Days before Alabama’s special Senate
election, Democrat Doug Jones is within striking distance
of winning a seat his party hasn’t won in 25 years. But he
desperately needs black voters to turn out for him, and he
may not have done enough to inspire them.
“Certainly, the clearest path for
Jones is to get the African-American share,” said Zac
McCrary, a Democratic pollster at Anzalone Liszt Grove
Research in Montgomery, Alabama. “It’s deceptively
simple arithmetic to see how he gets there.”
Black residents in Alabama
overwhelmingly vote Democratic. They make up about 27
percent of the
state’s population; white residents make up roughly
69 percent. For Jones to win, he needs black voters to
account for at least 25 percent of the electorate on
Tuesday. He’d then need to win support from 36
percent of white voters to hit 51 percent of the total
vote.
In statewide races since 2008, the
black share of Alabama’s electorate has hovered at about
25 percent. If Jones can bump that up to 26 or 27
percent, he’ll need even less of the white vote. The
white electorate is a tougher slog for Jones given how
Republican the state is, said McCrary, and it gets
incrementally harder with each percentage point. In other
words, Jones’ best chance at winning is boosting the
black share of the electorate by a percentage point or
two, rather than trying to increase his share of white
votes.
One or two extra percentage points? That
doesn’t sound like much. But in reality, it means Jones
needs black voters to turn out at levels similar to when
they turned out for Barack
Obama’s historic presidential win in 2008, when they
comprised 28 percent of Alabama’s electorate. And Doug
Jones, a 63-year-old white guy who’s never run for
office, is no Barack Obama.
Jones’ task doesn’t sound so easy.
But this race has been anything but normal, and McCrary,
who has been in Alabama politics for more than 15 years,
said he thinks Jones can pull off a “historic type
of upset” given the crazy confluence of factors in this
election.
Those factors include the fact that
Jones’ opponent, Republican Roy Moore, is plagued by allegations
of sexual misconduct with teenage girls decades ago.
Beyond that, Moore, a former state judge twice removed
from the bench, has historically been a weak candidate. He
lost two bids for governor, and in 2012, when Mitt Romney
trounced Obama in Alabama in the presidential election, Moore
won just 51 percent of the vote for his court seat.
Meanwhile, Jones, a former U.S. attorney
best known for sending Ku Klux Klan members to jail, is
running a campaign focused on kitchen table issues and his
opposition to Moore’s racist record. His campaign
is flush with money, and this race is playing out in the
context of a strong political climate for Democrats, who
have over-performed in virtually everyelection since
Donald Trump became president.
Even polling suggests the race is a
toss-up. Jones is slightly
trailing Moore, but in an oddly timedspecial
election in the national spotlight, turnout is hard to
predict.
So… what has Jones done for
black voters lately?
None of this matters much for Jones if
black voters don’t flood the polls. HuffPost spent last
week walking the streets of Birmingham ― a city
where Jones is campaigning heavily ― asking a
dozen or so black residents if they plan to vote and what
they think of Jones. The overwhelming response was yes to
voting and mild enthusiasm for the Democratic nominee.
“Absolutely,” said Sy Belyeu, 48, when
asked if she was supporting Jones. “So many of us did
not vote last year because we just knew [Hillary Clinton]
was going to win. I don’t want that to happen again.”
Belyeu, a real estate agent and graduate
student at the University of Alabama, said she thinks
black voters are more focused on the election than the
media has depicted. She said everyone she talks to is
planning to vote, though it’s not because they love
Jones. They’re horrified at the prospect of Moore
winning.
“We just don’t look good in the
news, you know what I’m saying? It looks like
Hicksville,” she said. “There’s a lot of racism, a
lot of homophobia. We don’t want to be characterized
like that any longer. So there’s definitely a push to
get out to vote.”
Sy Belyeu of Birmingham says she’s
voting for Doug Jones for Senate because she’s tired of
Alabama being characterized by its racism and homophobia.
Courtney Smith and Isaiah Burton, both
African-American college students tied up with finals,
said they’ve been too busy to pay attention to the
election. But both said they’ll probably vote because of
pressure from their parents and friends.
“My mom is going to make me go vote.
She watches CNN every day. All day,” Smith, 19, said
with an eye roll. “She is a forceful person. She’s
going to tell me to vote for Doug Jones.”
Roger Herod, 67, said he’s not really
following the Senate race, but is planning to vote for
Jones because he’s a Democrat. He’s not particularly
moved by either candidate, though.
