by Hazel Trice Edney SacObserver.com / Wire Service Date 05-05-04

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WASHINGTON (NNPA) - Black voters will have an opportunity in November to play a major role in ending the Republican stranglehold on every branch of the federal government, Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Elijah Cummings says.

Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Elijah Cummings said at the National Press Club that African American voters would play a major role in the November election.

"Most of our constituents quite accurately understand that one-party Republican rule in Washington is not going to effectively address the concerns that are central to their everyday lives," says the Baltimore Democrat.

"There is no check nor balance in Washington today - and that must change."

He explains, "This year's House and Senate elections are at least as important in restoring our country to what I would term a more balanced course as is the presidential race that is receiving most of the journalistic attention these days."

Cummings made his comments in a speech last week at the Nation-al Press Club.

"This is a goal well within our power to achieve," he says. "Bill Clinton won the 1996 presidential race with 84 percent of the Black vote.

Four years later, Al Gore received an even larger percentage of African American votes and won the popular vote for president by 500,000 votes … If the demographic trends and voting patterns remain the same as in the 2000 election - the presumptive Democratic nominee will win by at least 3 million votes."

Currently, the House of Representatives is composed of 228 Republicans, 205 Democrats, and one vacancy. In the Senate, there are 51 Republicans, 48 Democrats and one Independent.

This means Democrats must gain at least 12 members in the House and two in the Senate in order to win control.

In either chamber, a Democratic win could mean significant political gains for Black people.

A majority Democratic House could mean first-time chairmanships for two veteran CBC members and at least 12 Black chairs of subcommittees. Currently there are none.

Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) is in line to chair the House Ways and Means Committee, which deals with issues such as tax breaks, unemployment compensation, Social Security, Medicare, pension benefits, international trade agreements and economic development incentives.

John Conyers (D-Mich.) is in line to chair the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees such matters as voting rights and equal opportunity as well as criminal justice and police issues.

Of course, Democrats made similar predictions four years ago and still lost to the GOP.

The Senate has no Black members, but that could also change. Rep. Majette of Georgia and Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama are running for Senate seats.

Obama has already clinched his party's nomination and Majette is a long-shot candidate.

"I believe that African Americans are poised to play a major role in this presidential election cycle because they understand the fundamental issues and what's at stake in this election," says Georgetown University Political Science Professor Donna Brazile, 2000 campaign manager for Al Gore.

"But, like all other Americans, they must be given adequate resources and materials to not only inform their vote, but also to secure their vote and to make sure that their votes are counted."

Republicans are not standing by waiting to see what happens. They aim to win at least 30 percent of the Black vote in November and are creating activities to establish rapport.

U. S. Rep. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) last week met in Washington with some 500 African Americans from around the country in a two-day event billed as an "African American Summit."

"This summit was a unique opportunity to have a productive dialogue about the most pressing issues facing African Americans across the country," Sen. Hutchison said in a press release.

"As we move forward, I am confident that leaders in Washington will be better prepared to adopt policies that benefit all Americans."

But it has been the Bush policies that have caused current inequities in economics and health care for African Americans, Cummings says.

"When compared with White Americans, African Americans are more than twice as likely to be unemployed; twice as likely to be denied home financing, and twice as likely to die from accidents or disease at every stage of their lives," Cummings says.

"Will American voters - especially Americans of color - vote in numbers that are sufficient to overcome all of the advantages of incumbency and money held by the other side and change the direction of our country?" he asks. "No one has a complete answer to this question.

However, I can tell you that millions of Americans, and especially African Americans, are very concerned about the condition of our country - and for some very good reasons."

Hazel Trice Edney is a Washington correspondent for NNPA.

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