"The Sunday Political Brunch" -- May 3, 2015

Dr. Mark Curtis, Ed.D., is a freelance Political Reporter and Analyst based in New England, and a Political Analyst for KGO Radio AM-810, San Francisco.

(Providence, Rhode Island) – Wow, what a week it has been in the world of politics, with Baltimore as the center of the universe. I always say it is easy to plan political events and political posturing when everything in the world is going great, but a crisis can drastically change the landscape. Anyone can plan an anticipated event, but it’s the unplanned, spontaneous happening that will really test your political mettle. Let’s “brunch” on that this week:

“O’Malley Rally” – For months I have been writing about the looming Presidential campaign of former Governor Martin O’Malley (D-MD), who was the state’s chief executive from 2007 to 2015. Prior to that he was Mayor of Baltimore form 1999 to 2007, and before that was a Baltimore City Council member for eight years. In short, he has had his hand on the throttle of Baltimore and Maryland politics for 24 years. Suddenly people are asking, “Did he do enough to promote economic development in minority communities, and racial equality in his city?”

“VP Heap?” – At the least, I have been suggesting that former Governor O’Malley had a lock on the Vice Presidential nomination on the ticket, assuming Hillary Clinton won the nomination. It’s not a safe bet anymore. Maryland is now radioactive in the political sense, and with police-community relations likely to be a hot, new national issue in 2016, Mrs. Clinton may want to distance herself from O’Malley and Maryland – whether it is fair or not. Politics is politics folks.

“Oops, She Did It Again!” – Hillary Clinton has had a knack for self-inflicted wounds over the years. Did she do it again this past week by jumping to conclusions in Baltimore? At a campaign stop former Secretary Clinton said, “There is something profoundly wrong when African-American men are still far more likely to be stopped and searched by police, charged with crimes, and sentenced to longer prison terms than are meted out to their white counterparts.” She added, “Without the mass incarceration that we currently practice, millions fewer people would be living in poverty.” Analysts have argued that her husband’s moderately tough-on-crime stances as Arkansas Governor and as President were a big political asset to him. Does she now disagree? Police unions - which widely supported Bill Clinton - may take a dim view of Hillary Clinton’s comments.

“How Important: The Politics of Race?” – There have been so many efforts to racially polarize the public in these cases. In Orlando, Trayvon Martin, who died, was black; George Zimmerman, the accused and acquitted, was half-Latino, half-white; in Ferguson, Missouri Michael Brown – an African-American robbery suspect – was killed by white Police Officer Darren Wilson; and in Staten Island, New York, suspect Eric Garner who was black, died in the custody of Officers Daniel Pantaleo and Justin Damico, who are white. Conversely, in Baltimore, three of the six accused officers are “people of color” including a black, female Police Sergeant. In Baltimore, it’s perhaps more of a case of medical neglect and negligence, and not a case race-based police brutality. Baltimore also has a black Mayor, Police Chief, City Attorney, and a police force which reflects the city’s African-American demographic. All of this may have an impact on the outcome.

“Network!” – The oddest of many scenes this week involved Reverend Al Sharpton, a talk-show host and paid political commentator on MSNBC, acting as a press liaison for Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. It got even weirder, when he tried to prevent reporter Leland Vittert from the rival Fox News Channel from questioning her. Folks from an ethical standpoint, you are either a member of the independent press, or you work for a partisan public official. You cannot do both! NBC has been hiding from this blatant conflict of interest involving Al Sharpton for years. You’d think with the embarrassing Brian Williams scandal still on the front burner, that NBC would be more mindful of conflicts of interest and damage control. The “peacock’s” feathers are a mess!

“A Shared Duty” –A lot of Republicans are distancing themselves from all of this. Sure, these are urban problems, in big cities and states run – by and large by Democrats over the past several decades since the Civil Rights movement. Many in the GOP are saying, “It’s not our fault!” Truth be told, the GOP held the White House for 28 years since 1960, while Democrats have held it almost as long. Democrats dominated Congress from 1954 to 1994 – 40 years – before Republicans seized a see-saw battle for both chambers over past two decades. As stated earlier, the public expects leaders to lead and to work to better all in society. Many in our nation feel that both parties share the blame for not fostering better race relations and more equal opportunity.

“Why All of this Matters!” -- I always hate to bring politics into the picture when someone has died and six others are facing criminal charges. It just feels unseemly. But part of politics is the public assessment of whether leaders did a good job at what we hired them to do – to lead. Some leaders – such as the Mayor of Baltimore – have come under harsh scrutiny for not acting fast and decisive enough. And as votes we wonder if potential future leaders, (including the President), will do a better job. As I always say, every public policy decision has a political consequence.

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© 2015, Mark Curtis Media, LLC.

Photo courtesy: cnn.com