“When you ask a black person about a
choice between two white guys, it’s always, well, which
one of them are the least of a shyster?” said Herod, a
retired merchant seaman. “That’s just the way
black people view white politicians. We’re not as dumb
as we look. We know you guys are full of it.”
Several people told HuffPost they still
don’t know much about Jones aside from his oft-touted
2002 prosecution of the KKK members behind the 16th Street
Baptist Church bombing in 1963 that killed
four black girls and fueled the civil rights
movement. Even as they said they plan to vote for
Jones, they expressed frustration that that’s all they
seem to hear from the Democrat.
“He makes a big play of, ‘I defended
the civil rights.’ OK, that’s all well and good,”
said Herod. “But I don’t hear anything else from you
until it’s time for an election?”
Get used to Jones talking about
civil rights.
Jones clearly wants to keep the focus
on civil rights through election day. On Friday,
Jones’ campaign denounced Moore for saying the last
time America was great was
during slavery. His campaign also sent out emails
this week highlighting Moore’s “questionable
remarks and actions on civil rights,” including his
effort to keep
segregation language in the state’s
constitution and his refusal to include a statue of
Martin Luther King Jr. next to a Ten Commandments
monument in a state judicial building.
When you ask a black
person about a choice between two white guys, it’s
always, well, which one of them are the least of a
shyster?”Roger Herod,
67
Jones could alienate black voters if
he’s not careful. His campaign circulated a mailer this
week that shows a black man with a skeptical look on his
face, and the caption, “Think if a black man went after
high school girls anyone would try to make him a
senator?”
The mailer was a jab at Moore, but it
landed with a thud among some in the black community.
“Someone, probably a white man,
thought that the image would resonate with black people
and motivate them to get out the vote,” fumed Michael
Harriot of The Root, an African-American culture website.
“It’s as if black people were considering voting for
the child molester until some brilliant strategist
posited, ‘What if he were black, though?’”
Asked Friday about those criticisms,
Jones said
only, “That mailer kind of speaks for
itself.”
Black residents are also hindered by the
state’s record
of voter suppression. Alabama does not permit early
voting, which has been a
key factor for other states in boosting black
turnout, and it doesn’t have same-day registration or
no-fault absentee voting.
As election day nears, Jones’
campaign has been stepping up its phone calls, radio and
cable TV spots, digital ads and direct mail pieces
targeting the state’s black community. He has also been
sending surrogates into 12 Alabama counties with high
concentrations of African-Americans.
Given that Jones has raised more than
$10 million since Oct. 1, compared to Moore’s $2
million, he can afford to reach out to hundreds of
thousands of black Alabamans who haven’t been active in
recent elections.
“Those voters are all going to be
touched multiple times, not only to remind them of the
election, but of what Jones will do as a senator,” said
Giles Perkins, the chairman of Jones’ campaign.
“We’re not making choices on mail or calls. We’re
doing all of it.”
Jones is also bringing in star power. Influential
black national leaders like Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) will
be in Alabama this weekend to help with Jones’ final
push. Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D), Sen.
Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) will
also campaign
with Jones in Birmingham.
Booker was already taking shots at Moore
on Friday.
For all of Jones’ efforts, the
reality is that this is still Alabama, a deeply
conservative state that hasn’t elected a Democratic
senator since 1992. And that guy, current Sen. Richard
Shelby, has since become a Republican.
But some of Jones’ supporters say that
although they usually don’t hold out hope for a Democrat
to win, this time, something feels different.
“I’m a pessimist. But I think
Jones wins very narrowly,” said Joseph De Sciose,
64, a professional photographer in Birmingham.
He said he’s not basing his prediction
on polls or news articles, and he’s not particularly
engaged with Jones’ campaign. He’s noticed something
more organic happening around town that has caught him by
surprise and given him hope that Democrats have an edge.
“There are just so, so many more yards
signs for Jones than I’ve ever seen,” said Sciose.
“More than I saw even when Obama was running.”
The
All New Wednesday Night LIVE at The Red Rooster
featuring Heart 2 Fine!!! FREE Admission All Night!
What to know about the hate group
targeting Texas
Texas colleges, including the University
of Houston, have been targets for white supremacists this
past year.
In September, UH student Michael Leone
spotted racist fliers from Vanguard America around campus.
Leone took down the fliers and told Chron.comthat
he’s “not going to let U of H, one of the most diverse
campuses in America, get a reputation as a safe space for
Nazis and fascists to come and recruit people.”
