Obama’s brain David Axelrod - an expert at dealing the race card
Posted: September 15, 2008
By Cathy Santos
Ever since John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate, a visibly rattled Barack Obama campaign has been running the attack machine on overdrive.
Many of us in Illinois became familiar with the playbook of Barack Obama's chief strategist David Axelrod long ago. Knowing what to expect wasn't hard to predict. And one thing has always been certain - much of Obama's so-called "new style of politics" would be nothing more than old
-fashioned race baiting, as perfected in Chicago ward machines.
One of the main arrows in Axelrod's quiver has always been the smear campaign. That tactic by itself may not distinguish him from the run-of-the-mill political operative. Instead, what separates the Axelrod-run campaign is the expert playing of the race card, to polarizing effect.
Axelrod, a senior partner of AKP&D Message and Media in Chicago, styles himself a specialist in urban politics. He's carved-out something of a niche for a political consultant - he's known for helping black politicians convince white voters to get onboard.
In 1987, Axelrod worked on the successful reelection campaign of Harold Washington, Chicago's first black mayor. He later became a key player in similar mayoral campaigns for black candidates, including: Dennis Archer in Detroit; Michael White in Cleveland; Anthony Williams in Washington, D.C.; Lee Brown in Houston; and John Street in Philadelphia.
It was Mayor Street's reelection campaign in 2003 against Republican challenger Sam Katz where Philadelphia voters were exposed to one of the most blatant examples of Axelrod's race-baiting campaign tactics.
Tigre Hill's 2003 documentary The Shame of the City chronicled Axelrod and his fellow smear merchants as they intentionally fanned racial tensions and ginned-up suspicion of Republicans - anything to get Street reelected.
Twenty-seven days before the election, an FBI bug was discovered in Mayor Street's office. Street blamed Katz, and demonized the federal investigation as a Republican witch-hunt and racist plot. Of course no such evidence was ever produced. That wasn't their concern.
But the ensuing federal investigation eventually resulted in two dozen convictions of scores of people in Street's inner circle. Unfortunately, the election was long over by the time Axelrod's disinformation campaign could be fully exposed by the truth.
Axelrod's race-baiting strategy "worked." Mayor John Street won reelection.
Sam Katz, the Republican on the receiving end of the Axelrod attack machine in that 2003 mayoral race talked to a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this year:
"Katz also noted the irony that the presidential candidate running as an outsider and agent of change - today has David Axelrod as his chief political strategist. The same David Axelrod guided Street in what Katz called ‘the now familiar-sounding playing of the race card.'"
Also this year, Axelrod used the race card to help one of Obama's biggest backers of all - Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.
One of Daley's pet projects has centered on a plan to relocate the Chicago Children's Museum from its current location at Navy Pier to Daley Bicentennial Plaza in Grant Park. In early 2007, the Chicago Children's Museum hired ASK Public Strategies, another public relations business owned and operated by Axelrod, to help craft a message to draw support for the Museum's relocation efforts. (Business Week recently profiled this second Axelrod firm and noted its expertise in "Astroturfing" - a reference to manufacturing grassroots support.)
Earlier this year when momentum was favoring the opponents of the Grant Park relocation of the museum, Axelrod simply turned to the old playbook and the race card was dealt.
First, one of Chicago's most controversial figures (who also happens to be a staunch Obama supporter) emerged - Father Michael Pfleger. Pflefer got the ball rolling by suggesting that those opposed to the Grant Park site were simply motivated by a desire to keep children of color out of their posh neighborhood.
Next, Gigi Pritzker, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Children's Museum - and another Obama supporter who contributed over $12,000 to his campaigns since 2003 - joined Axelrod's race-baiting bandwagon. Any opponent of relocating the Children's Museum to Grant Park became fair game for demonizing.
Once the waters were nicely warmed by allies, Daley also entered to seal the deal. Like others on the Axelrod team, Daley didn't hesitate to question whether race was playing a role in the minds of the park's defenders.
Momentum eventually shifted this summer, and once again Axelrod turned a likely defeat into a victory. And it was all thanks to that race card kept up his sleeve.
The proposal to move the Chicago Children's Museum was approved by Chicago City Council on June 11, 2008, by an overwhelming vote of 33 to 16. Many former opponents had simply thrown in the towel, not wishing to be thought of as being insensitive, once race had replaced honest debate on the merits.
Moving to the presidential race, Axelrod wasted little time in playing the race card. It started during the primary season as Obama sought to stop Hillary Clinton.
After Hillary's win in New Hampshire, the Obama campaign had its back against the wall. Desperate measures were needed.
The Obama supporter rolled-out this time was Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. Appearing on MSNBC the Chicago Congressman even saw a race angle in that famous emotional moment Hillary had on the campaign trail, just prior to the New Hampshire vote:
"But those tears also have to be analyzed," Jackson said, "they have to be looked at very, very carefully in light of Katrina, in light of other things that Mrs. Clinton did not cry for, particularly as we head to South Carolina where 45 percent of African-Americans will participate in the Democratic contest ... we saw tears in response to her appearance, so that her appearance brought her to tears, but not Hurricane Katrina, not other issues."
Race was now very much the focus as the campaigns headed to South Carolina. It would remain so every minute until Obama locked-up the Democratic nomination. Axelrod's timely play of the race card had saved the day once again.
But now Sarah Palin has emerged as the most worrisome roadblock yet to an Obama coronation.
Axelrod's first attempt at derailing Palin was to question her readiness to be a heartbeat away from the presidency. Perhaps recognizing that "readiness" may not be a road Obama really wants to travel, Axelrod looked for something else.
Step two just centered on the old stand-by - lies and smears. Not only did that fail - Palin attracted even stronger support as voters recognized the incredible unfairness and nastiness of it all. Palin may very well be the most popular politician in the world right now - and it's nearly happened overnight.
So once again Obama's campaign knows its back is up against the wall and losing momentum fast. McCain/Palin is now ahead in nearly every national poll.
In Axelrod's mind there is only one thing to do - he's gone to his tried-and-true race card yet again.
Everyone has been put on notice that if you dare to criticize Obama's experience as a "community organizer" - you are racist.
Last week one of MSNBC's chief Obama fawners Chris Matthews accused Palin and Rudy Guiliani of using coded racist language when they joked about Obama's experience as a "community organizer":
"Rudy Giuliani got the biggest giggle out of that. And then, of course, Sarah, Sarah Palin did. They're giggling over the community organizer role as if carries more freight than just a job you once had. Is this the new ‘welfare queen?' Is this a new symbol that we're talking about here?"
And then there was this gem from Democrat New York Governor David Paterson who stated that use of the term "community organizer" is code language for "black," and accused Republicans of having a malicious purpose whenever they mention the Obama resume item:
"The Republican party is too smart to call Barack Obama 'black' in a sense that it would be a negative," Paterson said. "But you can take something about his life, which I noticed they did at the Republican convention. A 'community organizer,' they kept saying it, they kept laughing, like what does this mean?"
David Axelrod has had great success playing the race card for his clients in the past. Voters should wake-up this time and say enough is enough.
Cathy Santos is a Republican political consultant. |
