Sunday, August 1, 2010
Herenton in the Bunker: "You Got to Watch These White Folks."
Posted by Jackson Baker on Sun, Aug 1, 2010 at 3:47 PM
- JB
- Herenton gets a hero's welcome at Joe Brown's place
It was not exactly a bunker — except perhaps metaphorically — but what may turn out to be Willie Herenton’s climactic appearance before a group of political supporters took place Saturday in a smallish enclosed space in North Memphis — the meeting room of city councilman Joe Brown’s district office at Jackson and Watkins.
More than anything else, it was the intense hundred-degree heat outdoors that forced the 40-odd backers of the former mayor into such a crammed, though blissfully air-conditioned, venue. Nate Jackson and other Teamsters members had set up an area for food and drink and dancing outside in the parking lot and heroically continued to toil at their posts throughout the event inside.
There was another sense besides the weather in which the meeting — billed in advance as a “North Memphis rally” — suggested a refuge for survivors. The meeting was held in the face of polls, pundits’ predictions, and a seemingly nonstop string of endorsements for Herenton’s opponent, incumbent congressman Steve Cohen, by African-American personages and institutions. And consequently the feeling of “us against the world” was palpable.
After Sidney Chism, the former Teamster head and current county commissioner who may be Herenton’s oldest and most loyal supporter, addressed the group with one of his patented over-the edge barn-burners, Herenton arrived and entered to the kind of tumultuous welcome that compensated somewhat for the size of the crowd.
And Herenton’s remarks hit some middle between the tempered and the extreme, between a show of confidence and resignation to the inevitable.
He began moderately but with a promise, appropriately cheered, “that we are going to win this election.” In its dire projections as to his electoral fate, the disbelieving media, he said, is confusing likely countywide totals with those of the9th District, which, “always remember…is a subset of the county.” And thus all those reports of higher-than-usual turnouts from white and Republican voters should be disregarded.
He promised to release the details of a poll on Tuesday, which would show, “data-wise with high predictability value of how large our margin will be.” That putative margin over Cohen could be estimated as between 3 to 1 and 4 to 1, Herenton said, “I’d like to beat him so bad I like the 4 to 1.”
Cohen’s well-documented financial edge? “I’ve never seen a dollar vote.” Nor could President Obama and the members of the Congressional Black Caucus who’ve endorsed Cohen vote. “But you can vote. And you’re going to vote.” Another cheer. “The black voters are going to determine who’s going to Congress.”
“To even make this race comfortably close,” Herenton said, Cohen would have to get “six out of ten of us.” And with “our folks …voting like mad,” that was not going to happen. “You got to watch these white folks,” he warned, speaking of alleged “irregularities” that occurred during the 2006 election. “Anything goes down, you got to watch white folks counting.” That was one of the lessons learned on the slave ships, Herenton said, somewhat incongruously.
“It will not be close. Look at the demographics of the 9th Congressional District,” Herenton said. Those Democratic candidates who stayed away from him, “the same way Gore stayed away from Clinton” were going to be in trouble. “The way they win is heavily dependent on the black vote. [But] they treat me like I’ve got a plague. But see, I don’t need them. All I need is you.”
Again, he promised to release a poll with “factual information” on the probable outcome on August 5. He ridiculed pollsters “Yacoubian, Ethridge, and Bakke,” and said, “Put all of them together, and they won’t come up with one good poll.”
Herenton also mocked the figure of 35 percent that I had given WREG’s Mike Matthews in an interview as a possible high-water mark for the ex-mayor. I could not resist interjecting aloud that that number was higher than any given him in a scientific survey so far. In fact, my actual estimate of his final vote — “out of the air,” as he put it — has for some time been 33 percent, and that, I concede, is likely too high.
His “victory party” would be held at the Botanic Gardens, he said. And his final words? “It’s all good.”
Comments (31)
Showing 1-31 of 31
This is called preparing for the inevitable. He is going to lose BADLY; he is more done than a two-hour steak.
like
dislike
Thursday night at Herenton headquarters is going to be one of the most dramatic evenings in Memphis history. High soap opera.
Willie's election night party should include a string quartet performing, "Nearer My God To Thee," just like on the Titanic before it sank into the deep, cold waters.
There's something almost pitiful about this show of false bravado. Herenton's many things, but a fool isn't one of them. He sees the handwriting on the wall. He knows his candidacy is now an exercise in futility, especially given the alignment of every black politician and prominent member of the black establishment, in Memphis AND in Washington, against him.
He knows he's no match for Barack Obama, who, for all his struggles of late with a tea-party-infected public, is still wildly popular in the black community. But, no prize fighter throws in the towel before the opening bell has rung.
This display of braggadocio is the last gasp of a dying politician, the final act in the "rise and fall of Willie Wilbert Herenton," and (we can only hope) the death knell of racial politics in Memphis, Tennessee. If Willie Herenton can't win by appealing to racial loyalty, which is how he's won most of his elections, who else ever will? He knows the days when black voters will slavishly do his bidding simply because he tells them to are over, but that doesn't mean he either likes or would ever admit it, and so he boasts and preens, because that's all he's got left.
In some ways, Herenton is on the verge of becoming a tragic figure. Alas, poor Willie; we knew him well.
