[WCUSP] Fw: Caucus Sisters Shine, Brothers Lag Behind

Fri Dec 8 15:20:20 CST 2006

This is not to request funds, but to provide fascinating information.

Libby

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <moderator at PORTSIDE.ORG>
To: <PORTSIDE at LISTS.PORTSIDE.ORG>
Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 11:32 PM
Subject: Caucus Sisters Shine, Brothers Lag Behind

> CBC Monitor:
>
> Caucus Sisters Shine, Brothers Lag Behind:
> An Analysis of Their Voting Records by Gender
>
> By CBC Monitor's Leutisha Stills
>
> http://www.blackagendareport.com/007/pf/pf-007a_ls_cbc_brothas_vs_sistas.html
>
> 'Black women who are elected to Congress are all but
> guaranteed to be more progressive than nearly half of Black
> male members.'
>
> 'And if a house divided (split into factions and rebelling)
> against itself, that house will not be able to last.' (Mark
> 3:25)
>
> As we near the beginning of a new, Democrat-dominated session
> of Congress, much attention is focused on who will become
> chairs of important committees and subcommittees. Most of the
> Black candidates to wield committee gavels are males with
> longstanding progressive credentials - a fact that tends to
> give the impression that the Black Caucus is chock-a-block
> with progressive guys. However, a CBC Monitor analysis of
> voting records shows that the women of the Caucus are
> significantly more progressive than the men.
>
> When the Caucus is examined as a body, the gender gap is
> dramatic. Of the 12 female voting members, 10 earned places in
> the Honor Society, with 'A' grades (90-100%) - an impressive
> 83% of total voting women. (The two women congressional
> delegates from Washington, DC and the U.S. Virgin Islands
> cannot vote on the House floor.)
>
> 'Not a single CBC woman scored less than a â?~B"
>
> The remaining two female members earned a 'B' with 80-89%
> scores. Not a single CBC woman scored less than a 'B' in the
> final grading period of 2006.
>
> The men were a very different story. Twelve men out of 29
> earned the Honor Society 'A' - 41% vs. 83% for the women. A
> total of 17 men rated 'A' or 'B' - 59% of male members,
> compared to 100% percent of females.
>
> It was all downhill from there for the men of the CBC.
>
> This story continues below the blue box.
>
> Support independent analysis, journalism & commentary. Black
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>
> Your donations, large and small enable us to bring you Black
> Agenda Report. It's that simple If we don't support our own
> independent voices, who will? Clustered at the Bottom: All Men
>
> Ten males, 34% of the total, scored in the 'Underachiever'
> 60-70% range, for a 'C' grade. Two 'Derelicts' managed to fall
> below 60%. The combined male 'Underachievers' and 'Derelicts'
> comprised 41% of CBC men - the same percentage as those that
> scored an 'A'. Thus, the bottom-scoring men are equal in
> number to the top male scorers, while the women are grouped
> entirely at or near the top of the class.
>
> (Lone Black Senator Barack Obama scored an underachieving 70%
> percent - a 'C' - on the Report Card.)
>
> CBC MEMBER, STATE SCORE GRADE CATEGORY
>
> Barbara Jackson Lee, CA 100 A+ Honor Society
>
> Juanita Millender-McDonald, CA 100 A+ Honor Society
>
> Gwendolyn Moore, WI 100 A+ Honor Society
>
> Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, VA 100 A+ Honor Society
>
> Chaka Fattah, PA 95 A Honor Society
>
> Maxine Waters, CA 95 A Honor Society
>
> Diane Watson, CA 95 A Honor Society
>
> Melvin G. Watt, NC 90 A Honor Society
>
> Corrine Brown, FL 90 A Honor Society
>
> Emmanuel Cleaver, MO 90 A Honor Society
>
> John Conyers, MI 90 A Honor Society
>
> Alcee Hastings, FL 90 A Honor Society
>
> Elijah Cummings, MD 90 A Honor Society
>
> Danny Davis, IL 90 A Honor Society
>
> Jesse Jackson Jr., IL 90 A Honor Society
>
> Sheila Jackson-Lee, TX 90 A Honor Society
>
> Eddie Berniece Johnson, TX 90 A Honor Society
>
> Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, OH 90 A Honor Society
