One of the curiousities of the race for the Democratic Nomination for the U.S. Senate race is the presence of Joyce Washington in the race. Washington has a strong healthcare management background, but no experience in elected office. While she has long been active in the community, her first run for office was the 2002 Lieutenant Governor’s race that she lost to Pat Quinn. Not being able to self-finance and not having built a large base through prior campaigns puts her at a significant disadvantage and has raised many questions amongst political watchers curious about the move.
Today, Steve Neal reported what had been rumored for some time, that the Washington candidacy is being pushed by Bobbie Rush to payback Barack Obama who challenged him unsuccessfully in the 2000 primary for Rush’s Congressional Seat. In doing so, Rush is actually helping Dan Hynes by splittling African-American votes between Washington and Obama.
Neal describes the breakdown of African-American votes in the past,
In a statewide Democratic primary, about 30 percent of the voters are African American. When the black community is united behind a single candidate, that person is inevitably a strong contender.
As Rush knows better than anyone, rival black candidacies splinter the vote. In the 1990 Democratic primary for the Supreme Court, black judges Cousins and Blanche M. Manning got just over half the vote. This split helped the late Mayor Michael A. Bilandic win the judicial slot with less than half of the vote. If Rush is determined to spoil Obama’s chances, there is no better way to do it than with a second black candidate.
To make matters shadier, Neal also reports on Rush’s ties to Thomas Hynes, Dan Hynes father,
Rush has a longtime relationship with the candidate’s father, former Cook County Assessor Thomas C. Hynes, who is still the Democratic committeeman of the Far Southwest Side’s 19th Ward. Back in 1992, the elder Hynes provided Rush with critical support in his upset Democratic primary victory over the late Congressman Charles A. Hayes.
Needless to say the above column raised a whole lot of eyebrows amongst African-American clergy in Chicago. And those raised eyebrows were followed closely by calls from Congressman Rush to deny Neal’s report. Rush is saying that he contacted Neal and is demanding a retraction.
Sources indicate Rush is making the argument that the story was planted by the Machine regulars–Daley or Thomas Hynes–to deflect attention from questions concerning Washington’s campaign and whether she is a stalking horse to Obama. By fingering Rush, Rush is claiming, they deflect attention from their efforts.
While it is impossible to determine the veracity of Rush’s claims, the problem with the argument is this key graph from Neal,
Settling an old score with Obama isn’t the only reason that Rush is promoting Washington’s long-shot candidacy. According to knowledgeable sources, this is part of an elaborate scheme to covertly help state Comptroller Dan Hynes, the nominal front-runner in the Democratic senatorial field.
The argument Neal is making implicates both Hynes supporters and Rush and one would assume all involved in creating a stalking horse candidate would not want to be tied to the allegation. Admittedly, barring direct evidence of Washington being a stalking horse put in the race by Hynes supporters, such an allegation has little impact on Hynes or his supporters, but a huge impact in the African-American community where Rush would be viewed very poorly for helping a white candidate over a high quality African-American contender. Where the logic breaks down is why they’d be planting the story if they are trying to divert attention.
The interesting question one is left with is if Washington is a stalking horse candidate, does she realize it.
Posted at Political State Report as well.
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