I won’t lie – at first this one seemed so easy that it was almost a chore. I mean, come on? Michael S. Steele, the new African-American National Committee Chairman of the GOP, says that the party needs to apply its core values to the “urban suburban Hiphop setting” with an “off the hook” PR campaign. What more do I have to say – the joke kind of writes itself right?
”There was underlying concerns we had become too regionalized and the party needed to reach beyond our comfort” zones, he said, citing defeats in such states as Virginia and North Carolina. “We need messengers to really capture that region – young, Hispanic, black, a cross section … We want to convey that the modern-day GOP looks like the conservative party that stands on principles. But we want to apply them to urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”
All jokes aside, it is interesting that he used culture to describe two very different types of space. The point that he seems to be groping at is that Hiphop has diluted the severity of the cultural-spatial barrier between urban and suburban that existed so starkly and significantly before in North American culture. Arguably, a strong historically embedded anti-urban sentiment was the wind behind the sails of the great ship suburbia. Moreover, just 30 years ago in the U.S. to be “urban” signified being black, and to be “suburban” signified being white, and there was not much culture common to them. 40 years ago moreso. Down the highway was still a world away. There was no “setting” that bridged the urban and suburban worlds.
Considering both how young the culture itself is (born in ‘73) and how different and often separate the two spatial experiences and modes of life are, it speaks volumes for the flexibility and capacity-for-participation of the culture. Not that it was looking for the surprising and, as Jon Stewart pointed out, kind of hilarious acknowledgment from the GOP.
So while seeing a quote like that attributed to the Chairman of the Republican party makes me giggle a little bit (pause), I also try not to loose the significance and speed of that historical progression. From some “urban phenomenon” that republicans abhorred in the 80s, to something they’d consider as part of their bridging strategy a generation later – albeit in a somewhat corny and contrived fashion.
All of that is just to say about this week’s musical selection – while he might not have meant it quite this way, in memory of the Notorious B.I.G. who died 12 years ago on March 9th, I’m sure he would agree that it bears observing:
March 11th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
You’ve got so many buzzwords and trendy phrases in this post that it makes my head spin.
All the rappers that I rolled with back in the day were from the ‘burbs. Roosevelt, Hemptstead, and Freeport, NY. Heck, there’s even a Wikipedia entry about it!
Funny, funny stuff. LL Cool J is from Bayshore! That’s just… precious. I wonder if he was bar mitzvahed?
Regarding the substance of Steele’s comments, the black community is significantly more conservative than the Democrat party. There are tensions between African-Americans and other parts of the Democrat coalition (gays, for example), and that’s an opportunity. Of course, that’s not going to be easy to exploit when Barack Obama is president and for all intents and purposes is the leader of the party.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
First off, can we call it the Democratic Party? Thanks.
Second, it’s obvious these people have entirely misunderstood what makes Obama popular, what youth is looking for in the way of leadership, and pretty much everything else.
Third, apart from the incorrect name, Buzzcut seems right on all counts.
March 11th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Thanks for jumping in folks.
Buzz – Great find on the “Rappers from Long Island” wiki! It’s so funny that you’d find that particular entry. Recently on one of the blogs I frequent, there was a big post profiling the projects of New York (which I will probably do a piece on here eventually). After I commented on it, the next person to comment after me said: “… you might be interested in understanding why Long Island produced so many great hip hop acts.” Hahahahaha. I wonder if the author of the wiki and the commenter are the same person?
I also think that within Steele’s comments are an attempt at addressing something more prior than one’s conservatism or orientation towards issues – he’s looking for a more common denominator than that so that they can start rebuilding their image. They’re just looking for a way to break the ice they’ve realized that they’re slipping on from not communicating well with this “urban-suburban” youth demographic. I think that it’s significant that he’s trying to engage Hiphop to initiate that conversation, as something that he understands has broken down those spatial barriers. My intuition just tells me that they couldn’t pull that off without seeming fake.
Swords – I agree with you for sure. The Repub…errr…those guys have really skewed what it is that creates Obama’s appeal. Authenticity is what people are looking for as much as hope these days. Ironically enough, if the GOP would just “keep it real” they’d be much better off. This might be a good place for them to start.
March 11th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Well, it’s a step in the right direction, but currently the GOP has no plan to jumpstart the economy, no plan on health care, no plan on renewable energy, no plan on the environment, no plan on the deficit……
March 11th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Steele, like Sarah Palin, is the GOP’s attempt at affirmative action. Put up a Black or a woman and that’s all it takes. Because they don’t understand what it’s about, and in fact oppose the concept, of course they get it wrong. If you’re looking for political smarts and connections, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland and Governor of Alaska are really reaching. Come on, the GOP has more depth than that but don’t know what they need to look for.
