One thing reporters appreciate about U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen -- he tells you exactly what he thinks and assumes you have thick enough skin to take criticism. So it was that the congressman and I came to have a phone conversation Tuesday morning about the piece Sunday that pondered to what extent race may have played a role in Democrats losing every countywide election last week. I included some of that in today's story where Cohen worries over Democrats getting outhustled by Republicans countywide and a trend nationwide of weak turnout by black voters.
Cohen objected to the Sunday piece, because he says that in Shelby County anyway, white voters actually have a strong history of supporting candidates of the other race against a viable candidate of their own race. Off the top of his head, Cohen can rip off many examples beyond the usual A C Wharton 2002, 2006 and 2009 and Herenton 1995, 1999 and 2003. He cites Kenneth Whalum and Myron Lowery for City Council in 1991, points to judges like Otis Higgs, Russell Sugarmon and D'Army Bailey ("they all ate quiche and drank wine at the same bar as D'Army," Cohen said).
Cohen talked about what he called the "Cody problem," referring to attorney Mike Cody's unsuccessful run for mayor as a liberal white Democrat (Cody, by the way, actively supported Republican county mayoral candidate Mark Luttrell). Cohen says that in political circles, it was assumed a liberal white would not win if squeezed between a black Democrat and a white Republican or Democrat with conservative views on race. "The consensus was blacks would not vote for whites," Cohen said. Hence, he said, his overwhelming victory over former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton was a huge leap forward for Memphis because it showed clearly that voters here are not swayed by racial politics.
Rhodes College political science professor Marcus Pohlmann, who has written books on the subtle and not-so-subtle ways race has affected politics and public education in Memphis, told me on Friday that the "dirty little secret" was white voters don't always vote for black candidates. Reading over the article, I may have portrayed Pohlmann as more absolute than he intended. But his point lined up with what I had been hearing from candidates and strategists during the campaign asking why the burden of "moving past race" was only being placed on the shoulders of black voters. Joe Ford's mayoral campaign, especially, made overt appeals to white Democrats not to cross over and vote for Mark Luttrell. It didn't work, at least not well enough, though of course that does not mean those white Democrats who voted for a man who chaired Bob Corker's campaign in Shelby County are racist. Luttrell can list his nonpartisan bona fides at the drop of a hat, and also point out the support he received from black Democrats, too.
The Sunday piece did bring to the surface a discussion that was very much happening among Democrats. The piece has received its share of criticism, but I've also had lots of calls and emails from black voters and candidates thanking us for raising the issue. That discussion isn't happening among Republicans because they are comfortable with their explanation for the sweep -- they say they had better candidates (including the first elected black Republican in probate court clerk-elect Paul Boyd), a better plan and more motivated voters. Democrats, like Cohen, will go into 2012 believing the millions spent here on TV ads and get-out-the-vote operations by Republican gubernatorial and congressional candidates -- along with Shelby County school board elections -- had a lot more to do with the "slaughter" as Cohen put it.
Cohen objected to the Sunday piece, because he says that in Shelby County anyway, white voters actually have a strong history of supporting candidates of the other race against a viable candidate of their own race. Off the top of his head, Cohen can rip off many examples beyond the usual A C Wharton 2002, 2006 and 2009 and Herenton 1995, 1999 and 2003. He cites Kenneth Whalum and Myron Lowery for City Council in 1991, points to judges like Otis Higgs, Russell Sugarmon and D'Army Bailey ("they all ate quiche and drank wine at the same bar as D'Army," Cohen said).
Cohen talked about what he called the "Cody problem," referring to attorney Mike Cody's unsuccessful run for mayor as a liberal white Democrat (Cody, by the way, actively supported Republican county mayoral candidate Mark Luttrell). Cohen says that in political circles, it was assumed a liberal white would not win if squeezed between a black Democrat and a white Republican or Democrat with conservative views on race. "The consensus was blacks would not vote for whites," Cohen said. Hence, he said, his overwhelming victory over former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton was a huge leap forward for Memphis because it showed clearly that voters here are not swayed by racial politics.
Rhodes College political science professor Marcus Pohlmann, who has written books on the subtle and not-so-subtle ways race has affected politics and public education in Memphis, told me on Friday that the "dirty little secret" was white voters don't always vote for black candidates. Reading over the article, I may have portrayed Pohlmann as more absolute than he intended. But his point lined up with what I had been hearing from candidates and strategists during the campaign asking why the burden of "moving past race" was only being placed on the shoulders of black voters. Joe Ford's mayoral campaign, especially, made overt appeals to white Democrats not to cross over and vote for Mark Luttrell. It didn't work, at least not well enough, though of course that does not mean those white Democrats who voted for a man who chaired Bob Corker's campaign in Shelby County are racist. Luttrell can list his nonpartisan bona fides at the drop of a hat, and also point out the support he received from black Democrats, too.
The Sunday piece did bring to the surface a discussion that was very much happening among Democrats. The piece has received its share of criticism, but I've also had lots of calls and emails from black voters and candidates thanking us for raising the issue. That discussion isn't happening among Republicans because they are comfortable with their explanation for the sweep -- they say they had better candidates (including the first elected black Republican in probate court clerk-elect Paul Boyd), a better plan and more motivated voters. Democrats, like Cohen, will go into 2012 believing the millions spent here on TV ads and get-out-the-vote operations by Republican gubernatorial and congressional candidates -- along with Shelby County school board elections -- had a lot more to do with the "slaughter" as Cohen put it.
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