The Role of Minorities in the GOP

If the Republicans are sincere in wanting to reach out to African-Americans, they might look up Cliff McClain, a black Republican running for the state Senate in an overwhelmingly Democratic South Los Angeles district.

They can find him working as a consultant at Dominguez High School in Compton, trying to persuade young people to stay in school and study hard. Other days, he’s doing the same thing in Avalon Gardens, a public housing project deep in the heart of South-Central Los Angeles, arriving in a big old convertible that the kids call the Batmobile.

Whatever he’s doing, no matter how busy he is, McClain assures me that he will make time for emissaries from the Grand Old Party, especially those carrying campaign contributions. He needs them.

His opponent is Democratic Assemblywoman Teresa Hughes, a well-known South L.A. political veteran and an experienced fund-raiser. She’s heavily favored to win in the 25th District, extending from Paramount in southeast Los Angeles County to Marina del Rey.

Although McClain is a political unknown, his fight is noteworthy because it is part of a larger struggle over the future of the Republican Party.

When I met McClain two years ago, I had no idea he would become a politician.

We were introduced by Ralph Sutton of the Brotherhood Crusade, the largest charitable and social service organization in Los Angeles’ black community.

McClain was running the crusade’s Take Back Our Community campaign in Avalon Gardens, an effort to regain control of an area dominated by gang members, and improve residents’ lives.

He was an enthusiastic advocate of self-help. When kids couldn’t or wouldn’t read, McClain, dressed in warm-ups, was in their faces, gym-coach style. You’ve got nobody to blame but yourselves, he said. But McClain, a friendly man with a understanding manner, was well-liked. A simple “excuse me” from him could quiet the room.

McClain became a Republican in the early ‘80s. He was philosophically in tune with much of the GOP rhetoric. “I see welfare as an intervention, not as a way of life,” he said. “We have to see it that way or we’ll just have people who will sit down. . . . I think the only way you can make it is through self-help. “

A few years ago, McClain decided he wasn’t happy with the party. “I just kind of withdrew,” he said. “I found people who were downright racist.” But it’s hard for a newcomer to break into South L.A.’s tight Democratic organizations. So when Democratic incumbent Bill Green retired, opening up the 25th District seat, McClain gave the GOP another try.

He figured that although the district is 75% Democratic, he could build on high-voting Republican enclaves, such as Westchester, and out-campaign Hughes in the heavily Democratic housing projects. He talked to several African-American Republican leaders. “They said ‘go for it,’ ” he said.

McClain picked an opportune moment for his political adventure.

A number of African-American academics and journalists have been urging blacks to take a look at the Republican Party. In their view the self-help mood in the African-American community could find common ground with GOP philosophy.

I talked about this with Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a commentator on radio station KPFK and author of the book, “The Mugging Of Black America.”

“African-Americans have been handmaidens of the Democratic Party,” he said. “And if the party feels it has you in the bag, they don’t do a lot to satisfy you because they have your vote. Given that fact, what do African-Americans do? We continue to vote 85% to 90% Democratic even if they don’t reflect our needs.”

Nor surprisingly, the role of minority Americans was part of a running debate at the Republican National Convention this week.

One side was represented by Pat Buchanan and other strict social-religious-cultural conservatives. As I sat in front of my television, watching them describe their vision of the world, I thought they were trying to time travel back to the ‘50s when white guys ran everything.

Speaking for the other side were economic conservatives, such as Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jack Kemp. They talked about rebuilding Los Angeles and other urban areas, and of creating a Republican Party that reflects the racially and culturally diverse America of the ‘90s.

The Republicans left Houston with the issue unsettled. Buchanan’s homage to the past was followed by former President Ronald Reagan’s vision of a party welcoming all.

In the years ahead, Republicans will have to sort out this deep conflict within their ranks to determine whether the Cliff McClains of America really do have a place in Abraham Lincoln’s party.