Congressman Steve Cohen went beyond talk to action when he passed a resolution calling upon the United States House of Representatives to apologize for its role in allowing slavery and the Jim Crow era that followed. All we have from Herenton is talk.
Kerry: You don't think watching WW Herenton, one of the most important figures in Memphis history, possibly have to give the first concession speech of his life at age 70 isn't going to be high drama? Conversely, if he pulls the most unexpected upset in recent memory, you don't think that will be crazy-dramatic? I thought I was stating the obvious.
i have never seen a city like this before. Im from texas and this town seems to be out of control but then again, look who runs it.
Think about Thursday night. A long time politician on the executive side of government, who has never lost an election, and for the last 30 years been the leader of the two largest public organizations will come face to face with his own political mortality. It is almost like "Lonesome Dove-Memphis Politics Style". Herenton and Chism go on one last adventure. Like in the book, this last adventure will not turn out well for either of them. Herenton will go out like Gus but Chism is still on the commission. He'll have to fade away like Call, having to live through his political marginalization.
Thursday night is a must watch because the remnants of Herenton's legacy is at stake. Does he go out with class or does he try to burn it all down fighting to the end? High drama indeed.
Talk about adding insult to injury: the Tri-State Defender has endorsed Cohen. http://tri-statedefenderonline.com/article…
So, let's see: Cohen's endorsements: Maxine Smith, Russell Sugarmon, Harold Ford, Sr., Harold Ford, Jr. (not a formal endorsement, but the next best thing), Barack Obama, Congressional Black Caucus, Tri-State Defender;
Herenton's endorsements: his mother and Sidney Chism.
This is embarrassing. I know I said he wouldn't, but I think there's a possibility Herenton might actually throw in the towel and salvage what's left of his political career, rather than suffer a humiliating KO, and have to disappear into the sands of political time.
P.S. AC, your silence is deafening. There's still time to show us you're made of sterner stuff.
Watch the "white" folk? What happen to us? Are we just not Americans anymore? Why all this racists remarks? I see a man, woman or child as a human being. Come on, quit using race as a excuse ! Lets act as a "People" of wisdom & faith.
He kept saying, "Look at the demographics of the 9th Congressional District," as if the racial make-up of the district all but assures his victory. Nothing has changed in his strategy. He's still taking black voters for granted. You can never take anyone's vote for granted because the moment you do that, you lose their vote.
It was never all good on W.W. Herenton's watch. It was never even mostly good. Thank God for A.C.Wharton.
What an embarrassment for Memphis -- AGAIN! Wonder if we'll make the Daily Show?
hautmair, it's only an embarrassment for Memphis if Herenton wins. Right now, it's merely an interesting anthropological scenario.
So, the 9th District choices are Steve Cohen, a left-wing loon, and Willie "I Never Met a White Person I Liked or Trusted" Herenton. Memphis once again proves that it's the ass-end of Tennessee politics
Murfreesboro Joe, I think Steve Cohen is a lot more sane than any of the republican gubernatorial ads that I've seen. Apparently, all you need to do to qualify as a viable candidate for that is to love God and guns, and hate abortion.
Onto the WWH...I bet the concession speech is going to be a doozy. Lots of blame, little concession, most likely a demand of an investigation.
Joe, you and Reverend George Brooks should have lunch sometime; you're neighbors, so you should plenty to talk about. You're both obsessed with a Congressional race far from where you actually live.
Anyone want to bet that this next Herenton press conference is a set-up for an eventual claim of a stolen election? The guy hasn't even lost yet and he's already sounding sore.
Auto, in order to steal an election, it's got to be close. So if all the "experts" are correct (cue a Tommy V. post here), then it won't be close and can't be stolen, unlike Herenton's first election as Mayor, which WAS stolen from Hackett.
I'm betting Herenton doesn't even give a speech when he loses. He's just going to quietly sulk away. That's the kind of guy he is.
At least Herenton did not sink to the depths of his main media cheerleader, Thaddeus
Matthews, on his station WPLX. There for past few weeks, one could hear Matthews railing
against Cohen, the "Jewish slave master" (!), a new addition to his rancid diatribes on behalf of his buddy Herenton featuring his usual low information content. And that's only the beginning. He really got worked up on the air with so many anti-Semitic rants I thought I was in a space-time warp back to 1937 Berlin.
I noticed the racialistic language of Herenton and Matthews grew in extremes between the
Herenton's campaign kickoff (Feb, link below)
http://www.benjharrison.net/mpn.february.2…
with photos of Sidney Chism working the crowd
and recent Matthews' talk shows (July, link below)
http://www.benjharrison.net/mpn.july.2010.… .
My little question about the links above: Is Memphis so far off the radar (even to ourselves)
that a congressional candidate can get a way with this kind of race mongering (and supportive rants over local media) that it doesn't even get a mention in the major media (except the NY Times)?
Pix, since I live in Marshaland, I don't have a direct dog in this hunt, but I really don't believe the bigoted, illogical rantings of Matthews represent the views of the majority of Memphians. AT least I hope not. We'll find out Thursday. I look forward to the day when a new crop of leaders arises around here who will eschew this utter bullshit and give up the racebaiting...and that includes a lot of white politicians who do it in code, as well.
Top Commenters
THIS WEEK'S ISSUE
SPECIAL ISSUES
