Why are black people voting overwhelmingly for Obama?

[stratomagi]

I have an answer for the freepers on here. Its because they tend to gravitate toward the DEMOCRATIC candidate.

Enjoy.

:bounce:

[Occam Bandage]

1. Bam!

[Metric System]

2. So you're implying Hillary is the Rethug candidate AND calling her supporters here freepers?!? So

much for unity.

[jgraz]

5. Works for me.

[Metric System]

9. No surprise there. You're one of the biggest shit-disturbers around here.

[jgraz]

14. Apparently so, since you seem to have been disturbed

[Swamp Rat]

23. Well, since he has been here for four years, I'll cut him some slack.

How 'bout you?

[jgraz]

32. My guess is that we'll be back on British Weights and Measures quite soon now.

About 5 seconds after the gavel falls on Obama's nomination.

[niceypoo]

41. and they wonder why 70% of Clinton supporters say they wont vote for Obama

This represents 1/3 of the Democratic party. Obama supporters feel they have to be negative assholes instead of trying to get Hillarys supporters on their side. It is backfiring miserabally.

[JimGinPA]

50. No, We Understand Why They SAY That...

But then DU fanatics really aren't representative of most of the country. Rather than stubbornly digging their heels in and ceeding the presidency to the repubs once again just because the better candidate has won the nomination over their girl, most real democrats will actually vote democratic.

[ingac70]

6. Anyone...

that acts as though getting a majority of black votes is something new for a Dem candidate is a troll.

[jackson_dem]

10. Only two Dem prez candidates have gotten 85-90% black support in the primaries

One is Jesse Jackson. The other is...

It is due to identity politics. Catholics did it with JFK and Al Smith and Mormons this time with Romney. Notice how Romney won every state with a large Mormon population just like Obama has won every state with a large black population (as did Jesse Jackson). JFK won four out of five Catholic votes in 1960. For sure some of it is motived by bigotry in the form of believing in group superiority but most of it is simple identity politics. I wouldn't classify it as racism, although some of it--and by some I mean something like 20-30% as opposed to 5%--is based on racism.

[Occam Bandage]

12. 20-30% as opposed to 5%? I assume you can back up those figures.

[EffieBlack]

40. And since they are the ONLY two black people ever to run for president. Oh, wait a minute

OTHER black people have run for president and have NOT gotten that level of support - or anything close to it - from black voters.

So, your point is . . . that sometimes black voters vote overwhelmingly for black candidates and sometimes they don't?

Yeah - must be racism.

And the ONLY candidates who have gotten more than 50% support from white voters have been white. But, of course, THAT doesn't say anything about racism among whites, does it?

So, which is it? If a racial demographic votes overwhelmingly for a candidate of their own race, is it racism or not?

And if it IS racism, wouldn't that mean that white voters are considerably more racist than black voters since white voters have ALWAYS voted overwhelmingly for white candidates (and against black candidates) while black voters have usually overwhelmingly supported white candidates and occassionally supported black candidates?

Or maybe it means that voters - black and white - vote for the candidates whom they believe will best represent them?

[jackson_dem]

54. See post 10

Orrin Hatch didn't get the same level of Mormon support that Romney did either. Do you think it is just a coincidence he won every state with a large Mormon population? He got 91% in Utah. Coincidence?

No doubt some Obama-Jackson voters were/are motivated by racism, or in the cases of JFK/Smith and Romney religious superiority, but most of it just simple identity politics, not racism.

Hillary won 75% of the white vote in MS. Obama got only 21%. It is naive to think race wasn't a factor in this. I said race was a factor in both Hill get 75% of her color and Obama 90%. It is Obama supporters who deny the evidence that race is a factor, except when he is losing then they scream racism (such as in CA and PA) without any evidence.

[Occam Bandage]

8. Given the events of the last 72 hours, it's not as offensive a claim as it used to be.

[Metric System]

11. Wanna bet? Again, so much for unity. You're a bunch of troublemakers.

[Occam Bandage]

15. We're troublemakers? Two words: Kitchen. Sink. Her campaign bragged that

they were about to start unprecedented amounts of shit.

[Window]

36. No. Hillary supporters are poor losers.

[ingac70]

20. If the shoe fits..

she can fight with Lieberman over the VP spot on McCain's ticket.

