"Revenge of the White Male Voter"

[applegrove]

Revenge of the White Male Voter

By Amanda Marcotte at Slate

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/11/05/midterms_2014_64_percent_of_white_men_voted_republican.html

"SNIP.....................



Wednesday morning after elections: the time to sift through the various exit poll data to take the temperature of the country, or at least the people who bothered to turn out to vote. Lots of interesting information out there today to explain the Crushing of the Democrats Tuesday night. Millennials didn't bother to vote, single women were a little less pro-Democratic than usual, and the racial divide among voters remains stark. But one number stands out above all others: 64 percent of white men voted for Republicans. It's the "widest GOP advantage in this group in data since 1984," according to ABC News.

Revenge of the white guys! There are two ways to interpret this news: that the "war on women" narrative is no longer working for the Democrats, or that the "war on women" isn't just a Democratic campaign slogan but a brutal fact of our modern political landscape. I lean toward the latter: The Democrats got their asses handed to them by a white male electorate that turned out in an effort to fight their eroding cultural dominance. Republicans got a further assist by the traditional lower midterms turnout among single women, younger people, and people of color—the very demos that have white men so worried.

If you look at how Republicans campaigned, the resentment factor might not seem very relevant. Republicans, wary of the "war on women" cudgel, did what they could to minimize talk about gender issues, often going so far as to imply that they're really not as anti-choice as they seem. As my colleague Will Saletan argues, Republican politicians were really trying hard to sound moderate this time around. Of course, all that is likely to suppress the liberal vote, because there's no Todd Akin spouting off about "legitimate rape" to vote against this time around.


But if you turned on conservative media, you heard a much different story than the cautious moderation that actual Republican politicians were trying to sell. Conservative outlets spent the past few months really ramping up the narrative of poor, put-upon white men who are under attack by women. Or, more specifically, single women. A small sampling: Tucker Carlson of Fox News complaining that the country needs "Older White Guy Appreciation Day." Rush Limbaugh claiming there's an "all-out assault" on marriage from liberals and suggesting that single women need to be married off so they stop voting for Democrats. Kimberly Guilfoyle of Fox News arguing that single women are too busy being "healthy and hot and running around without a care in the world" to handle civic duties like voting and jury duty properly and therefore should busy themselves with "Tinder or Match.com" instead.




........................SNIP"

[applegrove]

1. And white men hate being told there is a race problem in the Republican Party.

They think they are perfect and should be especially revered. When in fact all the people should be revered.

[GummyBearz]

18. As a white man

Thanks, I guess I'll go kill myself as I'm a burden to your world

[applegrove]

23. I was talking about white males in the Republican Party. The ones

who abandoned Obama after the Henry Louis Gates controversy that resulted in the White House 'Beer Summit'. And yes they voted Red. And I and some others warned that the whole 'white male privilege issue' was a GOP wedge meant to offend all white males and alienate them from democrats. And keep those 'beer summit abandoners of the democratic party voting red and it worked. And in reporting that it worked you are offended. I'm sorry.

[GummyBearz]

24. I never

refuse to accept an apology. Even when I can't tell if its sarcastic or not. I will stop tying my hangman's knot, thanks for tolerating my existence.

[applegrove]

25. We agree I think. We both don't want to see broad brushstrokes

used against anyone. But we come at the issue for different sides. The apology was real.

[yeoman6987]

55. White men who voted for Mia Love in Utah

And Scott by 65 percent in South Carolina. The first African American since Reconstruction. Could it be they just don't like the Presidents policies? Does it all have to be due to race? Just asking?

[randys1]

76. NO, it cant be. Obama's policies are as mainstream as you can get, ACA was a rightwing idea

I could go on and on

No, they HATE the Obama family and it is ONLY about his name and skin color.

The only way they DONT hate a Black person telling them what to do is if that Black person knows their place and is doing it within the rules THEY the white guy has set up before hand.

[hifiguy]

104. Richard M. Nixon proposed something very like the ACA

in the early 1970s. Think about that. NIXON. And the POTUS is to Nixon's right on a lot of issues.

While Nixon was anything but a doctrinaire right-winger in many ways, he was at heart an opportunist, that tells you something about how completely batshit the electorate and the Repig party has become. Dwight Eisenhower would be tarred, feathered and run out of the Repig party on a rail if he reappeared today, WWII hero or not.

[hfojvt]

106. since when do our elected officials

"tell us what to do".

The President works for us, not the other way around.

[randys1]

130. You dont think average teaparty dipshit doesnt perceive ACA as Obama telling HIM

he has to buy Health Insurance or has to accept a different policy that actually covers something?

Of course that is what this is all about

[hfojvt]

132. maybe they just see an employee

they want to fire

because he lied to them, saying "If you like your plan, you can keep it."

[GummyBearz]

133. Wicked burn

I for one liked my old plan (I was lucky to have one and I know that). Too bad I couldnt keep it like we all thought. My new plan costs more and covers less...

The wife was very upset when the new plan stopped covering her non-oral contraceptive like the old one did

[randys1]

134. Bullshit, the policy they couldnt keep are policies that were sold AFTER the law went

into effect but said policies did NOT meet the MINIMUM standards of ACA

i.e. people were sold garbage and Obama save them from said garbage

[GummyBearz]

137. So wrong

So wrong on so many points in my case. My previous plan covered more (non-oral contraceptive for my wife) and cost less. I wasn't allowed to keep it.

