On Sunday's AM Joy, MSNBC host Joy Reid spent a couple of minutes fretting over the results of a recent Democratic mayoral primary in black-majority St. Louis in which a white Democrat endorsed by the local police union managed to win the primary because black voters were divided amongst several black candidates.
After recalling that the candidate most popular with black voters -- Tishaura Jones -- had finished in second place, Reid explained: "So why did Jones lose? Well, because she split the black vote with four other African-American candidates -- all men -- while Krewson -- who was endorsed by the city's police union -- didn't split her votes at all, dominating in majority-white parts of the city. Eight hundred and eighty-eight votes."
She then began quoting from The Root's Jason Johnson who also devoted an entire article to whining about Jones's loss because white voters rallied around Democrat Lyda Krewson. Reid: "As Jason Johnson over at The Root pointed out, quote, 'St. Louis, despite being a majority black city, has remained primarily in the hands of the white minority because whites have crossed party lines to coalesce around whatever white candidate is running for mayor, and city districts have been gerrymandered to diffuse black political power. Opportunities for black political advancement are few and far between, and this year's mayoral race was one of those chances.'"
At one point in Johnson's article that was not mentioned by Reid, he felt the need to include a provocative quote -- which he blandly described as "candid" -- from an anonymous liberal pundit who complained that a "random f***ing white woman" was about to become mayor. From Johnson's article: "An African-American political observer of St. Louis politics who spoke on condition of anonymity was even more candid: 'We f***ing endorse white people and get nothing out of it! A random f***ing white woman is mayor of St. Louis because black people can't get their f***ing act together.'"
<<< Please support MRC's NewsBusters team with a tax-deductible contribution today. >>>
Returning to AM Joy, after Reid lectured about the need for "progressive Democrats and members of racial minorities" to make deals to rally around just one candidate, she then turned her attention to fretting over Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke, known for being a Democrat who endorsed President Donald Trump, as the far-left MSNBC host melodramatically noted that he "looooves guns!" Reid:
And before you think this lack of progressive strategery is just a St. Louis thing. remember this guy? His name is Sheriff David Clarke. Now, he's not a fan of Black Lives Matter, but he is a fan of Donald Trump -- huge fan. And he looooves guns!
Clarke will be running for reelection in another primary that's functionally the general election in 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Democratic primary. Yes, Sheriff Clarke routinely runs and wins as a Democrat because Republican voters cross party lines to vote for him in the open Democratic primary, and groups like the NRA pour money in to help him.
Below is a complete transcript of segment from the Sunday, March 12, AM Joy on MSNBC:
11:44 a.m. ET
One of the things that we here at AM Joy get asked about more than anything else by our faithful viewers -- we call them "readers" -- is: What can we do? Well, my answer to that is usually the same: vote. Especially in local and state elections. Case in point: gateline, St. Louis, Missouri, about 10 miles from Ferguson where Michael Brown was shot and killed by a then-police officer in 2014. St. Louis recently held a Democratic primary to elect a new mayor. And, since St. Louis is an overwhelmingly Democratic city, the Democratic primary is functionally the general election. The winner will almost certainly go on to be the mayor.
The winner of this year's mayor primary was 64-year-old Lyda Krewson, now likely to become the city's first female mayor. Krewson won by a mere 888 votes -- 32 percent to 30.4 percent -- over second-place finisher Tishaura Jones -- a 44-year-old city treasurer who became a fixture of St. Louis's Black Lives Matter movement, and was the favorite among the city's black majority.
So why did Jones lose? Well, because she split the black vote with four other African-American candidates -- all men -- while Krewson -- who was endorsed by the city's police union -- didn't split her votes at all, dominating in majority-white parts of the city. Eight hundred and eighty-eight votes. As Jason Johnson over at The Root pointed out, quote, "St. Louis, despite being a majority black city, has remained primarily in the hands of the white minority because whites have crossed party lines to coalesce around whatever white candidate is running for mayor, and city districts have been gerrymandered to diffuse black political power. Opportunities for black political advancement are few and far between, and this year's mayoral race was one of those chances."
And it was missed because of a lesson that today we'll call: "Cut deals." Progressive Democrats and members of racial minorities are always better off cutting deals to consolidate power and win than everyone trying to advance themselves at the expense of the overall cause. Cut deals and win -- or everybody stay in the race and lose. There's also a lesson for you voters. The turnout in the St. Louis mayor's race was 28 percent -- 28. That's four percent more than voted last time St. Louis held a primary, but it's still just 28 percent. And before you think this lack of progressive strategery is just a St. Louis thing. remember this guy? His name is Sheriff David Clarke. Now, he's not a fan of Black Lives Matter, but he is a fan of Donald Trump -- huge fan. And he looooves guns!
Clarke will be running for reelection in another primary that's functionally the general election in 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Democratic primary. Yes, Sheriff Clarke routinely runs and wins as a Democrat because Republican voters cross party lines to vote for him in the open Democratic primary, and groups like the NRA pour money in to help him. Then, because Milwaukee is an overwhelmingly Democratic city, surprise, he wins because he's the Democrat. Sometimes the Republicans don't even bother to run a candidate. So, to sum up, when it comes to state and local elections, one side is cutting deals and consolidating their votes, and the other side is not. Just something to think about.
