By
Leroy Jones, Jr.
Political Commentator & Columnist
Radio
Shock Jock Don Imus’ statements about the Rutgers University
Women’s Basketball team have been widely condemned.
His subsequent apology and remorse has been and will continue
to be debated. You would like to think that someone with his
bully pulpit would be smart enough to realize that words can
be both hurtful and harmful. Words and symbolism are and will
continue to be an important part of our American discourse.
He was irresponsible and wrong.
As with everything in America, there will be political fallout
from his comments. First, it will be interesting to see if
the mainstream media does not get lost in the hoopla surrounding
the disgusting and vile remarks of Imus, and ignore once again
this significant shift in the American Politic and mindset.
Second,
all of the political candidates, political pundits,
and political insiders who are lined up to appear on
his show now face a problem of choice on whether to
appear as a guest. It will be interesting to see how
many people will line up to be guests on his show when
he returns from the two week suspension handed down
by CBS and MSNBC. Another question yet to be answered:
Will he have a Show when he comes back?
Lastly, do not forget the context in which all of this
is happening. There are hotly contested Presidential
primary races in both parties, and specifically, the
timing of the presidential primaries for the Democratic
Party has turned up the heat. This is of major importance
for all Strong African American Women, who have traditionally
voted for the Democratic Party in large numbers.
With
the South Carolina primary scheduled for January 29,
2008, and the creation of what the media is calling,
“Super Duper Tuesday” on February 5, 2008
(which will involve at least 23 states holding their
Democratic presidential primaries) this two week period
could prove to be a pivotal moment in this campaign.
More than half of these states have a significant African
American population, and the influence of SAAW voters
will be significant. The importance and influence of
who will be the next Democratic presidential nominee
will rest in the hands of SAAW’s.
In
closing, Imus’ remarks are eerily reminiscent
of other remarks shared about SAAWs, which focus primarily
on physical attributes and implied illicit sexual behavior.
It appears that SAAWs are not to be commended for their
political savvy, business acumen, journalistic skill
as SAAW Gwen Ifill discovered, nor their athletic ability,
which the talented Rutgers players displayed as they
earned a berth in the Women’s Final Four. The
time to disregard or ignore their influence and contributions
in our country is over.
Note
to all of the Democratic Presidential Candidates: If
you want the support of Strong African American Women,
it is not enough to “talk about it, you have to
be about it”.
Leroy
Jones, Jr., is the creator of PoliticalJones.com
and a Political Commentator and Government Affairs Consultant
based in Washington, D.C. He is a regularly scheduled
guest on "The
Right Side with Shelley Wynter" daily radio
show on WAOK-1380 AM (Atlanta/CBS), XM Satellite Radio,
Blacknews.com and various other media outlets. Email
Mr. Jones at ljones@politicaljones.com
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