[randys1]

139. Not possible...If it didnt meet the ACA qualifications there was a good reason for that

The fact is the talking point should have read, “If you like your health plan, you can keep it… As long as it complies with the benefits, rights, and protections offered by the ACA or you were enrolled before the ACA went into effect on March 23, 2010. If your plan doesn’t comply with the ACA you’ll be asked to pick a new plan for 2014 and your old one will be canceled. In many cases you will find a more Affordable option in the health insurance marketplace due to subsidies. Even if you don’t find a cheaper plan, the quality of your health insurance will most likely be better.”


Many people (who don’t qualify for subsidies on the health insurance marketplace) who have to switch of their old plan will find that they pay more for a new plan, sometimes these new plans have higher out-of-pocket costs or higher premiums and sometimes they have a more limited network. What isn’t being talked about as much is the fact that if they DO have to switch plans it means that their old plan was missing some basic protections that all plans now must include. This may not have been noticeable, but some of these protections are arguably priceless they are:

http://obamacarefacts.com/health-insurance-cancellation/

[GummyBearz]

141. Again, you're wrong as applied to my case.

I think what you fail to realize is that companies took the uncertainty associated with a major change in health care policy as an excuse to preemptively raise rates and cut benefits. That's what I believe happened to me. My previous coverage was FAR superior to what I have now, and cost less at the same time.

Again I will reemphasize, my previous insurance covered more. I had an $80K emergency surgery which I only paid $2K for from my deductible. I had a MALE mammogram when a lump developed in my left peck, which was covered. I had a preemptive brain scan when my father and sister found out they had a hereditary brain tumor, and that was covered. My wife had a prescription for non-oral birth control which was covered.... all under my previous plan.

Are you honestly going to tell me that given all the above, my old plan wouldn't meet minimum standards for the ACA? I HAD a GOLD level plan, which I was happy with. Now I'm at a silver level plan with a price tag somewhere between the silver and gold level.

And to add onto that, every couple months my wife gets super pissed off because she has to pay ~$100 for non-oral birth control when she didn't have to under my old plan. So her wrath gets taken out on me every couple months, and it is really pisses me off to think that I may have to deal with this for the next 20 years. All because I COULDNT KEEP MY PREVIOUS PLAN

[randys1]

142. I gave you the facts, your policy was NOT cancelled unless it didnt qualify..period

1. A Ban on denied treatment or coverage for preexisting conditions. You can’t be denied or dropped from coverage for being sick.

2. Ten Essential Health Benefits. Essential Health Benefits have no annual or lifetime dollar limits.

3. A Ban on rescission of health insurance coverage and the right to an appeal. You can’t be dropped for any reason other than fraud and if you are dropped you have the right to a quick internal and external appeal.

4. Ban on Discrimination based on gender or health. You can no longer be charged more for being a woman.

5. Ban on all lifetime limits and $2,000,000 Cap on annual limits. You are more protected from bankruptcy due to costly medical expenses.

6. Free Preventive Services and Wellness Visits.

[AnalystInParadise]

116. I am so sick of this race argument bullshit

What about the 35% of Hispanics? or the 50% of Asians....Everytime we don't get our freaking pony and we cry racism we look like sore losers who refuse to examine the reality that our message is not resonating. We hide behind the lie that it is racism because that is easier for us to admit.

[randys1]

129. 97% of ALL opposition to Obama from the right has to do with skin color and Muslim name

this is easily proven by pointing out there are practically NO positions he takes or has taken that were not at least mainstream before he took them.

Opposition to him from the left mostly is based on him not being liberal enough

This explains the reason why most of the Republican voters vote the way they do, now dont get me wrong, these racist fuck assholes will gladly RACE to the polls to vote against Hillary or ANY Democratic candidate because they hate us and are stupid, but Obama has brought out MASSIVE racism

BUT the REASON we lost most of THESE elections is because we didnt show up and vote, both statements can be true at the same time

[hfojvt]

131. except the same was true of Clinton

and he was vilified in spite of his white skin.

And Gore

And Kerry

None of them radical liberals, but still demonized by the opposition.

So nothing is really proven except that some people will only give up their R-bombs when you pry them from their cold dead hands.

[randys1]

135. All true and same will happen to any Dem in 2016 as these are immature assholes, but

Obama has put up with MASSIVE racism, MASSIVE obstruction based SOLELY on who he is, unprecedented.

[Puddy]

59. LOL

[WhiteTara]

126. Where in All people should be revered did you get

that you are a burden and should kill yourself? That sounds like your inner victim is running rampant. Give that child in you a big hug and know you are part of the planet and have your place on it and that you also have a responsibility for the very precious human life you have been given. Killing yourself is just a temporary pass on the hard work of being human.

[KingCharlemagne]

31. Whenever one tries to point out the latent and not-so-latent racism in the

Republican Party, its adherents quickly resort to the 'Tu quoque' fallacy that 'blacks are racist too,' a statement so absurd on its surface that discussion (and friendships) terminate shortly thereafter.