The fliers were linked to Vanguard
America, which the Anti-Defamation
League identifies as a white supremacist group.
Members of the group’s subset, Texas
Vanguard, were recently on Southern Methodist University,
giving Nazi salutes and hanging up racist propaganda. Police
are still searching for the suspects on the grounds that
they hung unauthorized signs and defaced university
property.
Read more at www.Chron.com
to learn more about Texas Vanguard and Vanguard America.
Model discusses life looking like
Beyonce
While it’s quite the glamorous and
wealthy life, it can’t be easy being Beyoncé. We saw
that this week when the
star attempted to go to Target with her mother and
daughter and found that going incognito was not so easy.
But if being Beyoncé is as complex
as it seems, imagine the struggle it must be to look like
and be mistaken for the star.
Detroit native Brittany Williams, who goes
by SurB on
Instagram, does bear a striking resemblance to the singer
(she actually gives us both Beyoncé and Ciara vibes).
She said in an interview with The
Daily Mailthat she deals with screaming fans
all of the time.
“I get approached all the time; whether
it be on planes, at the airport or while attending
events,” she said. “I’ve also been chased, had
pictures taken of me without my consent and pranks done
without me knowing. A group of women once chased me and my
friend to our car and began singing ‘Single Ladies,’
beating my friend’s car with the heels of their shoes
until we rolled down the window and took a picture with
them. Most people are generally friendly though and just
want a picture, they often say I look like a younger version
of Beyoncé.”
The attention used to bother Williams (her
age wasn’t shared), who started getting compared to Beyoncé
during the star’s Destiny’s Child days. But she’s
learned to roll with it, and actually values the things that
she says she has in common with Queen Bey.
“We both have southern roots,” she
said. “My parents and her parents look like they could be
related. She sings, dances, writes and I am gifted in the
same ways; we’re both strong dominant women, fearless, and
God fearing.”
“We’re simply blessed to have a woman
with such grace, humility, loyalty, talent and worth ethic
to exist in our time,” Williams added. “She’s the
example of what men should seek, and girls should become.”
Former NBA player Chris Bosh’s
mother targeted in drug raid
The DeSoto police department has raided a
home owned by former
basketball player Chris Bosh on Friday.
His mother, Freida Bosh, was the target of
the drug raid.
According to authorities, the
investigation began on November 10 when a car that was
leaving the home was stopped by police. In the car, they
found baggies of cocaine and marijuana as
well as several empty baggies containing some sort of drug
residue.
One week later they began surveillance on
the Bosh home and this continued for several weeks during
which police witnessed people coming and going from the
home.
The DeSoto Police Department got
information from multiple sources that there was significant
vehicle traffic coming and going from the address at 902 St.
Georges Place. These sources also claimed to have seen
“hand to hand” drug deals going on outside the home.
On November 28 and December 5 officers
were sent in undercover to take trash bags from in front of
the home. They took these bags back to the police station
and there found more traces of drug residue on the garbage.
The investigation found that the sources
and their information was credible and that was enough to
secure a no-knock warrant which was then executed.
Police then seized a large amount of drug
paraphernalia that is generally used in drug trafficking but
no arrests were made at the time.
The investigation is ongoing and police
sources say that Chris Bosh is not a suspect in their
investigation.
More Texans may be left without
health insurance after end of open enrollment
Open enrollment for health care
under former President Barack Obama’s health care
law ends Dec. 15, and while current Texas
enrollment numbers are up from this time last year, new
restrictions under the Trump administration may mean more
uninsured Texans.
Under the Affordable Care Act,
individuals who are not insured through an employer can buy
plans through the federal government during the open
enrollment period. In 2016, that period ran from Nov. 1 to
Jan. 31 — but this year, it’s been cut in half to end Friday,
Dec. 15.
While several states opted to
extend the enrollment period, Texas, which runs its services
through the federal healthcare.gov webpage, did not.
Texas has seen 437,919 enrollees
for the 2018 plan year as of Dec. 2, according to the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — a 38.8
percent increase in enrollment when compared to this time
last year. But that’s not much of a comfort to
organizations trying to get more people enrolled.
“We only have half as much
time to enroll people,” said Melissa McChesney, an
outreach coordinator at the Center for Public Policy
Priorities, a left-leaning think tank. “So we would have
to be doing significantly better than we are right now in
order to avoid a dip enrollment numbers overall.”
