By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 15, 2020 – Initially I just wanted to wish Donna Brazile happy birthday, but as a native of The Bahamas currently living in Washington, D.C., it dawned on me that Ms. Brazile — a veteran political strategist who has served twice as acting Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) — would be an excellent choice by President-elect Joe Biden to be the next United States Ambassador to The Bahamas after he is sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on January 20.
The Bahamas has been without an U.S. Ambassador since California businesswoman Nicole Avant, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, served in that capacity from October 22, 2009 to November 21, 2011.
Since then, the top U.S. diplomats in the country that is the closest neighbor of the United States have been John W. Dinkelman, Chargé d’Affaires, November 2011 to July 2014; Lisa A. Johnson, Chargé d’Affaires, July 9, 2014 to November 9, 2017; Stephanie Bowers, Chargé d’Affaires, March 1, 2018, until she was replaced earlier this year by the current Chargé d’Affaires John McNamara.
Of course, in politics the “what have you done for me lately” credo has tremendous sway, but it is an undeniable fact that if Hillary Clinton had won the 2016 presidential election, Ms. Brazile would have unquestionably been one of the top members of Clinton’s administration.
As documented by Wikipedia, “After Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned her position as chairperson of the Democratic National Committee on July 24, 2016, at the start of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Brazile became interim chairperson of the DNC. Brazile was responsible for a plan to spend money to drive up inner-city turnout in places like Chicago and New Orleans — even though neither Illinois nor Louisiana was competitive — because of fear that Clinton would win the Electoral College vote but lose the popular vote.”
But Brazile’s political credibility was seriously damaged by a WikiLeaks. According to Wikipedia, “A WikiLeaks e-mail dump revealed that she sent an e-mail message on March 5, 2016, to John Podesta and Jennifer Palmieri with the title: ‘One of the questions directed to HRC tomorrow is from a woman with a rash.’ The message continued, ‘her family has lead poison and she will ask what, if anything, will Hillary do as president to help the ppl of Flint.’ At the next event in Flint, Clinton was delivered a similar question from audience member Mikki Wade, whose family was affected by the poisoned water.”
Wikipedia adds, “On October 11, 2016, a WikiLeaks e-mail dump included an e-mail Brazile sent on March 12, 2016 to Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri with the subject header: ‘From time to time I get questions in advance.’ In the e-mail, Brazile discussed her concern about Clinton’s ability to field a question regarding the death penalty, and in a CNN town hall debate the following day, Clinton received a similar question about the death penalty. According to tech blog Errata Security, the e-mail in question was verified using an everyday verification program and the DKIM system.
“Brazile at first vehemently denied receiving or furnishing the Clinton campaign with any town hall questions and dismissed the Wikileaks organization as ‘these sad ass whipper leakers try to slow my groove.’ She accused TYT Politics reporter Jordan Chariton of ‘badgering a woman.’ Questioned by Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, Brazile said, ‘As a Christian woman, I understand persecution. I will not sit here and be persecuted because your information is totally false.’
Of course, Donald Trump shocked the Democratic Political Establishment by winning the 2016 presidential election, but as it turns out Trump will go down in history as a one-term President after former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris — the Democratic Party’s candidates for President and Vice President, respectively — won a decisive victory in the presidential election on November 3, 2020.
Although there is no evidence to suggest that Donna Brazile was actively involved in the Biden-Harris campaign, I strongly feel that this factor should not exclude her from consideration for a position in the Biden-Harris administration, given her past history of commitment to the Democratic Party.
I do not personally know Ms. Brazile, but when I was News Editor of the Washington Informer for more than 12 years in the 1980s and early 1990s, I interacted with her on a number of occasions at news-related events, and she always impressed me tremendously with her keen political acumen on matters being addressed or debated. Therefore, in support my contention that Ms. Brazile deserves consideration for a position in the Biden-Harris Administration – and, hopefully, as Ambassador to The Bahamas — I researched her background on Wikipedia and here is an abridged account of what I uncovered:
“A member of the Democratic Party, Brazile was the first African American woman to direct a major presidential campaign, acting as campaign manager for Al Gore in 2000. She has also worked on several presidential campaigns for Democratic candidates, including Jesse Jackson and Walter Mondale–Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, and for Dick Gephardt in the 1988 Democratic primary. She served as the acting chair of the Democratic National Committee in spring 2011, and again from July 2016 to February 2017.
“Brazile was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Jean Marie (Brown) and Lionel Joseph Brazile, the third of nine children… Brazile became interested in politics at the age of nine when a local candidate for office promised to build a neighborhood playground. She participated in a TRIO Upward Bound program while in high school. Brazile earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial psychology from Louisiana State University (LSU) in 1981, and was a fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.[ After graduating from LSU, Brazile worked for several advocacy groups in Washington, D.C., and was reportedly instrumental in the successful campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a federal holiday.
“Brazile volunteered for the Jimmy Carter–Walter Mondale presidential campaign of 1976 as a teenager and for their 1980 presidential campaign while a student at LSU.
“Brazile has worked on several presidential campaigns for Democratic candidates, including Jesse Jackson in 1984, Walter Mondale–Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, and Dick Gephardt in the 1988 Democratic primary.
“In the 1990s, Brazile served as chief of staff and press secretary to Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia, where she helped guide the District’s budget and local legislation on Capitol Hill. She also served as an advisor for Bill Clinton’s campaign for the presidency in 1992 and for re-election in 1996.
“In 1999, Brazile was appointed deputy campaign manager and was later promoted to campaign manager of the 2000 presidential campaign of Vice-President Al Gore, becoming the first African-American woman to manage a major party presidential campaign.
“After the Hurricane Katrina disaster, Brazile was appointed as a member of the board of directors of the Louisiana Recovery Authority by Kathleen Blanco from 2005 to 2009. Brazile donated her papers to the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections in the Louisiana State University Libraries Special Collections, located in Hill Memorial Library.”
There is more, much more, documentation in Wikipedia to support why I have launched a personal campaign, as a native of The Bahamas, to suggest that the Biden-Harris Administration name Donna Brazile the next U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas.
Actually, I don’t know if Ms. Brazile is interested in becoming the U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas, but if she is I would suggest that she seeks the support of Congresswoman Maxine Waters, whose husband Sidney Williams was U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas from March 27, 1994 to January 11, 1998, and is considered by many Bahamians to have been the best U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas in many years.
Ambassador Williams and Congresswoman Waters developed many close friendships in The Bahamas , including an almost familial friendship with business tycoon Sir Franklyn Wilson and Lady Sharon Wilson, with whom they frequently spent the Christmas holidays as house guests over the years after Ambassador Williams’ diplomatic tenure ended. In fact, were it not for the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced the cancellation of this year’s Boxing Day and New Year’s Day Junkanoo parades in downtown Nassau, Ambassador Williams and Congresswoman Waters quite possibly would again have front-row seats at the Junkanoo parades, as they customarily do during their Christmas visits to Nassau.