[applegrove]

33. Black kids get traumatized by racism

as they grow up. They fear white racism in the end. And they have a whole variety of ways they cope. Some try and transend on one extreme, some end up hating on the other. JUST the same as traumatized people anywhere.

[KingCharlemagne]

36. The human and societal costs of racism (and other 'isms' founded on

hatred of non-essential characteristics like gender or sexual orientation) are almost incalculable. Myself, I hope House Republicans announce the launch of their impeachment of President Obama the same day the St. Louis County Grand Jury announces it won't be indicting killer cop Wilson. There will still probably be people here defending the latter, even as they criticize the former. But, even so, such a confluence should help to focus the mind quite nicely for the storm(s) to come.

All roads now lead to Ferguson.

[ZombieHorde]

38. The disconnect is based in vocabularly.

Different people use different definitions of the word "racism." This has been a wonderful boon to white racists. When some people decided to have the word racism include social power constructs, and then use that definition without explaining each time they use it in public, you could almost hear the drool splashing on the floor all over the country. It has been a setback for civil rights in the US.

[KingCharlemagne]

40. Damn, either I'm really tired (I am) or you are too brilliant by half for me. But

can you please explain what you mean by having "the word racism include social power constructs"? I feel like I should know what that means, but I can't seem to wrap my head around it tonight.

It's an interesting semiotic\semantic point you raise.

[ZombieHorde]

41. You're just tired.

There are two basic definitions for the word "racism" in the US.

1. The social, economic, cultural, power some "races" have over other "races." (social power constructs)

2. Bigotry based on skin color. (generic prejudice)

Americans who are into social justice often use the first definition, while other Americans often the second definition. With the first definition, reverse racism is impossible and nonsensical, while with the second definition, reverse racism is very easy.

[KingCharlemagne]

42. Thanks. Meant no disrespect, just that my head was spinning. And now your

original comment makes a lot of sense too!

[ZombieHorde]

43. I took no offense.

I hope you get some peaceful rest tonight.

[lumberjack_jeff]

70. Or worse, to use it only in the social power sense - explicitly rejecting any other definition.

That the only relevant kind of racism is institutional racism.

To the layperson "The United States is a racist country" means that it is constituted of 300 million individual racists.

When we further elaborate that there is no such thing as personally mediated racism by individuals in a minority group, people stop listening.

And I agree that it is a setback, but I think missteps on race are a trivial component of the reasons for the magnitude of this loss. Democrats bet everything on "war on women" rhetoric and it blew up in our faces.

Now Marcotte is doubling down. We lost because we don't hate white men enough.

[OnlinePoker]

81. From the same exit poll data`

10% of black voters and 36% of hispanic voters also voted Republican.

[LawDeeDah]

2. yep

white male privilege has been a topic around (left leaning) forums for a while now. About how there is no such thing.

coininkydinks?

[applegrove]

3. Silly. Male white priviledge issue is a wedge issue. It makes

male white angry. Talking about it alienates white males from the democrats. It is like calling them racist. They are perfect in their own minds. Anyone who doesn't adore them or their issues is attacking them. That is why I don't like talking specifically about male white priviledge on the DU. The wedge obviously worked and got out the votes...for Republicans.

[hfojvt]

6. "they are perfect in their own minds"

I doubt if that is true, but supposedly the whole white male privilege schtick is NOT really an attack at all on white males.

Now you are saying that it really is?

Whether people, or just white males, think they are perfect or not (I guess we can add both arrogance and delusion to their already vast list of personal defects) the fact remains that this approach is likely to end badly.

"Hey, you!"
"Yes, you, the racist a$$hole."
"That's right, you are a racist a$$hole."
"Just wanted to let you know, I am running for office and would like your vote."

[applegrove]

8. I know it is not an attack on all white males. But many will feel

it. Which is why it is a wedge issue used by the GOP to alienate people from democrats. Psychopaths will often set up a false flag attack on their own followers and blame the enemy, just to separate them even more from the enemy. And to create more followers. Why I do not like the white male privilege discussion on the DU. Because it is a wedge issue started by the right and put onto our boards.

[hfojvt]

58. it is?

I could have sworn most of the people pushing it were sincere liberals. The GOP does not need to use it, because some of us are more than happy to do so, because it is a "core belief".

My other point is that somebody does not have to think they are perfect, to not appreciate an attack on themself. Maybe they just think they are good.

[Jackpine Radical]

82. Or maybe they think they are actually inferior

and the attack is acutely painful, all the moreso because they not only believe it is correct, but that their defects are even more widely apparent than they feared.

[hfojvt]

105. quite possibly

in our society people without money or status are usually told they are inferior.

[Warren DeMontague]

92. That shtick wins the election every time, on tumblr.

isn't that what counts?

[lumberjack_jeff]

9. I'd say that people who are attacking them, are attacking them.

For instance, the biggest problem with male suicide is that it's apparently a tactic to control their ex wives.

Marcotte probably wrote the OP weeks ago, since she's a primary architect of the result.

[AgingAmerican]

34. I am a white male

White male privilege as an issue doesn't make me angry and I am no where near perfection in my own mind. I also do not wish to be adored in any way manor or form.

