend a few (although I could easily give you 50 more names): Michael Leo Owens, Khalilah Brown Dean, Pearl Ford Dowe, Sekou Franklin, Wilmer Leon, Keesha Middlemass, Audra Gillespie, Mark Sawyer, Lester Spence, James Lance Taylor, and David Wilson. Michael Fauntroy is associate professor of public policy at George Mason University. He holds a Ph.D. degree in political science from Howard University and an undergraduate degree in political science from Hampton University. He served as an analyst at the Congressional Research Service (CRS), where he provided research and consultations to members and committees of Congress. Prior to joining CRS he was a research analyst in civil rights at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights where he developed expertise in voting rights and ballot access issues. He blogs at MichaelFauntroy.com. Twitter? @MKFauntroy 2013-04-01T12:43:19+00:00 http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/new_audio_michael_fauntroy_discusses_fiscal_cliff_on_nprs_tell_me_more/ http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/new_audio_michael_fauntroy_discusses_fiscal_cliff_on_nprs_tell_me_more/#When:20:47:49Z It is always a pleasure to be on NPRs "Tell Me More" with Michel Martin. This is a clip  from the Tuesday, December 11, 2012 program in which Ron Christie and I discuss the "fiscal cliff" and other political news. 2012-12-12T20:47:49+00:00 http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/new_video_fauntroy_participates_in_national_urban_leagues_urban_ideas_forum/ http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/new_video_fauntroy_participates_in_national_urban_leagues_urban_ideas_forum/#When:01:38:24Z I recently joined National Urban League (NUL) president and CEO Mark Morial, Janet Murguia, president and CEO of the National Council of LaRaza, and Joel Packer of the Raben Group on a panel at the National Urban League's Urban Ideas Forum. We discussed some policy options in the areas of jobs and education. It was an honor for me to join in the discussion. I thank the NUL for inviting me. The event was broadcast by C-SPAN. You can watch the hour long discussion here. 2012-11-22T01:38:24+00:00 http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/as_kwame_brown_sentence_shows_not_all_scandals_are_scandals/ http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/as_kwame_brown_sentence_shows_not_all_scandals_are_scandals/#When:16:02:13Z The year 2012 will do down in local political history as the year the progeny fell. Former D.C. City Council members Harry Thomas, Jr., Kwame Brown, and Michael A. Brown all faced public judgement for their transgressions. Two pled guilty in court for crimes they committed; the other, who had as yet fully explaine withdrawals of more than $100,000 in campaign funds, got routed in what should have been an easy re-election bid. These three men, whose rise to political power was owed to their familial links, have obvious commonalities: African American sons of prominent politicos who served on the Council concurrently. It is also true that the relationships that help catapult them to the council created burdens and expectations that they clearly did not meet and, perhaps, could never have met. Let me be clear: I am not defending them or their actions. They did what they did and I am not interesting in joining a pity party for them. Thomas’ arrogance in particular, built on a foundation of very limited professional accomplishment before joining the Council, was especially galling. They failed to carry the heavy weight of expectations that come from being a second-generation politico in this city and the standard level of professionalism and integrity that we should expect from out elected officials. However, I know it is not always easy to live up to the expectations that come with familial connections. While you inherit many of your father’s friends, you also inherit all of his enemies some of whom you don’t know have it in for you. It is also more difficult to develop one’s own self when their power is almost entirely derivative of their political connections. For that reason, it is important to me that we not to paint them with the same brush. Proportion and context are required here. While media coverage and public reaction have been quick to see them all as the same stereotypical corrupt Black politician, there are differences in their transgressions that must be acknowledged. While the questions hovering around Michael Brown may yet prove otherwise, Thomas’ theft of public money intended for youth enrichment is pretty low. His 38-month prison sentence coupled with three years of probation upon his release signifies the extent of his criminal behavior; prosecutors asked for 46 months imprisonment. Conversely, Kwame Brown’s crime was really about keeping up with the Joneses. His sentence of one day in custody, 480 hours of community service, and six months home confinement raise a fair question: Was the sentence worth the prosecutorial effort? The prosecutors asked for six days in jail, the kind of sentence that suggests Brown’s misdeeds were not all that they were made out to be. So as we come to the end of a difficult and embarrassing year for District politics, let us resist the urge to paint all corruption with the same broad strokes. Let us also remember that the people we elect deserve scrutiny beyond just the good feelings that are associated with someone’s relatives. It’s not good for the candidate, or the city. Michael K. Fauntroy is associate professor of public policy at George Mason University. He is a fourth-generation Washingtonian and a nephew of for former Congressman Walter E. Fauntroy. 2012-11-15T16:02:13+00:00 http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/new_audio_michael_fauntroy_analyzes_president_obamas_reelection_on_tavis_sm/ http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/new_audio_michael_fauntroy_analyzes_president_obamas_reelection_on_tavis_sm/#When:17:52:02Z Just a few days prior to the presidential election, I joined three other analysts to discuss the campaign and make predictions on who would win. I joined Tavis just after the election to discuss the results and how the President might move forward in his second term. My expectation is that House Republicans will double down on the same tactics which led to the gridlock we saw in the last Congress. The President does have some leverage as he won given some of his clear positions (e.g. letting Bush tax cuts expire). I think the GOP will be hard-pressed to defend the continuance of those cuts, given what they do to the deficit and the fact that the public wants to cuts to expire. As always, feel free to pass it along to your friends. 2012-11-10T17:52:02+00:00 http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/new_audio_michael_fauntroy_analyzes_presidential_election_on_tavis_smileys_/ http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/new_audio_michael_fauntroy_analyzes_presidential_election_on_tavis_smileys_/#When:18:35:08Z I enjoyed participating in Tavis Smiley's election roundtable airing this weekend on his radio show (check here for airings in your area). I, along with Deroy Murdock, columnist for the Scripps Howard News Service, Connie Rice, civil rights attorney and co-founder of the Advancement Project, and Antonio Gonzalez, president of the William C. Velasquez Institute hashed out the various angles of the presidential campaign. 2012-11-03T18:35:08+00:00 http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/new_video_mike_fauntroy_previews_the_vp_debate/ http://www.michaelfauntroy.com/site/index.php/site/new_video_mike_fauntroy_previews_the_vp_debate/#When:14:25:05Z Here is a link to my October 11, 2012 appearance on CTV News in Canada in which I preview the Vice Presidential debate. 2012-10-11T14:25:05+00:00