Profile: Factors Contributing to Earl Hilliard's Loss in Alabama's Democratic Primary

Morning Edition: July 2, 2002

BOB EDWARDS, host:

A week ago, in Alabama's Democratic primary, Congressman Earl Hilliard was defeated in his bid for renomination by Artur Davis. Both men are black. Hilliard was accused of being anti-Israel, which lead to Davis receiving contributions from Jewish Americans. In turn, Hilliard got money from Arab Americans. Hilliard's defeat has led to some tension between blacks and Jews, but NPR's Kathy Lohr reports the factors may be more complicated.

KATHY LOHR reporting:

It was a contest between two African-American politicians in a western Alabama district, but the national headline said it was about a conflict in the Middle East. As a result, some special interest groups got involved in the campaign.

Mr. JAMES ZOGBY (President, Arab American Institute): What troubles me is the way the campaign was run, in effect, Arab-baiting or terror-baiting.

LOHR: James Zogby is president of the Arab American Institute.

Mr. ZOGBY: The well has been poisoned in several ways. I know there's tensions now between African-Americans and Jewish leadership. We did our best to stand up for somebody who has stood up for us, but this campaign never should have been fought this way.

LOHR: Hilliard was criticized for a trip to Libya he made in 1997, and more recently for voting against a resolution that endorsed Israel's conduct in its war on terrorism. Zogby claims that all the money going to Davis from Jewish groups is proof that they were trying to buy the election. Not so, says Abraham Foxman with the Anti-Defamation League.

Mr. ABRAHAM FOXMAN (Anti-Defamation League): One candidate tries to show to certain groups, to certain interest groups, why they are more in tuned, more inclined with them. Hilliard did the same thing with Arab groups. That's part of the American democratic process. There's nothing wrong with it. There's nothing sinister about it. There's nothing ugly about it. It's not buying votes. It's permitting people to have an opportunity to make a decision.

LOHR: During the run-off campaign, Hilliard brought in civil rights leaders, including the Reverend Al Sharpton. Sharpton says the Mideast was a distraction, that the campaign should have been about Hilliard's record.

Reverend AL SHARPTON: Other incumbents and others in the civil rights community resent people trying to, in many ways, distort the issues at hand and manipulate them for purposes that is detrimental to the people of that district, as well as the American public, as well as the public of Israel or anywhere else.

LOHR: Many of Hilliard's opponents agree that the result was indeed about Hilliard's record, including what they call his lack of leadership. Also involved were charges of ethics violations and unfavorable redistricting lines. David Bositis, with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, says Hilliard was vulnerable, but not because of his position on the Middle East.

Mr. DAVID BOSITIS (Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies): He wasn't viewed as really performing for the district, compared to many other members of Congress who bring in great deals of money and projects and so forth for their districts. Now any incumbent in that situation is going to be vulnerable.

LOHR: The outcome of this election may also have been decided on generational differences. During the race, African-American leaders supporting Hilliard visited Selma, the site of the famous civil rights march. The leaders were trying to use symbolic imagery to remind voters that Hilliard stood for racial equality. But analysts say memories about the meaning of Selma have faded in the black community, so Hilliard's loss may have been more about voters looking toward the future, rather than at the past. Kathy Lohr, NPR News.

EDWARDS: The time is 21 minutes before the hour.

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