But, whatever...

[upaloopa]

127. You can never get through to them.

The idea is that you don't know things about yourself that they know about you having not ever met you.
Even if you agree with what they are saying in general they have to teach you about yourself because in their world all white guys live in denial.

[uppityperson]

110. You continue to miss the point.

[lumberjack_jeff]

4. Geez Amanda, you make it sound like that wasn't your intent all along.

Amanda, please STFU.

[Tarheel_Dem]

5. I heard this on NPR this a.m. Seems angry old white men outperformed all of us. Sleeping giant?

Seems that if you tell already pissed off & fearful old white geezers that ISIS is perched at the borders, with little brown children carrying Ebola lollipops made in Russia, just ahead of the abortionists who are trying to wipe out the white race, and turn your grandchildren gay, you get the result you're looking for.

[lumberjack_jeff]

12. 40% of the single women who turned out to vote, picked (R).

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/where-were-all-dems-heres-who-turned-vote-n241696

[RKP5637]

14. Apparently they love being repressed in a male dominated society. Yet another of

my many WTF's each day. Logic pales me. I just don't get it. Hey, vote for me, I'll screw you over. OK, hey, that's great, you've got my vote.

One more of the many mysteries of life and my many WTF's.

[spooky3]

29. The Dems need to clarify why single women should support them

Just as they need to do with other groups.

This demographic is not interested simply in abortion rights.

[okieinpain]

60. too true. n/t.

[loyalsister]

83. It's like cozying up to the boss

I think there are people who align themselves with the oppressors because it makes them feel powerful. I think it happens with many people, especially poor people who vote against their interests. It is especially effective when they can feel more powerful than their equally disaffected peers. They set themselves apart with simple tactics.

It's like that candidate with the coffee cup who claims that she can't be part of a war on women because she's a woman. In other words, we successful women are not under attack.

[RKP5637]

86. Yes, agree! Also, some of it is almost like the Stockholm Syndrome.

Wikipedia

Stockholm syndrome, or capture-bonding, is a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with them.

[loyalsister]

90. Yep

I think that the "war on women" language might have ben a mistake. It implies victim status and that is not how women want to be perceived.

[RKP5637]

97. It does, doesn't it. I just can't believer we are in the 21st century and this is still going on. nt

[treestar]

52. There is such a thing as wealthy single women

Must have been them.

[lumberjack_jeff]

66. I imagine that there are republicans who are equally surprised...

... that 40% of married white men voted democratic.

We can control only ourselves. This election result should bring into bas relief why gender wedge politics was foolish. If Democrats ever again get into a position where we can pass an important bill like the affordable care act, it should not be explicitly sexist.

[freshwest]

45. Correct except for the Russian lollipops. All things Putin are pure and good per the GOP.

[Tarheel_Dem]

74. Oops! You're right. I forgot. Putin pure & good. Got it!

[BlueJazz]

7. Yeah, these White Privilege Men will rejoice when the Republicans thank them by ramming..

....a splintered 2X4 up their ass. Higher wages?..fuck You. Health Care?..fuck You. More time with your family? Yes.(On the street).
Need assistance? ..Fuck you.

[lumberjack_jeff]

11. What a Hobson's choice.

Pull lever "A" for people who are openly hostile to you but will probably support you to some degree as incidental to their primary mission.
Pull lever "B" for people who are as indifferent to your needs as they are everyone elses.

[boston bean]

47. Oh, I see. MRA's are pivoting their messaging.

Now, it's not just feminists who hate men, it's ALL of the Democratic Party who hate men. And who are openly hostile to men??

What a fucking laugh riot.

[lumberjack_jeff]

65. I'm glad you're finding the election results amusing.

I'm not.

[AgingAmerican]

35. They vote for people who impoverish them

The jokes on them....

[Nye Bevan]

10. Wendy Davis lost among women voters by a 9 point margin.

http://www.cnn.com/election/2014/results/state/TX/governor

So not entirely a "white male" thing here.

[BillZBubb]

27. Yeah, but that's gun totin', Bible quotin' Texas.

Not exactly a fair example.

[0rganism]

30. "gun totin', Bible quotin'" describes a fairly large chunk of our nation

so in that sense, Wendy Davis' loss is a fair representation of how things play out across the country, not just Texas. Living in the ever-lovin' starry-eyed liberal PNW, i can go a few miles out from the urban centers and find myself in gun totin', Bible quotin' Oregon. And it's pretty much this way all over the country from what i've seen. Including Texas.

[bluestateguy]

13. if you take away the white male vote, Democrats didn't do that bad at all

nt

[Warren DeMontague]

15. This analysis is goofy, and specious. Like there aren't White Men on, say, the West Coast- where our

party continues to be strong.

The simple fact is, Democrats lost because of a muddled approach to issues, running away from the signature accomplishment of a 2 term President. Inept handling of other issues (notably, ebola) in the fall BY that President, also a nearly inevitable anti-White House 2nd term midterm swing, ALSO an unfavorable Senate map.

In states like Colorado, a perceived hostility towards the 2nd Amendment may have been a factor. That, too, has jack diddly to do with gender issues.

But if Amanda Marcotte thinks that insulting "worried white men" is going to help the situation, she's wrong.

