African American vote - Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton
One of the most startling things in this primary season is the African American vote. The community is voting 75-85% for Sen. Obama. This is understandable when the opponent is some right wing extremist. But against Sen. Clinton ? Her record from the earliest days is one of supporting African Ameican causes, Woman's rights, Civil rights etc. Some African American leaders realize this and support her. But, the community in general turned its back on Sen. Clinton. This is disheartening. What explains this ? Sen. Obama indeed, indentifies himself as an African American. African American community claims him as one of its own. We have to remember that Sen. Obama was raised by his White mother and White grand parents. In additon to Sen. Obama's own talents and motivation, his mother and grand parents deserve credit for his success.
Having said all of this: I wonder about African Americans 85% vote on the basis of pride in Sen. Obama.
It would have made more sense if a civil rights icon like John Lewis, or Andrew Young got 85%, if not 100% vote if they were to run.
How can you ignore Sen. Clinton's and Pres. Clinton's obvious committment to Civil Rights and long standing service to African American community. Note the signatature cause of Pres. Clinton's foundation. Fighting AIDS in Africa among other things. Pres. Clinton's comments (Jesse Jackson winning in the primary ) during South Carolina Primary are considered upsetting to African Americans. If you have read the whole Q&A that happenned with the CNN Reporter, the comment by itself
appears to be some kind of cutesy answer and not a some kind of race ploy. Even if you accept Sen. Clinton & Pres. Clinton made some thoughtless insensitive comments, you cannot give that as an excuse for the community to turn its back on Sen. Clinton. Perhaps, 60-40% split in the vote for Obama is to be expected.
I have not read a single article analyzing this honestly.
Pres. Bush for all his faults tried to reach out to African Americans. He appointed many African Americans to inflential positions. Even he didn't get more than 10% vote. This is before Katrina mess for which he deserves blame along with Mayor Ray Nagin & Gov. Blanco.
What explains this enmasse vote by African American community for one Candidate or one party ?
The media in general appears to be afraid of discussing seriously anything that involves race. My assumption is that most of the white men who dominate the media are scared of being called racist if they say anything that is considered slighly upsetting.
Sigh.
Here we go again.
How come Black folks aren't voting for Hillary Clinton?
You wrote:
One of the most startling things in this primary season is the African American vote. The community is voting 75-85% for Sen. Obama. This is understandable when the opponent is some right wing extremist. But against Sen. Clinton ? Her record from the earliest days is one of supporting African Ameican causes, Woman's rights, Civil rights etc. Some African American leaders realize this and support her. But, the community in general turned its back on Sen. Clinton. This is disheartening. What explains this ?
WHAT EXPLAINS THIS?
My question is...
What self-respecting Black person WOULD support Hillary Clinton, POST RACE-BAITING?
How is it that some just want to just wash that away...like the Clinton Dogwhistle Politricks never happened.
HELL NO.
And, that you'd EXPECT Black folk TO support her AFTER she race-baited Obama tells me what you actually think about Black folk.
I'm just not buying that you would expect this with ANY OTHER ETHNIC GROUP.
As I wrote elsewhere, it just came to me like a bolt - WHAT OTHER ETHNIC GROUP...
Would tolerate their ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES, (John Lewis, Sheila Jackson-Lee, etc.)being loyal to someone in opposition to someone in their own ethnic group..
POST RACE-BAITING?
You're going to sit here and tell me that if a Jew was running, and the opposition had used Anti-Semitism against the Jew, that the Jewish community would tolerate THEIR representative STILL voting for the one who used Anti-Semitic language against 'their own'?
You really gonna sit here and tell me that?
You mean, after they gave those half-assed non-apologies...what other community would accept that kind of bull, and then have elected representatives think that it was OK to STILL support the RACE-BAITER?
You get where I'm going?
When I thought about it in those terms; when it came to me that clearly, the patent absurdness of Hillary's Handkerchief Heads became even more obvious.
The problem with what the Clintons did was multi-fold:
1. They pretended to be the Black community's friend...who can betray you MORE - an enemy or a friend?
The racial attacks on Obama by Cunningham and the TN GOP this week? Rolling off the backs of Black folk - because we never thought they were friends in the first place. But, the Clintons? supposed friends.
And, don't get it twisted. It did NOT begin with the MLK/LBJ comment; It began noticeably with Billy Shaheen. There's a ClintonAttackObama Wiki Incident page that's up to 44 Incidents now.
2. Obama, to his credit, never really altered his message - though he was criticized by many, who thought he should have added more ' fire and brimstone' when speaking to Black audiences. Me? I thought it was the only way for Obama to keep on message and keep with consistency.
In doing so, Obama ran this campaign on his own terms, and ' The Community' spent the better part of a year - from February 2007 to January 3, 2008 - getting used to , psychologically, thinking and then accepting Barack Obama as
" The Candidate Running for President Who Happens To Be Black"
and ALL that means. That was a HUGE psychological breakthrough and quite a victory for the Obama campaign. And a victory for the future of all Post-Civil Rights Candidates.
And, just as we, The Community, were making peace with it, and getting comfortable with it, here come THE CLINTONS trying to turn Obama into THE BLACK CANDIDATE, marginalizing HIM, and, by proxy, the Black community.