>
> Carolyn Kirkpatrick, MI 90 A Honor Society
>
> John Lewis, GA 90 A Honor Society
>
> Donald Payne, NJ 90 A Honor Society
>
> Charles Rangel, NY 90 A Honor Society
>
> Cynthia McKinney, GA 85 B Consensus
>
> Major Owens, NY 85 B Consensus
>
> Julia Carson, IN 85 B Consensus
>
> Al Green, TX 80 B Consensus
>
> Kendrick Meek, FL 80 B Consensus
>
> James Clyburn, SC 80 B Consensus
>
> David Scott, GA 80 B Consensus
>
> Bobby Rush, IL 70 C Underachiever
>
> G. K. Butterfield, NC 70 C Underachiever
>
> William "Lacy" Clay, MO 70 C Underachiever
>
> Artur Davis, AL 70 C Underachiever
>
> Gregory Meeks, NY 70 C Underachiever
>
> Edolphus Towns, NY 70 C Underachiever
>
> Albert Wynn, MD 70 C Underachiever
>
> Bennie Thompson, MS 70 C Underachiever
>
> Barack Obama, (Sen) IL 70 C Underachiever
>
> Sanford Bishop, GA 60 D Underachiever
>
> William Jefferson, LA 35 F Derelict
>
> Harold Ford Jr., TN 30 F Derelict
>
> The pattern becomes even more stark when Caucus members'
> scores are aggregated by gender. Women scored an average 93.3%
> - a group Honor Roll, while CBC men languished in the
> 'Underachiever' column, with a group score of 76.2%.
>
> CBC Women Voting Records (Avg. Score)
>
> # of Members Average Score Category
>
> 12 93.3% Honor Roll
>
> CBC Men Voting Records (Avg. Score)
>
> # of Members Average Score Category
>
> 29 76.2% Underachiever
>
> Based on the record, Black women who are elected to Congress
> are all but guaranteed to be more progressive - that is, to
> defend and advance the interests of their constituents, rather
> than corporations - than nearly half of Black male members. We
> cannot help but believe this figure is a commentary on African
> American culture - that it reflects realities far beyond
> electoral politics.
>
> In the October 25 Inaugural Issue of Black Agenda Report, I
> wrote: 'Just over half of the voting CBC members can be
> counted on to do the right thing, most of the time.' Our
> latest analysis of the numbers shows that the half of the CBC
> that can be counted on includes virtually all the women, but
> barely half the men.
>
> 'In general, Black female congressional candidates will behave
> in a more progressive manner once in office than their male
> counterparts.'
>
> To be fair, CBC Monitor has not done a gender-based analysis
> of non-Black congresspersons' voting records. However, at
> least one study indicates that white women are more likely to
> win in more 'liberal' congressional districts, while there is
> no discernable political difference among Black districts that
> elect males or females. If true, this is a strong indication
> that, in general, Black female congressional candidates will
> behave in a more progressive manner once in office than their
> male counterparts.
>
> There is more to progressive behavior than just voting
> correctly on the House floor. Outgoing CBC chairman Mel Watt
> has been an Honor Society member over the past three CBC
> Monitor grading periods. Yet his behavior toward Black women
> is infamous, on and off The Hill. His bullying, crude attempts
> to isolate Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) likely contributed to
> her defeat at the polls, this year (see 'R.I.P. Mel Watt,'
> BAR, November 1). Watt dogged McKinney at the behest of
> another woman, Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic Leader.
> Apparently, Watt is quite willing to defer to white women with
> power.
>
> In the next session of Congress, Detroit Rep. Carolyn Cheeks-
> Kilpatrick, another Honor Society member, takes over as CBC
> chair. Under her leadership, we can hope for both more civil
> and more progressive behavior from the Caucus that could once
> - but no more - credibly describe itself as the 'conscience of
> the Congress.'
>
> [Leutisha Stills, a member of CBC Monitor, is on the Faculty
> Administration of George Mason University, in Fairfax,
> Virginia. She can be reached at leutishastills at hotmail.com.]
>
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