[Iris]

21. And like there aren't white men in red states who vote Democrat.

Last edited Thu Nov 6, 2014, 06:17 AM - Edit history (1)

And even if there's some validity to this argument, what does that mean, really, in the long run? This facet of society is going to have to learn to live with the rest of us sooner or later.

[Warren DeMontague]

28. Tossing "White Male Voter" around like it's an insult- does she really think that's a good strategic

plan?

It's like the "toddler temper tantrum" strategy.

[boston bean]

48. Only while, tossing aroung "all female voters in a derogatory fashion.

For real? You can't see how this is playing out?

Democrats hate men now... and that is the new message. WTF??? You can't possibly think that is true.

It's the same old canard they use against feminists.

Standing up for women, is hating men. No, it's not... it just isn't. But, we've moved into new territory where it's Dems who hate men. What joke!

Who's throwing a temper tantrum would all depend upon your world view. If one thinks feminists and democrats are against men, who has the problem, I can see where that comes from.... twisted thinking...

[Warren DeMontague]

50. I think her analysis is just wrong, for starts. I dont think that was what this election was about.

So I'm not tossing around anything about men OR women voters. I'm responding to the orientation of the Op-ed.

Like i said upthread, There are plenty of white men in states where our party did just fine.

If we want to do a post-mortem, maybe we should ask ourselves what the party is doing right, in those states.

[boston bean]

51. Exactly, so......

We ought to be careful in propping up arguments with our comments that seem to support that the notion that Dems hate men.

[Warren DeMontague]

75. Talk to Amanda Marcotte.

and the tired-ass tropes she's trottin' out, here.

[boston bean]

84. I don't talk to Amanda Marcotte, anyhow, I doubt it is she

who thinks that Dems are hostile/hate men and that's the reason many of them don't vote for DEMS.

[Warren DeMontague]

87. Okay, but the OP is about the "White Male Voter"

I can tell you with reasonable certainty that the state I live in is approximately 50% male, give or take, and overall pretty damn Helmann's Mayonnaise White.

So why do you suppose, if the "White Male Voter" was the problem in this election, my state consistently sends Democrats to office?

[boston bean]

89. I don't know. But pretty sure it wasn't dur

To female voters. Or that dems don't represent men or are hostile to men. Probably a mix of misogyny sexism and racism that leads some of them to vote republican.

[Warren DeMontague]

91. I think you and I are having two separate conversations, here.

[lumberjack_jeff]

67. Democrats? Not really. Amanda Marcotte? Yes. n/t

[cherokeeprogressive]

39. I totally misread your post. I'm sorry.

Last edited Thu Nov 6, 2014, 03:41 PM - Edit history (1)

[Iris]

46. huh? I was saying there are plenty of white men in red states who vote Democrat.I live with one and

among many, so save your indignation for someone who deserves it.


Also, I edited my original post because I left out the "n't". You could have given me the benefit of the doubt.

[randys1]

77. Why dems lost and why white rightwing racist males voted are two entirely different things

[Warren DeMontague]

79. Oh

Okay, sure.

Funny, I only see "white male voter" in the OP. Are they all right wing racists, now, or are we conflating the two?

[randys1]

80. The person should have said republican or rightwing because I assume that is what she meant, clearly

the author isnt upset at white males who voted for Democrats, or do you think she meant to include them?

Does that make ANY sense?

[Warren DeMontague]

85. Well, I don't think insulting groups of people is a good way to get them to vote for you

...do you?

[Puzzledtraveller]

95. Succinct reply

Failing to recognize our weakness, where we went, even that we can go wrong is essential, I hope we take some of that away from this experience. I do not look at this as doom and gloom either but rather a great chance to improve who we are and not be reduced to picking on voters for being "stupid" this time around. We lauded the electorate when they came out for President Obama 2 times! yet say they are dumb this time. Not a good way to see the very people we need to convince. IMO.

[Warren DeMontague]

113. I agree. I also think there were a bunch of factors at play, here.

It is tempting to read too much into election results, either favorable or negative.

We knew the map, in the Senate, was weighted against us this time. Similarly, the GOP reaped the benefits, in the house, of their 2010 redistricting efforts. And you can practically set your clock by the anti-WH sentiment that crops up in the 2nd term midterms.

That said, certainly there were factors within our control- our candidates ran away from the President, and his primary accomplishment, way too much IMHO. The DNC was run by spam-emailing morons, and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is a disaster. An inability to articulate things we stand for, or to formulate a coherent position on issues the electorate cares about - like ending the drug war - was a problem for National Party leaders, although not for the party in West Coast states where we enjoyed success.

I think Obama fumbled on ebola. Whether or not that was a manufactured panic, respecting the concerns of people who don't want their families to catch a communicable, lethal virus is generally a smarter way to go. Instead we got patronizing bullshit from Tom Freiden about how ready the US was for it when it came here, except- surprise- it came and we weren't, actually, ready.

Lastly I do NOT think that "privilege-checking"; whatever that means- is really a good way to grow a political party or win friends and allies. For many, it seems, pointless and fundamentally meaningless internet crusades have been their primary "activism" focus. Arguing with strangers that bikinis are worse than hijabs, for instance, is not likely to flip any congressional districts.

