The Republican Party had a choice after 2008. They could continue to rely on a dwindling but still decisive share of the white vote to prevail, or they could try to bring more minorities into the party. While I'm not entirely sure how much of the decision was made by party leaders and how much is merely the unprecedented influence of Fox News, but whether it's pseudo scandals of the past two years, from birtherism to the NBPP [National Black Panther Party] case, the GOP's nationwide rush to ban sharia and institute draconian immigration laws, or characterizing nearly every administration policy as reparations, the conservative fixations of Obama's first term indicate that the GOP will end up relying at least in part on inflaming white racial resentment to close the gap.In a moment of atypical candor, Senator Lindsay Graham spoke to the short-sideness of this strategy.
“The demographics race we’re losing badly [sic],” the senior senator from South Carolina explained. “We’re not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term.”So its telling to read analysis like this (at Real Clear Politics) that basically embraces the strategy and posits a Romney win completely on his ability to mobilize white voters.
In sum, I see the bottom slipping out from under Obama’s feet, and a campaign hoping to hold on just long enough to salvage a slim victory, one where he is almost certain to lose the popular vote. He is underperforming among whites and independents, and particularly among those likeliest to vote.Think about that for a minute...the author of that piece isn't even trying to be subtle. Of course he's not going to say WHY he thinks the President is underperforming among white voters. That could get ugly. He's just stating it as a fact.
If I was a white guy I'd most likely be offended by all of this. And I believe there are many out there who don't want to get played like that. If so, take a listen again to this guy.
That Ben Domenech piece is astonishing. Among other things, this gem:
ReplyDelete"Running out the clock is rarely a winning strategy in sports"
Ben clearly never played a sport. Again and again, I have said that one of my big concerns is the diminishing quality of our elites in an increasingly elitist society. How someone with as big a megaphone as Domenech can be allowed to say something so transparently wrong is horrific.
Obviously, the rest of the piece is awful. The key to reading any of this stuff is that when
a) polls are disaggregated by racial group and
b) no policies are discussed then
c) the author is describing the racist character of our society.
If c) is true and
d) the author doesn't discuss it as racism then
e) the author likes it this way.
The younger generation has its racialized issues but they are different than the older. I learned from Dr. King that the moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice. Things change, and politically I see things getting better barring unforeseen events.
Obama's abilities I think put him a generation ahead of the curve. I'm glad they did because we needed him then and do now. However, 500 years of this nonsense is a long time going away, and we continue to face it in this election.
very glad you posted that video. I've already put it on FB and it's making the rounds.
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