c. 2000 Newhouse News Service

LOS ANGELES _ Democrats are dealing with an undercurrent of concern that vice presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman might cool African-American enthusiasm for the Democratic ticket, for which overwhelming support from black voters is a prerequisite of victory.

Lieberman got a warm reception from the Democratic National Committee Black Caucus on Tuesday (Aug. 15), but potential problems in the black community arise from his past flirtation with efforts to end affirmative action, and his history-making place as the first Jewish candidate on a national ticket.

The campaign cannot help but touch occasionally on tender matters of black-Jewish relations.

The microscopic attention to Lieberman’s record on race also offers a window into what may be a new era in American racial politics. With the exit from office of Bill Clinton _ a president who achieved unparalleled rapport with African-American voters _ and the entry of Texas Gov. George W. Bush _ who is attempting a wholesale makeover of his party on issues of diversity and inclusion _ some Democrats nervously wonder whether they will continue to draw the overwhelming enthusiasm of black voters.

While there is no evidence yet that disaffection with the Lieberman choice is deep or powerful in the black community, the black vote is so crucial to Democratic fortunes that even the slightest falloff in black participation could prove fatal.

Ron Walters, a professor of political science at the University of Maryland who played a major role in Jesse Jackson’s campaigns for the presidency, said the Democrats will now need a “monumental” registration and get-out-the-vote effort to overcome what he thinks will be a Lieberman drag on the ticket. “If they don’t do anything, it could have a chilling effect.”

David Bositis, an expert on black politics with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, said he thought that in the context of attracting black votes, Lieberman was “probably the least desirable choice” among the names on Gore’s short list.

“I don’t know what the consequences are going to be, quite frankly,” said Bositis. “I have a hard time imagining it would be a plus.”

With the Republicans’ racial makeover in Philadelphia, Bositis said it is still possible that Republicans could marginally improve their standing with black voters _ who have given the GOP only about 10 percent of their vote in the last four presidential cycles.

With the notable exception of U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters of Los Angeles, who has raised questions about the Lieberman choice, the rest of the black political establishment has lined up behind him.

The greatest source of concern about Lieberman’s record centers on affirmative action. Lieberman said he regretted what he characterized as a naive expression of support back in 1995 for Proposition 209, the California ballot initiative that did away with racial and gender preferences in the California public sector.

Both Tom Wood, the co-author of 209, and Ward Connerly, the black businessman who led the successful effort to enact it, said they thought Lieberman’s explanation _ that he didn’t understand the implications of what he was saying _ is disingenuous.

But Wood acknowledges Lieberman has consistently voted to defend affirmative action in the Senate. Lieberman said he shared the Clinton and Gore sentiment that affirmative action should be “mended, not ended.”

Lieberman has also been criticized for supporting the experimental use of school vouchers in order to offer what he described as a “lifeline” to poor students trapped in lousy schools. But, while most black leaders oppose vouchers, they are an idea that polls have indicated blacks as well as whites tend to favor.

One source of tension between blacks and Jews in recent decades has been how successful Jews as a group have been in America since the Holocaust, compared with the continuing struggle of many blacks in a nation that was the source and site of the slavery that some call “the black Holocaust.”

Bositis said he thinks Lieberman’s being a Jew may contribute to his problems with some black voters.

A national survey of black and white Americans found 39 percent of blacks felt Jews have too much influence. Only 19 percent of white respondents felt the same. Those feelings among blacks were, interestingly, strongest in the Northeast and Midwest.

Bill Lynch, a veteran political organizer from New York who is vice chair of the national Democratic Party, said he thought some people were attempting to stir black-Jewish animosities to undermine the Democratic ticket, but that it would not work. “Lieberman vs. (Republican vice presidential nominee Richard) Cheney? No comparison,” said Lynch.

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