Imagine if the social justice blogosphere had spent half as much energy on GOTV efforts, as it did hyperventilating about spiderwoman's cartoon butt.

[LostInAnomie]

16. Must be nice to be able to lump all the people you dont like...

... into one easy to hate group. This article is hack shit.

[applegrove]

17. The White Privilege topic for discussion is a wedge issue

of the right. They know that if we paint with broad brushstrokes then we will offend. That is the whole point of the exercise.

[LostInAnomie]

20. It's a broad brush that gets used too fucking freely.

I'm a white male that voted straight ticket Democrat. I guess I missed the secret memo that we were all supposed to vote Repub to maintain our privilege.

[applegrove]

22. You prove my point.

[Vattel]

19. I love armchair social science! (sarcasm)

[bluestateguy]

32. She's not very bright

She also proclaimed the Duke lacrosse boys guilty and never apologized.

[Man from Pickens]

26. Hey let's attack a third of the electorate and paint them with a broad brush

Maybe you can carry a sign that says "I'm no bigot, some of my best friends are white males"

[Kurska]

37. What do you do when you lose an election, because you got killed in a certain demo

Why, you publish a highly snarky article attacking that demo by golly! That'll show em.

[NaturalHigh]

44. Exactly!

[boston bean]

49. So, you suggest Dems promote policies of republicans?

Really, it's not a party problem. It's much more than that.

[Kurska]

62. Continuing to act like the Republican party speaks for all white males

Or that the policies of the republican party are the policies of white males as a whole in the problem.

[treestar]

53. LOL how do we attract the demo of white men

without adopting policies not quite liberal enough for the same people complaining we did not win for not being liberal enough?

[dilby]

63. Do you know any white male Liberals?

Maybe you should talk with one and ask why they are liberal and start there.

[treestar]

69. The demo is majority conservative

Who I know is not representative

Though from the anecdote of who I know, only one is likely to be a liberal. And he is mid 20s. My BILL may be more of a liberal than he comes off as

[dilby]

71. 60% of our party is white and I would assume 1/2 of that 60% are male.

So maybe we should reach out to that 30% of our voters and figure out how to attract more like them.

[treestar]

121. Why do we have to attract them?

They are liberals or they aren't. Why should we try to attract white male conservative more than white female conservatives? Or indeed anyone. If people are liberal, they can vote for liberal candidates. I don't have to make them do it.

[dilby]

124. If you are unable to convert them to your ideals then don't complain

when they show up on election night and don't vote how you wanted.

[treestar]

143. We have to covert them or they have to convert us

Why should we convert anybody? People are allowed to think for themselves in this country. And allowed to say anything. "Convert" is a religious term, and implies taking over someone's mind.

It's hilarious the same people who complain we can't convince people don't think they have to convince anyone themselves. They criticize others for not doing the convincing, as if they are entitled to have their viewpoints agreed to and pushed by others.

[lumberjack_jeff]

72. I'm a white male liberal.

Here is an idea that should both illustrate the problem and suggest a solution.

The White House has an Office of Women and Girls, and the affordable care act created an Office of Women's Health Care.

By every measure, men's health is worse than women's and by most metrics of social health, men are suffering.

The White House (since that's all we have left) should issue an executive order creating an office of Men and Boys, with emphasis on understanding their problems in education, incarceration and suicide.

Democrats in congress should be on TV at every opportunity demanding an expansion of the ACA to include an Office of Men's Health Care that would include free prostate exams and PSA tests as routine health care. I'd suggest that this would have the most impact if it came from people like Senator Murray and Senator Feinstein.

To an extent, the problem with perceptions among men is one of reality.

I saw this coming.

[treestar]

122. No one says you aren't, but that's anecdotal

History shows women have been oppressed. Quit pretending it is equal. Men don't need any help as they were the dominant and treated superior gender. They still lead in most things. I doubt their health is really worse, but if it is, it's being looked into and researched more than women's traditionally was.

Also this is not really about that - don't be like that poster that makes everything about LBGT rights whether it has to do with it or not. It'll make you look unhealthily obsessed. And even that poster is on the traditionally oppressed side. Here it's like demanding an Office to help White People or and office to Help Straight People.

[lumberjack_jeff]

123. "Men don't need any help as they were the dominant and treated superior gender"

Keep repeating that until we get the election results we'd hope for. At some point, the word "were" in the above sentence ceases to have any relevance, and especially not to men who actually live today, only 42% of whom we can now persuade to vote for us.

I fully admit to seeing the world through my lens. But the polling data should make the consequences of "war on women" rhetoric obvious no matter what lens you see the world through.

In Iowa, Joni Ernst (R) won without carrying the female vote.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=election+2014+polls+%22war+on+women%22&tbs=qdr:w

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2014/11/05/the_failure_of_the_war_on_women_345232.html

[workinclasszero]

54. Well shit I'm a white male over 50

My wife and I always vote straight democratic including the latest blowout...er...election.

Apparently all the young folks and other groups who depend on the democratic party to give a damn about them and their problems, couldn't be bothered to actually go to the polls and vote.

But...its my fault!? Thanks for putting all older white male voters in a box and labeling us racist hater loons fox noise brain washed mouth droolers!