[stratomagi]

26. If we're talking about the woman that endorsed McCain

voted for War and gave someone in her campaign a slap on the wrist for being a bigot then yeah I'm calling her a Rethug. Not all of her supporters on here are freepers, most are just grossly mistaken. :)

[Tunkamerica]

37. I didn't get that at all

McCain is the republican nominee. His supporters are freepers. Obama and Hillary are the democratic contenders. It seems like you're jumping to conclusions and taking offense where none is intended.

[geek tragedy]

57. That ship left the port a long time ago.

Y'all went Matt Drudge and Sean Hannity about a mile ago.

[ingac70]

3. Really!

Some of these a-holes act like Dems never got the black vote before.

[gmudem]

4. LOL

I wish the McCain/Clinton unity ticket good luck in getting a few black votes.

[Ashy Larry]

7. He'll be ready

Before day one.

[theboss]

13. They are seizing a chance to make history

Can you blame them?

They've been the key element of the Democratic Party for 40 years and have gotten little in return. So, now's their time.

[FrenchieCat]

17. Actually, they have listened to Obama, and they like what they

have seen and heard. There are only 2 candidates, and after SC, to many, there became only one candidate. That's what happens when someone says something that may be offensive to an individual.

This article was before Bill in SC:
But in Wednesday editions, the Washington Post reported a poll that has Obama leading Clinton by 11 points among black voters -- 44 percent to 33 percent.

But does this mean Obama has got the black vote? Well not necessarily as the poll results would have you think. It just means there are more Blacks than before who are in favor of Obama as president but Hillary Clinton still got more votes than Barack Obama from the African American community. She and her husband, Bill Clinton, have strong roots in the Black community.

In fact, Obama might not be the First Black President if he won in 2008. It was Bill Clinton who was honored as the nation's "first black president" at the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Annual Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C. in 2001. Obviously Bill was "black enough" for Blacks. (For more of past "black" presidents, read this very interesting article at DiversityInc.com)
http://ezinearticles.com/?Will-Barack-Obama-Become-The-First-African-American-President?&id=488826

[bhikkhu]

29. Not giving a damn about history, I want a good president

and will vote for Obama. I don't care about race or gender, just the person. End torture, end secret detentions, end wars for economic benefit, end fiscal suicide, let the country be what it can be, what it began to be..an expression of its people, rather than a multi-national global brand-name. etc, etc.

[MADem]

16. For the same reason Irish Catholics voted OVERWHELMINGLY for Kennedy. PRIDE.

But go ahead and make something "racist" out of that.

And way to go, calling Clinton a Republican and her supporters "freepers."

Politics of Hope, my ASS.

Heckuvajob, Brownie.

[Occam Bandage]

18. To the best of my knowledge, not all her supporters are freepers. I take them at their word.

Polling, of course, shows that 5-10% of her vote is now Republicans attempting to game the system; I would bet that carries over onto the online world, too. And they have been showing a recent fondness for playing racial politics, for worrying about who will protect them from terror, and for praising McCain at Obama's expense.

But I take them at their word.

[MADem]

28. Read the "Politics of Hope" OP. It's a piece of shit. Politics of innuendo and smear.

And let's not even get into that game playing about GOP votes. I don't see a "Republicans for Clinton" organization with gleeful organizers who are motivated not for Obama, but to "Stop Clinton." And who ADMIT it when asked.

And if we're going to play that fucking race card, you might want to go to the UCC website and have a peek at Rev. Wright's race-baiting sermons, where Clinton-excoriation takes place in violation of federal law.

So let's just park that high horse in the barn....

As for "praising" McCain, she didn't do that. She pointed out a fact. He DOES have more experience. She didn't say it was GOOD experience, in fact, she said that Obama would be a better pick than McCain.

She simply indicated that IF the criterion were experience, two had it and one didn't.

This desire to "quantify" her remark is disingenuous in the extreme. Facts just don't matter to the BO crew. Fast and loose, that's how it's played... this kind of slash/burn approach is reflecting on your candidate. You guys may be fired up, but the rest of us are ready to go ... on vacation, and maybe forget to vote, if you keep this shit up and BO gets the nom. You're DEMOTIVATING people with this crap.

[FrenchieCat]

30. Are you really a progressive,

or do you just play one on DU?

You sound like you someone hung up on religion.

[MADem]

31. Excuse me? I study religions of the world as an avocation.

I find they offer a window into cultures, and explain the motivations of people, both individually and as groups, to a large extent.


Do you have a problem with that? If you do, that's your problem.

And you've got a lot of nerve questioning my "progressive" credentials. You're not known for your tolerance, a hallmark of most progressives. Not by a long shot.

