Nothing is more embarrassing for a writer than misspelling someone’s name, especially someone you’ve known for a couple of decades. But in part one of this series I spelled my congresswoman’s name as “Marsha” and was roundly (deservedly) taken to task. The spanking I got should last me for a couple of years — at least.
Now, with that out of the way, l wanted to raise the question of who might replace our 11th congressional district champion on the floor of the House of Representatives if she does get the nod for the Secretary of Agriculture position. But in spite of Jim Clyburn’s strong support, president-elect Biden might stay with the same ’ol, same ’ol. That is, he might appoint someone white from a farm state such as Iowa or North Dakota, where he got few votes.
The New York Times’ Jonathon Martin, in his recent article on the subject, divided the issue between urban and rural, as if Marcia would not be able to serve both populations effectively. It’s little wonder that Martin feels this way since historically the Department of Agriculture has always done a relatively poor job of serving black Americans.
Black farmers have repeatedly proven in court beyond a shadow of any doubt they have always gotten the short end of the stick financially in terms of loans and grants since some of the biggest racists in government work in local and federal farming agencies. These black farmers, who are struggling as much as or more than their white counterparts, have never gotten the support they are due, and the courts have often drug their feet when they seek legal redress.
Certainly Marcia Fudge would refocus some of the department’s resources towards assisting a wider portion of the American public. But there are forces in the agency that probably see any increase in assistance to starving urban dwellers (many of them of color) as taking away from rural white farmers. To them it’s always a zero-sum game.
So much will be revealed by Biden’s choice for this position: does he satisfy the six Democratic white farmers in Iowa and North Dakota — OK, there may be a few more of them, but not many — or does he satisfy the millions of blacks that swung the election for him and Harris by appointing Fudge to the position?
Which brings us back to her replacement in Congress: I can predict the race is going to be a real political donnybrook: a no-holds-barred, knock-down-drag-out, free-for-all type of fight for the Congressional seat. Pursuant to Ohio law, the vacancy must be filled by a special congressional election called by the governor. Candidates must first run in a special congressional primary, then go on to a general election. We can fully expect that Larry, Curley and Mo will all throw their hats into the ring, as well as a Republican or two.
The primary would likely be decided by a plurality, not a 50% majority. That is, the candidate that garners the highest number of votes, even if that’s only 25 or 30% of the total votes cast, would be the winner. A field could be so crowded with black candidates that a well-funded white candidate from the district’s whiter and more affluent areas could capture the seat.
The fact is, following in the footprints of the electrifying Stephanie Tubbs-Jones’ would have proven to be big shoes for anyone to fill. But the low-key Fudge (who is acknowledged by her colleagues in Congress to be a very effective legislator) has never quite caught on with some of the electorate. A cursory look at Board of Elections’ records show a relatively substantial number of people — Democrats — elect to not vote for her when her name appears on the ballot. It’s called the “under vote.”
One of the knocks against my congresswoman that I’ve repeatedly heard over the years is that she doesn’t like to come down to the less affluent part of her district: The ’hood. I can somewhat attest to this since, while I’ve always been on great terms with Marcia since her first political victory in Warrensville Heights, she has never visited our vineyard and winery. And yes, my feelings have been a bit bruised over this slight, which is probably unintentional, in spite of the fact I’ve extended an invitation on more than one occasion.
However, if Fudge is appointed to the cabinet position, I’m sure she’ll then be proud to show off our quite beautiful and somewhat successful (and certainly unique) effort at urban farming and winemaking, just as I’m sure she’ll be able to serve the needs of both urban and rural Americans equally well as Secretary of Agriculture.
