In one day, they lost it all. In the new, Republican-led Congress, blacks will chair no committees, and have virtually no influence with the House leadership. Proposals vehemently opposed by the black caucus – such as austere welfare reform – now seem certain to pass. Antigovernment conservatives control the key spending committees. The District of Columbia committee will be abolished, and D.C. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton will lose her limited voting rights. What’s more, NEWSWEEK has learned that the new GOP officials plan simply to eliminate funding of the Congressional Black Caucus. Members will still be able to meet informally, but without the staff support that had helped make the group into a potent political organization.
Ironically, the loss of power resulted in part from a strategy pressed by black leaders themselves. Civil-rights groups have used the Voting Rights Act to cre-ate congressional districts to ensure that more minorities would win congressional seats. But that meant the surrounding districts became more white and more Republican. Georgia, for instance, now has three black congressmen, compared with one just four years ago – but seven of the eight remaining seats belong to white Republicans, including Newt Gingrich. Georgia Rep. John Lewis calls it a ““temporary transitional price we have to pay.''
Black Democrats, and liberal members of Congress generally, now face a critical strategic choice: do they lead the loyal opposition by championing traditional liberalism, or try to cut deals with the new leaders? Some oppose any accommodation with the Republicans, arguing that Gingrich is most valuable as an enemy who can unite Democrats. ““Progressives always need a Bull Connor, a George Wallace, a Newt Gingrich,’’ says Frank Watkins, an aide to the Rev. Jesse Jackson. ““The devil has to have a face.’’ And because no black Democratic incumbents lost in the general election, they can become a dominant voice in the opposition.
But other African-American politicians want to explore possible areas of cooperation with the new regime. Caucus chairman Kweisi Mfume of Baltimore, a confrontational activist who earlier this year forged a controversial alliance with Louis Farrakhan, now says blacks should join forces with Republicans on issues like reducing taxes in the inner city and encouraging entrepreneurship. ““We don’t have permanent friends or enemies, just permanent interests,’’ he says, noting that Republicans might be sympathetic to their plight because for the past 40 years they have suffered under ““minority’’ status.
The power shift may ultimately expose divisions within the Republican Party. Some in the GOP have claimed for years that they care about the poor as much as Democrats do; they will now be in a position to prove it. ““When you’re a leader, you can’t leave people out,’’ says Jack Kemp, who has a small but significant group of supporters in the House who want to build alliances with black Democrats. But Kemp’s ideas to encourage entrepreneurship and tenant ownership of public housing can entail large upfront government expenditures. That would be rejected by conservatives who want to slash aid to the inner city and have always viewed Kemp’s outreach efforts as flaky.
Gingrich rejects the notion that commitment can be measured in dollars, but does make Kemp-like noises about inclusion. He personally started a program in Georgia schools that gives third graders $2 for every book they read. He plans to give visible public-speaking roles to newly elected Oklahoma Rep. J. C. (Julius Caesar) Watts, one of two black Republicans in the House. A former football star who won in a majority white district, Watts said he’s ““not sure’’ he’ll even join the black caucus, which he views as advocating ““more government dependency.''
The message from the Republican leadership seems to be that black Democrats are welcome – but on very new terms. ““If they’re willing to do bootstrap stuff, en-terprise zones and work-for-your-welfare, they’ll be fine,’’ says a GOP strategist. ““If not, it’s going to be a cold two years.''
