NBC Chicago: Winners & Losers of 2011

Amongst local figures at our NBC affiliate's Ward Room blog. This isn't something I could disagree with:

Carol Moseley Braun: Named the black community’s “consensus” candidate after Rep. Danny Davis and state Sen. James Meeks realized they couldn’t beat Rahm Emanuel. Completed her political decline by accusing Patricia Watkins of being “strung out on crack” and repeatedly yelling “tampon” at Emanuel during a Tribune editorial board meeting. After winning one precinct and getting only 9 percent of the vote, the “recovering politician” has finally recovered.

She was a long way from being a recovering politician when she remained in the 2011 mayoral race. She wanted to try one more time and failed.

I would rather believe her loss would more likely have tempered this idea locally of a "consensus Black candidate". The idea behind it was sound don't divide the Black vote have one credible candidate run and then expect Black voters at least to fall behind that candidate. It didn't happen.

By all accounts they flocked not to our former US Senator - the first Black woman elected to that august body - but they instead flocked to our current Mayor Rahm Emanuel. There was a consensus Black candidate and he wasn't Black. WOW!

And then no one seems to ask, by who's consensus? Even those posting makes it a decision of the Black community, but I think it was more Black power brokers who decided that there had to be a consensus candidate. They failed to choose a winner!

The next time anyone seeks to point out a consensus candidate, choose a winner. Don't just choose someone because of their gender, sexual preference, ethnicity or religion. Choose someone who can successfully wage a political campaign. And don't let the last one standing who can't do that when everyone else drops because they know they can't win be the consensus choice by fault.