On Nikki Tinker (The Reversal)

(Photo: WMC) Originally posted 8/17; Click the conversation for more. Revised.

UPDATE (8/19): In a guest column in the Commercial Appeal, Nikki Tinker apologized--twice, for those keeping score at home--for all that went awry in the Democratic primary for the Ninth Congressional District.

An excerpt:

During the campaign, I publicly denounced anti-Semitic campaign fliers on local news stations and in print, placed a personal video on my Web site denouncing anti-Semitic activity, stopped communicating with reporters who only wanted to talk about race and religion, and walked out on a National Public Radio interview when the interviewer was warned not to focus on race but did so anyway.

The issue is not about race, it is about economics. As long as there are educational and economic disparities that lead to health care and housing disparities, there will always be tension, especially if one race is impacted more than another. These are the issues that I was trying to address, and I did so in advertising that no one is discussing today.

In those ads, I talked about the need for a school on transportation in Memphis, the need to truly improve the Second Chance program, and my desire for businesses to have an after-school program for their employees' children to help them with subjects such as math and science. I wanted to be heard on the substantive issues of the campaign -- health care, Iraq, immigration and education, and I wanted to take the challenge offered by Cohen, to look closely at his voting record. Yet reporting on the congressional race came down to race and religion.

In the column, Tinker accepts full responsibility for the errors of her campaign. Yet, it wasn't her error that the media became so focused on race and religion.

In other words, in hindsight, that primary race could serve as a Rorschach Test, revealing more about our innermost thoughts and fears than anything else. The media--and by extension, most of the public--saw race and religion because we desire simplicity instead of nuance even as the world becomes more complex and convoluted. Thus the knee-jerk responses--in part sparked by cues from Cohen.

To thrash about irrationally is much easier than actually discussing the issues, which Tinker apparently wanted to do but couldn't. (I'm just sayin, the WREG debate spoke for itself.)

So the lesson is that, when someone does try to challenge Cohen on his record, the charge of anti-Semitism should be disregarded as a smokescreen. But I digress.

I would like to hear Cohen's response to Tinker. His supporters have spit more vitriol in the aftermath of the election that the high road now has deep potholes. Where is his leadership in repairing that damage?

UPDATE (8/18): Beyond Tinker and her future, what about Cohen's? The election season isn't finished yet. CA columnist Blake Fontenay examines the boost that Cohen could receive in exposure and clout, especially if the Democrats handily win as expected in November.

An excerpt:

Numerous stories were written and aired about how Tinker, who is black, and her surrogates seemed determined to make an issue of race while attempting to unseat Cohen, a white man representing a majority black district.

When Cohen defied the conventional political script with a blowout win, people far beyond the Memphis district's boundaries took notice.

"He certainly got national attention earlier than most first-term congressmen would because of the peculiar nature of his district and his success in it," said Marcus Pohlmann, a Rhodes College political science professor.

Cohen wasn't exactly flying under the political radar before the campaign season started.

Thanks partly to his dry wit and mastery of the art of sound bite delivery, his speeches have frequently aired on YouTube and C-SPAN. Early in his first term, he held his own during an appearance on "The Colbert Report," a satirical program known for skewering unsuspecting politicians.

As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, he's had an opportunity to participate in high-profile hearings, taking his turn questioning the likes of former attorney general Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller.

It's an intriguing commentary because it completely misses the point about Cohen.

He didn't defy a "conventional political script" at all. His win was as conventional as it could get. He won because he is an incumbent, had a better coalition of supporters and was the better candidate.

Yet, to continue to focus on race is to note how Cohen uses race to gain exposure on a national level. It's really racial politics disguised as post racial advancement.

Do you think a freshman congressman like Cohen would have gotten on the Colbert Show if not for how he depicts himself --or better yet, how others consider him--in terms of race? I think not.

Also, Cohen has no clout. If he did, he would have had more than Conyers supporting him. The Democratic Party decided not to get involved at all in this race. No measurable funding whatsoever.

So, is Cohen a star or an anomaly that folks tolerate because they have no choice?

I'm just sayin, as a white congressman from a predominantly-black district, Cohen is a tricky dilemma for Democrats much like Travis Childers and conservative, his hatin-on-Obama ways are in Mississippi.

What do you do with Cohen when he tries to join the Congressional Black Caucus? Force them to let him in? That's suicide given the importance of African American representation to Democrats. But I digress.

Let's be real: Cohen's appeal on a national level is firmly rooted in race, not his wit. It will always be that way.

And whatever he gains in his next term will result from the Democratic Party's flummoxing on how he really fits into the larger picture.

I'm just sayin, it's notable that Cohen has been out there defending Barack Obama from Day One. And if Obama wins the White House, you better believe that Cohen will go to the Democratic Party and demand that they fully support him or else.

I can see the headlines now: Democratic Party flipflops on post-racial rhetoric in failing to support Jewish congressman.

The press will eat it up. Blackmail--uhm, political leverage--doesn't get any better than this.

ORIGINAL POST (8/17): In an interview with WMC Friday, Nikki Tinker, who lost the Democratic primary in the Ninth Congressional District election, apologized for the damage done by her campaign.

She took full responsibility, though she had no control over the "Jews Hate Jesus" flyer. An excerpt:

Tinker said she had no knowledge of a flyer that surfaced during her campaing, accusing Cohen and the Jews of hating Jesus. But, she did oversee and approve television ads linking Cohen to the KKK.

"The ads were merely a response to Mr. Cohen's challenge to examine his record," she said.

Tinker had experienced consultants construct the ads, but said she could only blame herself for the negative response they evoked.

"Unfortunately, we did a poor job of doing that, perhaps, and if anyone was offended in any way in the approach that we took, I want to go on the record and apologize," she said.

She went on to talk in third person. But I digress. She's sorry.

She blames no one else for what happened, which is interesting since Walter Bailey--one of those "experienced consultants"--is throwing her under the bus. In the aftermath of such a debacle, it is every man for himself.

Two excerpts from Otis Sanford's column in the CA:

Bailey had the starring role in the 30-second spot that was shown repeatedly on local television in the days before the Aug. 7 election.

As a result, Bailey has taken plenty of heat and now says he regrets how the ad was put together by "professionals in Washington."

"I'm not condemning the ad, but if I had done the ad I would have done it differently," Bailey told me last week.

...

In the end, Tinker ran a racially divisive and inept campaign. She suffered a devastating defeat, receiving only 19 percent of the vote to Cohen's 79 percent.

Bailey admits that Tinker had little chance of winning the District 9 seat because she never connected with voters. But he believes the district needs a black representative, and he supported her because "she was the only game in town."

Now, her political ambitions are toast. And her major supporters, including savvy politicians like Bailey, are left licking a few wounds.

Too bad none of them saw this train wreck coming.

Indeed.

Is Tinker toast? It depends. The WMC interview is a first step.

The next steps include a personal conversation with U.S. Rep Steve Cohen and a public acceptance of that apology from him.

That shouldn't be too hard for a man who apologized for slavery. Should it?