The folks the R’s need to be reaching out to now aren’t young, Hispanic, Black voters that they have almost no chance of reaching. It’s the middle class, Main Street business people who value responsibility that they’ve lost over the last couple of decades. I don’t know if Steele can reach them, but hip hop, whatever its virtues, probably isn’t the vehicle.
Buzzcut, I’m sorry but dream on. African Americans have gone 70-90% for Democrats since the late ’60’s when Nixon’s Southern Strategy demolished whatever goodwill Abe Lincoln had left behind. The Black church is certainly evangelical conservative on a few issues, but isn’t going to support 80% of the GOP agenda.
March 12th, 2009 at 5:52 am
Until the GOP can win back moderates who desperately want to be won back to the fold such as Andrew Sullivan, forget it.
And, they aren’t going to win by opposing everything all the time. No one ever won an election by just being negative and telling the voters to vote for them because the alternative sucked. You win elections by giving people a reason to vote FOR you, not just AGAINST the other guy.
Eric Cantor desperately wants to be Newt Gingrich II. He seems to think Gingrich accomplished all that he did in the 1994 elections starting in 1992 and just by sheer willpower. He apparently has failed to note that Gingrich fought to take over the House for the better part of a decade and had a specific agenda to give people a reason to vote for Republicans: the Contract with America. No such political firepower exists on the GOP side now, nor in the forseeable future.
March 12th, 2009 at 10:32 am
While the liberals focus on Rushbo as their mortal enemy, the most punishing hits to the liberal agenda are coming from Kevin Jackson (a black conservative): http://theblacksphere.blogspot.com/
Go ahead and bury your heads in the sand, what you imagine couldn’t happen, WILL happen.
Mike & Swordsman – mark this day so I can say “I told you so”
March 12th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Jim H,
I don’t think anyone is taking Rush seriously. It’s just a chance to have fun with his inane pronouncements and point out some of the far right’s foolishness. My quite liberal neighbor across the street loves him, sort of like Saturday Night Live.
I was disappointed with Kevin Jackson. I was hoping for some real commentary but it was just snide namecalling. David Brooks has become an iconoclast. Aren’t there any conservatives besides William Safire that can make logical arguments and use numbers?
March 12th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Kwende, I’m from Freeport/ Roosevelt. Roosevelt, being one of the first ‘burbs to go majority black, actually has some amazing alumni, and not just in hip-hop. Dr. J, Eddie Murphy, and of course, Howard Stern.
The book on politics that best explains the current divide is “Moral Politics” by George Lakoff. He says that Republicans subscribe to the “strict father” philosophy, and Democrats are the “nurturing mother”.
Now… where do you think you average rapper falls on that spectrum? The average African American? Particularly on social issues, perhaps less so on economic ones, African Americans are well aligned philosophically with Republicans.
March 12th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
My experience has been that the average African American is more aligned philosophically with the Democrats on social issues.
March 12th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Buzzcut,
Would that it were so simple. Today’s Republicans are more the “crazy uncle” philosophy.
I actually think a responsible and reasonable opposition party would be good for America. Let’s hope the GOP can work its way back to the “strict father”.
I think you have a point, in theory. Colin Powell has a lot in common with Eisenhower. Unfortunately he was pretty much evicted from the party. Instead we have Steele who seems a loose cannon and Clarence Thomas who’s a far-right ideologue as Republican models for Black conservatives. There’s a long way to go.
March 13th, 2009 at 7:53 am
In many ways, the Republican Party is a product of the ’70s. Prop 13 and the tax revolt certainly fueled Republicanism, as did the blowback from the cultural revolution. Law and order and fighting crime were also big. And, of course, the cold war. All of these fed in to the “strict father” thing.
But, over time, Republicans have been extremely successful on these issues. Taxes were drastically lowered. Crime has been brought under control. The cold war is over. Welfare got reformed. The cultural revolution is not an issue anymore (although I wouldn’t say that it was turned back in any way, shape, or form, we’ve just gotten used to a certain level of degradation).
Democrats have one governing philosophy: “got a problem, get a program”. The government is the answer to everything. This is actually a huge advantage in terms of evolving as a party. You can reinvent yourself to address new “problems”, even when the problems are of your own making. And you can appeal to new groups as well. Hell, that’s how Democrats “stole” African-Americans from Republicans back in the ’30s. They just became another cog in the Roosevelt New Deal machine.
That broke down in the ’70s, when it was quite clear that government did not solve problems. But we’ve seem to have forgotten that lesson, especially among the younger generation.
I just hope that it doesn’t take another “lost decade” like the 1970’s were to relearn that valuable lesson.
There’s a t-shirt you can buy on the ‘net that has a picture of Obama in a leasure suit with the phrase “Welcome Back Carter” on it. That’s going to seem very prophetic in a few years.
