Zombie Politics: What Has Happened After "Post-Racial."

“It was a Zombie Jamboree
Took place in a New York Cemetery...
Back-to-back, belly-to-belly
I don’t give a damn, I done dead already.”
-Zombie Jamboree, Harry Belafonte

I finally figured it all out.

Black voters really have moved to a new political approach, discarding a race-based, economic and issues-focused style for what I’m calling “zombie politics.”

Stay with me for a minute…

In Haiti, according to legend, a zombie is someone who has annoyed the members of his or her community and they respond by hiring a bokor (voodoo sorcerer) to turn the person into a zombie.

According to those same legends, zombies are recognizable because they “would appear to die, insofar as their heart rate would slow to a near stop, their breathing patterns would be greatly subdued and their body temperature would significantly decrease … although their physicality remained intact, their memory would be erased and they would be transformed into mindless drones.”

Hm-m-m, sounds like African-American voters...

It’s becoming increasingly obvious to me that, like many legendarily unfortunate Haitian citizens, black voters in America really have lost their political “memories” and they have, indeed, begun to operate like "mindless drones."

How else can any of this be explained, other than by political zombie-iism?

I had been wondering how to explain the curious and blind devotion by African Americans to the country's "first black president." In those first 18 months since Barack Obama’s election, it has seemed that nothing that he would ever do or say, negatively, to his black base would actually discourage them.

Negative, condescending comments to black males during that infamous 2009 Fathers’ Day speech? No problem.

Overseeing, very dispassionately, an economy wherein black unemployment rates are nearly double the “white- only” unemployment rate? Watching as the rate of black home foreclosures soars above that of other ethnic groups? No problem.

Watching the president-elect use every political "chip" available to him to move the $700 billion financial institution "bailout package" – even prior to his inauguration? Waiting as those same financial institutions and their "fat-cat" owners – who contributed significantly to the onset of the Great Recession – got paid, while our own pockets were turned inside out? No problem.

Hearing the president repeatedly deny any “special responsibility” to address black-specific issues, on the grounds that he didn’t want to be confused with being the "President of Black America?” No problem.

Watching patiently, on the other hand, as the president bent over backwards to reaffirm his personal – and the nation’s overall – commitment to the state of Israel? No problem.

Waiting since the president's inauguration as he moved to address virtually every key, gay community-related issue before he could reasonably get around to discussing ours? No problem.

Watching naively as the president pushed through a nearly $800 billion Stimulus Bill that has, by all accounts, stimulated virtually nothing within the national African-American economy? Still…somehow…no problem.

Being eyewitnesses to the president’s frantic activities--including bringing a lawsuit against one of the 50 states – in an effort to retain support from millions of documented and undocumented Hispanic voters? Seeing those same Hispanic voters being treated like an absolute mid-term election and Presidential Re-election priority -- even though the president received just 66 percent of their vote in November, 2008, as compared to the 96 percent that was dutifully given to him by blacks? No problem …no problem…. no problem.

We, as black people don’t seem to mind. We’ll respectfully, and mindlessly, wait our turn, thank you.

Unfortunately, virtually no other race, no other ethnic group, no other religious group, no other age, income, or occupational demographic in this country has done the same. They all still clearly want precisely what they want, they want it all right now, and they are “d-double-daring” the president, under threat of losing their precious votes, to refuse their requests in any way.

It seems to be working for them. Most of those groups are getting exactly what they’ve demanded. In spite of all that, they still seem grossly dissatisfied with everything the president says or does.

If you think I’m kidding, check out the latest poll results.

Despite the president’s habit of throwing blacks and their issues under the “political bus” at the expense of mainstream, left- and right-wing issues, it’s curious to see that, in a very recent Washington Post/ABC poll, Obama’s approval rating among white voters has dropped from more than 60 percent, to just above 40 percent. In addition, a recent ABC/Wall Street Journal poll disclosed that, among white voters, the president's approval rating is now strikingly similar to that enjoyed by the deeply discredited George W. Bush, about two years ago. (37% approval for Bush among white men in June 2008, as compared to an identical 37% white male approval rating for Obama, in 2010).

There is even more recent bad ratings news for the president and his party: In a Gallup poll conducted June 28 to July 4, 2010, only 38 percent of Independents said they approve of the job the president is doing, the first time Independents have expressed less than a 40 percent level of support for Obama. This reflects a drop of 18 points from the 56 percent support level Obama enjoyed among Independents just a year ago. In addition, the president’s Democratic support stands at 81 percent, thanks largely to huge numbers of ever-loyal blacks who are registered in that Party, but down, nevertheless, from last year’s 90 percent support among Democratic voters.
Similarly, the president’s Republican support has fallen by eight percent, bringing him down from last year’s 20 percent support among GOP members.

In summary, President Obama’s job approval is down to 46 percent, across the board, just one point above his previous lowest weekly average, and it hasn’t been above 50 percent in five months.

Who would have thought this could happen, given all that has been done by this president to support the business, political and economic interests of white voters and white men, specifically, to date, in blatant disregard of his own base?

At the same time, President Obama’s job approval rating among Hispanics is down this year, and it and has been--even before the late-April signing of the new anti-immigration law in Arizona. This drop was especially evident, according to pollsters, among Hispanics who insisted on being interviewed only in the Spanish language.

While all of this has been going on, while the president has taken care of everyone’s issues but ours, and while his approval ratings are down among Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Hispanics and whites, black folks have remained loyal to him and have consistently given him job approval ratings in the low-to-mid 90’s, no matter what.

With all of that being the case, can you still deny my premise that there must be millions of black political zombies in this country? How much more evidence do you need?

Quick … call a Haitian voodoo practitioner … maybe it’s not too late. There must be something we can do to break this spell.

As bad as “post-racial” used to seem, this “zombie politics” thing, including the prevalence of “zombie” national elected officials,” zombie national black leaders” and "zombie black political TV and cable pundits” is clearly a whole lot worse.

"A lot of world leaders talking bout war
And I’m afraid they’re going too far
So it’s up to us, you and me
To put an end to catastrophe...
Back to back, belly to belly
I don’t give a damn, I done dead already.
Back to back, belly to belly
At the Zombie Jamboree."
-Harry Belafonte


#######