Thats the thanks I get for doing my duty on election and trying to save this God forsaken randian hellhole called Amerika!!!


"Revenge of the white male voter?" Fuck off assholes!

[liberal N proud]

56. Enabled by the efforts to disenfranchise all other voters.

[Orsino]

57. Bleating of the white male sheep, that is.

Fear rallied them to the polls. Vote suppression and a Democratic focus on goddamned begging emails did the rest.

[Kaleva]

61. And it's the revenge of the white women too! 56% of whom voted Repub.

[demmiblue]

93. Interesting... do you have a link for that?

Most statistics I have seen over the years show that more women tend to vote for democrats than republicans.

The only thing I found regarding 56% was this from 2012:

President Barack Obama won the two-party vote among female voters in the 2012 election by 12 points, 56% to 44%, over Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Meanwhile, Romney won among men by an eight-point margin, 54% to 46%. That total 20-point gender gap is the largest Gallup has measured in a presidential election since it began compiling the vote by major subgroups in 1952.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/158588/gender-gap-2012-vote-largest-gallup-history.aspx

[lumberjack_jeff]

98. I can't find any super detailed polling results. But there's this.

http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2014/11/05/white-women-lets-get-shit-together/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=white-women-lets-get-shit-together

Meanwhile, just 32 percent of white Texas women who voted did so for Wendy Davis.

[Ampersand Unicode]

102. Because they're "good Christian women"

Not like those "slutty-slut, slut-slut-slutty-slut-sluts" (thanks, Carvey) who believe in women's reproductive rights.

Maybe some of them didn't even vote at all because they're "submissive to their husbands" and hubby said no.



By the way, this was not supposed to be a nonfiction book...

[Kaleva]

117. It's at the CNN website in their exit poll data.

Scroll down to "Vote by Gender and Race"

http://www.cnn.com/election/2014/results/race/house#exit-polls

[Puzzledtraveller]

64. Our continuing to think this way will guarantee us more defeat in the future.

Many people turned against us this time, even if the turnout was low, blaming white men and not actually believing we lost some of our own on the way to this mess is living in the 9th circle of denial. Too often on here it is touted how things are better, the DOW is skyrocketing, look at me, my premium went down, but it's all echoes and if it does not reflect the reality for the vast majority of voting Americans we can kiss 2016 goodbye now. Get out of your own personal echo chamber, discard your pride and listen to what people have to say without calling them stupid.

[lumberjack_jeff]

68. The thing that pisses me off about this the most...

... is the "See? I told you so. White men suck." tone.

Her years of incessant sexist attacks have had her desired result, they have created a victim; namely the democratic party.

[Seeking Serenity]

140. I love this!! (And detest Marcotte.) (n/t)

[Blue_Tires]

73. kick

[DemocratSinceBirth]

78. I frequent sports boards where I infrequently discuss my politics

But when politics come up those posting lean right and most of them are other white guys.

[Awsi Dooger]

136. You understated it a million percent

The vast majority of my internet posting is on sports forums. The white male political trend is beyond obvious, especially on college football sites which trend southern due to SEC dominance. Two sports sites I post on have recently banned political discussion because the rightwingers were avalanching the board with nothing but fury and vitriol. They despise Obama. That's one reason I haven't been posting here. I knew darn well what would happen in November 2014.

There are isolated political forums on some of those sports sites. Very familiar trend. The handful of liberals are more informed and rational, but they are overwhelmed in sheer numbers by ranting conservatives. Those conservatives increasingly can't believe that anybody votes Democratic.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

138. I don't think the members of this board realize the echo chamber they live in.

They talk, almost exclusively, to folks who think just like themselves and consequently think everybody thinks like them. Folks on the right do it too but that's their problem not mine/ours.

[sibelian]

88. "FUCK YOU YOU FUCKING WHITE MEN!

WHY WON'T YOU VOTE FOR ME??!??!"

[applegrove]

94. They didn't vote for Dems. That is the point of me posting this.

Republicans successfully alienated some white men from Dems. And they've kept them feeling persecuted.

[sibelian]

118. I don't think it was the Republicans. nt.

[applegrove]

119. In many ways successful white men

have been told they are under attack. CEO are complaining about it. You think the GOP would never get on the DU and launch 'white privilege' thread after thread? If You don't think they have the money or the gaul to do it you are naive. Of course they are here.

[sibelian]

120. That's an interesting theory, but I don't think we need it.

Dems are perfectly capable of shooting themselves in the foot 50 times before a republican's opened his mouth. Also, the subtle racism against white people is a staple of Democrats. That's why they talk about "white privilege" instead of black disenfranchisement. Even the most impoverished white person is somehow priveleged! It's ludicrous. Nobody buys it and they stamp their little feet, consequently no-one votes for them. It's idiotic. It's not a "wedge" it's a flat out failure of thinking, and the "white privilege" propagators are responsible for it, not the Republicans. The phrase has never been anything more than a way to score "see me I'm such a lefty" points against other left-wing people on Internet message boards. If these people were serious about getting rid of racism they'd be talking about PREJUDICE, not privilege. Nobody gets privilege. EVERYONE gets prejudice.