March 13th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Kwende, you inspired me.
I’ve got a new XM radio receiver. My old one only had 10 presets, the new one’s got 30. That’s more presets than I can actually use.
I just added their “old school rap” channel. Doug E Fresh was just on. Man that’s crap. Beasties are on now. Now THAT is good stuff.
My cube mates can’t figure out my musical tastes: “Classic” alternative, ’90s alternative, electronica, dance… and now old school rap.
March 13th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Buzzcut,
Thanks for the succinct summary. While I would argue with your interpretation of most of this, it’s a clear and relatively polemic-free description of the Republican view of the last 3 decades.
March 14th, 2009 at 8:40 am
I’m learning a lot here. As a young Canadian we aren’t as exposed to the nuances of the historical postures of the respective red and blue parties. We understand in broad strokes that the colour system is inverted here (our red is the american blue, and vice versa) and that in broad strokes that the dems are on the left and the GOP is on the right but we don’t live the contemporary effects of those positions, or through the historical ramifications of those positions in our day to day lives. Simply put – from being immersed in context, you are probably able to pick up on historical cues and dissonance, with respect to party posturing, that I am not. It’s cool to hear about the parties as processes in time as opposed to as discrete moments of scandal or triumph. As Richard pointed out earlier this week on one of his posts, a knowledge of the past can go a long way in interpreting the present.
And yo Buzz, peace to Long Island! A lot of greats out of Nassau county, no doubt. De La Soul, one of my favorites (Often heard on Backspin 65 – also one of my favorites), shares boroughs with you as well. I’ll check out that Lakoff and see if I can better make a guess about where the average rapper or African American sits on the spectrum. I know where at least one non-average rapper sits: 50 Cent’s a Republican.
Micheal – Thanks for jumping in. Your observations are always interesting/welcome. You make a great point about there being a lack of good models of black conservatism in the states. Armstrong Williams seems to have made a good impression on the CBC, but I don’t know enough about him to hail him as “the solution” one way or the other. Jim H offered another good example. If only Colin Powell hadn’t been so embarrassed by the Bush Administration…
March 14th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Here is another potential model for black republicanism. When I thought about it I realized that, other than Colin Powell, it’s actually the one that I’m most familiar with.
March 16th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Michael Steele has an op-ed in the WSJ today regarding the history, and perhaps future, of Republicans and minorities.
“Uncaring discipline” shows up a number of times. i.e. “Strict father”.
The funny thing is, the strict father really does care.
You know, I recommend Lakoff’s book, “Moral Politics”, but you don’t need to read very much of it. Most of the book is analysis of social science showing that children do better with a “nurturing mother” philosophy rather than a “strict father”.
I think that it is very telling that Lakoff, a liberal, equates voters with children.
March 16th, 2009 at 8:07 am
Kwende, if you’re a little lost regarding the Red/ Blue dichotomy, we Americans have no feel whatsoever for Canadian politics. You’re way ahead of any of us.
I too love De La Soul. Anybody who samples Steely Dan is alright by me.
Just out of curiousity, could you explain your background? Obviously, Canada doesn’t have the black underclass that we do, the historical remnant of slavery and Jim Crow. My impression from spending lots of time in Toronto is that blacks there are generally Jamacian, or perhaps from some other British Commonwealth. But whatever happened to the escaped slaves that made it through the underground railroad? Was it that they didn’t stay, or that few actually made it through?
March 18th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
Sure Buzz. I’m a first generation Canadian. Both of my parents are actually from Barbados and moved here in the 60’s during the diaspora of Caribbean people to basically one of three places: The U.S. (read: New York), Canada (Read: Toronto), or the UK (Read: London). There are probably more Caribbean people and people of Caribbean descent in these three places than in the Caribbean itself.
While there weren’t the same underclass problems, there was a strong drift from down south and racial tensions still existed though perhaps less raw – thats how my parents and their friends tell it. Immigrants were still immigrants and people still have stakes in land and neighborhoods and things that they perceive as their own. While perhaps not the most prior motivation like in the states, race was a factor that could be easily be lumped onto an already biased opinion, and the climate was one wherein that could and often was tolerated.
The climate is much different now, especially with all of the new waves of immigration that have hit the city since the one that brought my parents and that whole generation here. The settlement patterns are also very different, but they actually seem to be “riffing off of” those of my parents. A more detailed version of this story is actually in the Canadian edition of Who’s Your City for anyone who’s interested.
As for the escaped slaves through the underground railroad, peep this 20 min doc on Africville, Canada’s oldest historical black community in Nova Scotia made up of some of those escaped slaves. They had a community established there since 1750 but were displaced by the city in 1950’s to make a dump that is now a dog park. True Story.