“There is concern that we will
see fewer Texans enroll in the marketplace, and that’s
primarily because of the shortened enrollment period, and
that does mean we are likely to see a higher number of
uninsured Texans for 2018,” McChesney added.
Last year, a total of 1.2
million Texans bought insurance during the enrollment
period, about one-sixth of whom were automatically enrolled
after not changing their coverage from the previous year,
McChesney said.
Karen Pollitz,a senior fellow at
the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health care nonprofit, said
in previous years, enrollment has surged just before Dec.
15.
“Most people last year, in all
the states, signed up by Dec. 15 even though open enrollment
went all the way until the end of January because if you
want coverage to begin on Jan. 1, that was the deadline,”
Pollitz said.
However, shortening the window
to enroll is not the only cut made by the Trump
administration affecting Texans trying to buy health
insurance.
The administration cut the
budget for outreach and advertising by 90 percent and
slashed funding to the navigator program, in which someone
walks potential buyers through the process, by 60 percent.
Supporters of the Affordable Care Act said these cuts
have led to a decrease in awareness about the enrollment
period.
Drew White, a health care policy
expert at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation,
said these restrictions were the administration’s attempts
to roll back aspects of the law within their power.
“We don’t believe there is a
whole lot they can do,” While said referring to the
president’s executive powers. “Congress is going to have
to be one to repeal the statues when it comes to the
regulations or to roll back the Medicaid expansion, that’s
just going to be out of their purview.”
“Congress should have made
good on its promise and repealed Obamacare this year as they
have been promising for seven, eight years prior to that,”
White said. “It’s just unfortunate because consumers are
going to see their premiums and deductibles go up with fewer
and fewer options as long as federal insurance regulations
remain in statute.”
While it hasn’t been heavily
publicized, Pollitz said there will be a special enrollment
period through the end of December for people who are living
in or have moved out of hurricane-affected areas.
People wishing to enroll during this period will have to do
so over the phone, she added.
“I think everybody, CMS
[Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services], the
navigators, the other people who help folks sign up really,
really want the message to be, ‘Sign up by Dec. 15.
That is the best way to do it,’” Pollitz said. “Some
people will need more time, or miss it, and will have this
opportunity.”
In Congress, Republicans are
promising to pass a new tax code by Christmas, and the
current U.S. Senate plan includes a repeal of the portion of
the ACA that requires all individuals to have health
insurance.
The Congressional Budget Office,
a nonpartisan congressional analysis organization,estimates that if
the individual mandate is repealed, 13 million Americans
will lose their health insurance in the next 10 years and
that plans will have higher premiums as younger,
healthier individuals opt to go without coverage.
McChesney said even if it’s
repealed, the individual mandate would still be in effect
until 2019.
“It’s important that people
understand, who are considering purchasing ACA insurance
right now, that they are still subject to the mandate and
could potentially face a tax penalty if they go uninsured in
2018,” she said.
Johnson Publishing building acquired
for $10 Million
Earlier this year it was revealed that the
iconic Johnson Publishing Company headquarters in Chicago
would be recognized as a landmark. Now that the structure
has been granted landmark status by the city, the building
has been sold for $10 million, the Chicago
Crusader reported.
The 46-year-old building—which once
housed the offices for notable Black publications like Ebony
and Jet—was acquired by 3L Real Estate, the news outlet
said.
The developer plans to invest $20 million
into transforming the building into a luxury residential
complex. It will feature 150 apartments and have amenities
that include a fitness center, laundry room, and an
underground parking garage that Johnson Publishing Company
founder John
H. Johnson built. Rents start at $1,200 and go up
to $2,700. Joseph Slezak, the founder of 3L Real
Estate, said he plans to preserve some parts of the
structure, including the Ebony and Jet signs on the
building’s façade.
The reconstruction project is slated to
begin in 2018 and is expected to be completed the following
year. Slezak said the building will be “a great fit for
the neighborhood.” He also noted that his firm often seeks
to acquire “unique” structures.
Ownership of the Johnson Publishing
Company building has been passed around throughout the
years. Seven years ago, Linda
Johnson Rice sold the building to Columbia College,
which wanted to transform it into a library. In 2016,
however, Columbia College resold the structure.
In February, when there was buzz about the
building becoming a landmark, Chicago Mayor Rahm
Emanuel referred to it as a “decades-long
epicenter of Black history and culture” and “part of the
legacy of the city of Chicago.”
The
PINNACLE Center is free* for use to Fort Bend and City
of Houston residents that are ages 50 and above.