The Willie Herenton-Steve Cohen battle in the 9th Congressional District's Democratic primary is featured in Politico in a story published today on the publication's website. It's a decent summary of things already well-known here, including that Herenton, the former Memphis mayor, has barely raised any money against an incumbent, in Cohen, whose campaign fundraising might surpass $1.5 million by the end of the campaign (Cohen, by the way, predicts he and not Herenton will be the one to receive a donation from the Congressional Black Caucus political action committee).
There is no dateline on the story, written by Jessica Taylor, so we assume it was done mainly over the phone. It does manage to bungle Herenton's campaign message, which as we know is the very simple "Just One." Meaning, can't Tennessee get "just one!" African-American face in the Congressional delegation? In two places, Politico says the slogan is "we just want one," which to our ears reminds us of the old Eddie Murphy stand-up routines where he would imitate white voices: "We. Just. Want. One."
The beginning of the story also is a bit unfair to Herenton, who in every appearance we have witnessed first and foremost emphasizes what he says are his superior qualifications for the seat. While Cohen and his camp emphasize Cohen's long legislative career and strong reputation for legislative acumen, Herenton believes Congress would benefit from the knowledge and understanding he accumulated as superintendent for one of the nation's largest school systems and mayor of one of the nation's largest municipalities. But the beginning claims that Herenton will "tell you straight up that the election is about one thing: race."
It is true Herenton will tell you race should be a very important factor, and that he wants black voters in the 9th District to take into account the fact that there is very little chance voters in Tennessee's other eight districts, all of them majority white, would ever vote in large numbers for a black candidate. But to be fair, he's pushing other issues, too -- his resume and issues like same-sex marriage, urban education and opposition to medical marijuana or legalization of it in any form.
Cohen again emphasizes his legislative accomplishments, the support he receives from many African-American members of Congress and so many influential African-American Memphians who have great influence in the black community. The piece quotes City Councilman Myron Lowery, the interim mayor after Herenton's resignation last summer, as an example of why Cohen is supported by black voters. It also quotes Cohen saying that internal polling makes him feel "very, very, very good" about the state of the race.
There is no dateline on the story, written by Jessica Taylor, so we assume it was done mainly over the phone. It does manage to bungle Herenton's campaign message, which as we know is the very simple "Just One." Meaning, can't Tennessee get "just one!" African-American face in the Congressional delegation? In two places, Politico says the slogan is "we just want one," which to our ears reminds us of the old Eddie Murphy stand-up routines where he would imitate white voices: "We. Just. Want. One."
The beginning of the story also is a bit unfair to Herenton, who in every appearance we have witnessed first and foremost emphasizes what he says are his superior qualifications for the seat. While Cohen and his camp emphasize Cohen's long legislative career and strong reputation for legislative acumen, Herenton believes Congress would benefit from the knowledge and understanding he accumulated as superintendent for one of the nation's largest school systems and mayor of one of the nation's largest municipalities. But the beginning claims that Herenton will "tell you straight up that the election is about one thing: race."
It is true Herenton will tell you race should be a very important factor, and that he wants black voters in the 9th District to take into account the fact that there is very little chance voters in Tennessee's other eight districts, all of them majority white, would ever vote in large numbers for a black candidate. But to be fair, he's pushing other issues, too -- his resume and issues like same-sex marriage, urban education and opposition to medical marijuana or legalization of it in any form.
Cohen again emphasizes his legislative accomplishments, the support he receives from many African-American members of Congress and so many influential African-American Memphians who have great influence in the black community. The piece quotes City Councilman Myron Lowery, the interim mayor after Herenton's resignation last summer, as an example of why Cohen is supported by black voters. It also quotes Cohen saying that internal polling makes him feel "very, very, very good" about the state of the race.
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