[SeaLyons]

44. Sounds like a truth seeker to me

[skooooo]

55. put him on your ignore list...

It will save you time.

[Tunkamerica]

38. So you'd let a republican win if your candidate didn't win the

primary? Very lame. I'm still undecided between the two but that is just beyond the pale. It seems childish and counter-productive. You'd let all of us be subjected to at least 4 more years of this shit because your feelings are bruised?

[MADem]

46. I intend to vote for the Democratic nominee.

I don't allow the uninformed rantings of confused and angry acolytes to sway me one way or another.

However, the viciousness is off-putting to those who aren't party stalwarts, as I am. The point should be taken, at peril.

[SeaLyons]

45. ...

:kick:

:pals:

[Traction311]

52. Freepers like Hillary now?

Lemme check the Freak Republic real quick...
Nope, they still hate her.

[CitizenLeft]

19. there you go.

...and the dumbest, most ridiculous thing about that "voting for the black candidate" crap is that black voters have ALWAYS voted, in huge percentages, for the Democrat, always... in overwhelming numbers. Why were blacks lynched, hosed, beaten? TO KEEP THEM FROM VOTING because Dixiecrats knew they were right and truly fucked if they got to the polls. African-Americans are THE most loyal demographic in the Democratic party. They will stand in the freaking rain for TEN HOURS to vote. They will come back over and over again, with excessive loyalty and determination, even when lied to, disenfranchised, caged, robocalled.... back they come every single time no matter what. Bill Clinton was even dubbed "the 1st black president" out of respect for him. Now that there's a black man running for president - who is running an excellent, competent, organized campaign on the ground, and who can inspire and speak to the issues and who can earn the loyalty of white voters AND can WIN... they're suddenly supposed to ignore him, and reject him? What am I missing here? Is there some major component to this scenario that I'm not seeing? I don't get the logic here...

And what a fucking INSULT it is to complain about that very same loyalty and determination NOW. It's an INSULT.

[ingac70]

22. wish I could rec that...

well said.

[CitizenLeft]

27. thank you.

I've had about enough of the Pat Buchanan theme song tonight.

[theboss]

21. By the way, I just love it when DU with its 8 black members starts talking race

It's like every late night conversation I ever had in my college dorm.

"Let's all of us privileged white kids discuss the plight of the Negro, shall we."

[Swamp Rat]

24. LOL!

[mrreowwr_kittty]

33. Your post is funny but you are missing something

While it may be absurd for white people to discuss the "plight" of black people, it is perfectly appropriate (and indeed long overdue) for us to have serious discussions about white privilege. There's a tendency among white progressives to shy away from discussions of race, as though it were some abstraction that we are removed from because we are white (hence the default humans). So yeah, we shouldn't presume to speak for the African American community, but we really ought to start talking about ourselves where race is concerned.

[goclark]

35. Where did you get the number 8 from?

I'm Black and I was not aware of the number of us on DU.

And how are we to know how many "privileged Black kids" are posting to DU.

I ask the question because the beauty of DU is that unless we say it, like I do, nobody would have a clue.

[theboss]

39. Skinner ran a survey a few months back

The membership was something like 98 percent white.

[goclark]

42. Missed the survey , did they count me in as AA?

:patriot:

[boppers]

25. Won't somebody please think of the white people!!!

They're not getting the same votes! This is awful!

Are they being discriminated against? Is this racist backlash?

I'm so, so sad....





...and because DU is a madhouse, lately...






:sarcasm:

[aquarius dawning]

34. We're so blessed to have helpful posters like you contributing their thoughts

during this turbulent election. thanks so much.

[paulk]

43. in the general election, where the other candidate is not a

Democrat?

Is that your point?

Because there are two (and there used to be eight) Democrats running for the nomination...

[Perry Logan]

47. "Poll: Black support helps Clinton extend lead"

"Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead over Sen. Barack Obama, her chief rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, is growing among African-American voters who are registered Democrats, and particularly among black women, a poll said Wednesday."
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/17/poll.blacks.democrats/index.html

[stratomagi]

51. Yeah, unfortunately this was last year.

[Levgreee]

48. they are more aware of black racial issues than some of us, and saw what the Clinton campaign did

and how, in contrast, the Obama campaign was respectful towards racial issues

[From The Left]

49. The Clintons Burnt their Bridges with African Americans

[HughMoran]

53. Becasue he can win!

...and he's black - he's a 2fer!

[knixphan]

56. A: Because they're thinking this time.