[NaturalHigh]

128. a way to score "see me I'm such a lefty" points

You knocked that one out of the park.

[hifiguy]

96. I am a white guy in his 50s who has voted Dem all my life.

But then I am not a macho swellhead type who feels threatened by the notion of gender/racial equality and gay marriage.

[applegrove]

99. She's not talking about you.

[hifiguy]

100. I know.

I just wanted to say that there are some decent, intelligent middle-aged white guys out there. Although sometimes the neanderthals make me almost ashamed to be one.

[applegrove]

103. Yes there are. I didn't mean to paint everybody with the same brush

with this post. I simply wanted to show that 'white men' is a wedge issue of the GOP and it worked (that's the point of the article, so many voted GOP). I think we need a moniker. Maybe call them the "beer summit backfire white male neo republicans"?

[Ampersand Unicode]

101. Good reads on institutional "invisible" racism

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/racism-without-racists-eduardo-bonilla-silva/1114982200?ean=9781442220553

Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America, by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva

Eduardo Bonilla-Silva’s acclaimed Racism Without Racists documents how beneath our contemporary conversation about race lies a full-blown arsenal of arguments, phrases, and stories that whites use to account for—and ultimately justify—racial inequalities. This provocative book explodes the belief that America is now a color-blind society.

The fourth edition adds a chapter on what Bonilla-Silva calls "the new racism," which provides the essential foundation to explore issues of race and ethnicity in more depth. This edition also updates Bonilla-Silva’s assessment of race in America after President Barack Obama’s re-election. Obama’s presidency, Bonilla-Silva argues, does not represent a sea change in race relations, but rather embodies disturbing racial trends of the past.

In this fourth edition, Racism Without Racists will continue to challenge readers and stimulate discussion about the state of race in America today.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/new-jim-crow-michelle-alexander/1101303322?ean=9781595586438

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander

Once in a great while a book comes along that changes the way we see the world and helps to fuel a nationwide social movement. The New Jim Crow is such a book. Praised by Harvard Law professor Lani Guinier as "brave and bold," this book directly challenges the notion that the election of Barack Obama signals a new era of colorblindness. With dazzling candor, legal scholar Michelle Alexander argues that "we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it." By targeting black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control—relegating millions to a permanent second-class status—even as it formally adheres to the principle of colorblindness. In the words of Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, this book is a "call to action."

Called "stunning" by Pulitzer Prize–winning historian David Levering Lewis, "invaluable" by the Daily Kos, "explosive" by Kirkus, and "profoundly necessary" by the Miami Herald, this updated and revised paperback edition of The New Jim Crow, now with a foreword by Cornel West, is a must-read for all people of conscience.

Racism never died with the civil rights movement. It just embedded itself even further (and more surreptitiously) into the fabric of our society.

[applegrove]

109. Yes. Some of us here steered clear fo the "white privilege" debate

at the DU. It was one of many issues the GOP use to alienate white men from democrats. I posted this rant because the GOP did get their votes. So the GOP plan worked.

[uppityperson]

114. Healthcare, livable wages, decent schools, infrastructure that holds up, assistance if you need it

including unemployment and job retraining, environment, equality, decrease budget, tax breaks for not just the obscenely rich. Here are a few links with more information. If you care to look at them.

http://www.ontheissues.org/democratic_party.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)#Policy_positions

http://www.democrats.org/democratic-national-platform

REBUILDING MIDDLE CLASS SECURITY
Putting Americans Back to Work
The Middle Class Bargain
Cutting Waste, Reducing the Deficit, Asking All to Pay Their Fair Share
Economy Built to Last
AMERICA WORKS WHEN EVERYONE PLAYS BY THE SAME RULES
Wall Street Reform
21st Century Government: Transparent and Accountable
Lobbying Reform and Campaign Finance Reform
GREATER TOGETHER
Strengthening the American Community
Protecting Rights and Freedoms
Ensuring Safety and Quality of Life
STRONGER IN THE WORLD, SAFER AND MORE SECURE AT HOME
Responsibly Ending the War in Iraq
Disrupting, Dismantling, and Defeating Al-Qaeda
Responsibly Ending the War in Afghanistan
Preventing the Spread and Use of Nuclear Weapons
Countering Emerging Threats
Strengthening Alliances, Expanding Partnerships, and Reinvigorating International Institutions
Promoting Global Prosperity and Development
Maintaining the Strongest Military in the World
Advancing Universal Values

[applegrove]

115. Health care, a decent society, a good economy, great education,

good infrastructure, a fine climate for business, support for small business growth including health care, sober foreign policy, minimum wage, the fight against poverty, and on and on. They want the same thing anybody wants.

[Harmony Blue]

111. The concept of white privilege

doesn't resonate with the nation as a whole. Reason being people clearly delineate between privileges and rights. Rights are legal in a sense while privileges in the current era are often perceived due to possible biases.

[HereSince1628]

125. Pretty clear that few in this thread want to think about what could change a proportion.

It might have absolutely NOTHING to do with a change in attitude among whites, be they men or women.

Arithmetically the same result could follow from a particular cohort of white voters changing NOTHING but their relative rate of voting

It's sort of important to keep in mind what was measured.

And what was measured was who voted, not who changed his or her "white" mind.