THE Black Community which has been THE BASE of the Democratic Party. The Community which has been the most loyal. The Community which, through thick and thin, showed up, and fought for the Democrats, when everyone else had abandoned them.
It cut deep.
Me? I never had high impressions of The Clintons. They never were willing to expound political capital to help out 'controversial' Black nominees/appointees...and, threw them under the bus without blinking.
But, I watched, as The Clintons broke the hearts of family and friends, who were HURT, truly HURT by what they tried to do to Barack Obama....made me even most pissed at them.
Now, post South Carolina.
The use, REPEATEDLY, of Black surrogates to attack Obama - PERSONALLY.(Bob Johnson, Magic Johnson, Tubbs-Jones, Jackson-Lee, Maggie Williams etc.) Therein lies the rub; using Black folk to do your dirty work, thus being able to pretend that the mess isn't racial. Volunteering yourself for the dirty work, and then thinking that Black folk ought not to call you on it.
HELL NO.
The MSM, of course, is deliberately skipping over the issue of WHY supporting Clinton at this point, is seen as a betrayal.
BECAUSE OF THE RACE-BAITING....that hasn't stopped, but put a Black face on it, so it's supposed to not make it so.
Despite what folks have been telling The Black Community - we know race-baiting when we see it...and, we respond accordingly.
Why shouldn't we respond to being insulted? What is it about Black folks that folks believe we should just sit there and take being continually insulted, and make it ' no big deal'?
March 3, 2008 2:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
I forgot to add. Without the Dogwhistle Politricks, I believe, wholeheartedly, that Obama would JUST NOW be getting 80-85% of the Black vote. He would have gotten a majority of it, but she would have carried 30-35, tapping out at 40% of it. That's how strong Bill Clinton was thought of. Which is why their dusting off and using Lee Atwaters old manual cut Black folk to the core.
March 3, 2008 2:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Amazing. Imagine if they had actually done something awful how low their ratings would be.
March 3, 2008 6:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
I love the fact that you're on board with race-baiting tactics. It's like the trait of 99% of Clinton supporters.
March 3, 2008 10:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Why is this disheartening? Isn't this what the Clinton's were working for, the day when an African American could rise to the position of President of the United States? The Clinton's owe there political success as much to African Americans as African Americans owe to the Clinton's, in fact I would think that the Clintons may be on the debit side of that ledger.
As for Obama having a white mother... I am not sure as to what it is that you are driving at, or more to the point I don't want to know.
March 3, 2008 2:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm sorry, but black people don't owe the Clinton's anything. They haven't done anything. I understand that they've sold America the fairy tale that they did something for black people in their first two terms, but black people know bettter.
March 3, 2008 10:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
What explains this ? Sen. Obama indeed, indentifies himself as an African American. African American community claims him as one of its own. We have to remember that Sen. Obama was raised by his White mother and White grand parents. In additon to Sen. Obama's own talents and motivation, his mother and grand parents deserve credit for his success.
You sound as if having a White parent is something new for Black folks. Don't get it confused; the Black community is the community that accepted everyone with Black blood, no matter how much or how little - it was a by-product of that 'one drop' rule.
So, Obama's mother is White. You know how West Africans look. You know the rainbow of shades that Black folk in America look. How could we become the rainbow of shades without mixing with White. We've been mixed with White pretty much from the times we came to these shores and the Master tippy-toed down to the slave quarters.
Barack Obama is Black because:
1. He looks Black
2. He married not only a Black woman, but a VISIBLY Black woman.
3. He has Black children.
4. Attends a Black activist church
5. Rooted himself, BY CHOICE, in the Black community.
Obama has never disrespected his father, even though he could have. But, he has always honored his mother, as he should have.
March 3, 2008 2:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
HA...the Clinton's have not ever done anything for the black community except show up. So please stop with that lie.
But the reason many black people don't support Clinton is because of the race-baiting in Dec. and the beginning of January. You can check out the Clinton Attacks Obama wiki
I wrote Is It A Dog Whistle When White People Do It? before the Clinton's really ramped up their race baiting. And they still haven't stopped.
And really? Who gives a flippin' flapjack. I find it hilarious that we black voters have always been taken for granted within the Democratic party, with everyone paying lip service, but never doing anything and now that we're voting for someone not anointed by the gatekeepers, all of a sudden the black vote is suspect. All of a sudden, people are hand-wringing, wanting to know, "Why are black people voting like this?", like we're sheep to be corralled. This is insulting and the height of bullshit. And what makes it even lamer is the fact that for some reason, the Clintons and white people in general seem to think that Hillary = Bill. That's not the case. She wasn't accepted in the black community, merely tolerated. But we were supposed to see "Clinton" and just fall in line.
And as far as your last line goes, you must not have watched any of the cable shows, but even the out-of-touch white men on there talk about race and they say racist stuff all the time and they still have jobs. So when is your post titled Caucasian vote - Sen. Dodd and Sen. Edwards going up? Or is it only black people who get to be treated as a mindless group?
March 3, 2008 10:44 AM | Reply | Permalink