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October 7, 2004

Jackson, GOP spar over votes

Genaro C. Armas
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — Black political leaders such as Jesse Jackson have convinced African Americans that they are victims who must vote Democratic to erase decades of discrimination, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson contended on Wednesday.

The HUD secretary said President Bush’s campaign is trying to counter by focusing on younger black voters rather than those who grew up during the civil rights era of the 1960s. Those voters have especially “been conditioned that if you are Republican and white, you hate black people, and that’s nonsense,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Alphonso Jackson, 58, said Republicans are focusing on blacks younger than 40 who are looking “at issues from the perspective of the candidate who best meets my need, just like any other American.”

An AP-Ipsos poll earlier this month found that 75 percent of blacks younger than 45 supported Kerry, compared to 76 percent of those 45 and older.

The Texas native and Bush friend, who is black, had harsh words for Jesse Jackson, NAACP Chairman Julian Bond and NAACP President Kweisi Mfume.

“They have made a living telling black people they are victims,” said Alphonso Jackson, who said he switched from the Democratic Party in 1984. “As long as they keep them in victim mode, they have liberals who will take care of them.”

Jesse Jackson called the HUD chief’s comments a diversion to steer clear of issues such as the economy and the war in Iraq, and added that Alphonso Jackson should focus on creating affordable housing.

“His analysis has nothing to do with his job assignment,” the civil rights leader said.

Jesse Jackson joined Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry’s campaign as a senior adviser and said he would focus efforts on voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts. He criticized Republicans for launching what he called “voter suppression schemes.”

The move came amid recent polling showing Kerry’s support slipping among blacks. Kerry officials said Jesse Jackson will travel to battleground states to energize Democratic support for Kerry and running mate Sen. John Edwards.

A Pew Research Center poll released Tuesday showed 73 percent of blacks supporting Kerry, down from 83 percent in August. Bush’s support among blacks was at 12 percent, up from 6 percent. In 2000, Democrat Al Gore captured 90 percent of the black vote to Bush’s 9 percent.

In an interview to be published in the November issue of Essence magazine, Kerry said he has made a strong effort to reach out to the black community and dismissed criticism to the contrary.

“I’ve got the most diverse presidential campaign in the history of the country,” Kerry said. “People sounded off for their own agenda without looking, because they didn’t want to find they were wrong.”

Alphonso Jackson’s comments came in a wide-ranging interview that also covered housing issues. He said he has been consulting with Bush strategist Karl Rove and other campaign officials about targeting younger black voters, espcially on historically black college campuses.

“You can’t rise as a class. You have to rise individually. It’s what many of the civil rights-era people don’t understand,” he said. “They want us to rise together, they keep telling us that we are victims. If they keep telling us they are victims, then there is a role for them to play.”

The youngest of 12 kids, Alphonso Jackson spoke of a childhood during which his parents struggled to make ends meet, with his father working three jobs. He talked of how segregation kept him from attending the University of Texas, even though he was acceptedto private Ivy League institutions such as Brown and Cornell.

He also joked that his experience as a public housing director in Dallas, St. Louis and Washington, D.C., helped him deal with criticism from low-income advocacy groups who contend that Bush administration policies are shortchanging poor families.

Jackson, who was confirmed by the Senate in March, has been criticized by congressional Democrats and advocacy groups over the Section 8 housing voucher program, which helps 2 million poor, disabled and elderly people pay rent.

The secretary said Section 8 costs for the $14.5 billion program have been spiraling out of control. Part of the problem, he said, is that local housing authorities aren’t weeding out those who may be making too much money to be on vouchers, which is primarily reserved for low income families.

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