Don’t blame us, Congressional Black Caucus chair says about midterm election results

[KeepItReal]

Congressional Black Caucus chair Rep. Marcia Fudge had this to say on Monday about last week’s midterm election results: “Don’t blame us.”

“Democrats did not lose control of the Senate because African Americans did not vote. Actually, as supported by preliminary exit poll data, the complete opposite is the case. African Americans increased as a proportion of the electorate in 2014 over 2010. African Americans voted heavily for Senate Democrats, and by doing so remained loyal to both the president and the Democratic Party and its values. So, don't blame us!” Fudge, a Democratic congresswoman from Ohio, said in a statement.

In North Carolina, African-American voters made up 22 percent of the electorate, up slightly from the last midterm. Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, who lost, got 96 percent of African American votes, compared to 3 percent for the winner, Republican Thom Tillis. Hagan got just 33 percent of the white vote, compared to 62 percent for Tillis.

...

“We lost because our party has, to some extent, lost white Southerners due in part to the race of our president,” she added in her statement. “We lost because the Supreme Court decisions in “Citizens United” and “McCutcheon” allowed a select few to subvert the political process with secret, unlimited money. We lost because of gerrymandering in our state redistricting processes. We lost because of our continuing problem with a clear and compelling message that would encourage voters to stay with us.”

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/11/10/246363_dont-blame-us-congressional-black.html?rh=1

[hedda_foil]

1. " We lost because of our continuing problem with a clear and compelling message that would encourage

"We lost because of our continuing problem with a clear and compelling message that would encourage voters to stay with us."

[KeepItReal]

4. The ridiculous part is that the Dem candidates only needed to promote the truth

How do you lose on these issues?:

More people have Health Insurance (or are covered by Medicare/Medicaid expansion).

The unemployment rate is down.

The deficit has been cut dramatically.

Stock market is at record highs (so 401(k)'s are worth more).

Bin Laden is still dead. And ZERO Al Qaeda attacks on the USA.

ISIS/ISIL is being bombed as we speak.

DEMOCRATS want to raise the minimum wage - NOT THE GOP.

Gas prices are down.

[KoKo]

2. And, didn't Obama admit he held off on Immigration Reform until

Last edited Tue Nov 11, 2014, 12:12 PM - Edit history (1)

after the Election in his "after the election" Press Conference? He said he held off waiting for Repubs to come up with "their plan"....and the low turn out of Hispanic voters was probably reflected in that. Along with the "Voter ID" questions that intimidate many who could have voted but did not want that possible hassling. NC Voter ID goes into effect in 2016 and there were signs up at Voting sites warning the I.D. was coming and every voter had to be reminded (warned) that you needed photo I.D. for 2016 when you requested your ballot but not for the Mid-Term.

It's hard to get young people to vote in Mid-Terms because the issues are so local that it's confusing for college students and others to have the experience on which Judges , City Council, Soil & Water Commissioners, State School Board Admins and the rest are important to vote for. And, many of them don't know the record of their Senate or House Reps. NC Repub Take Over in 2012 also removed the ability to vote Straight Party Ticket D or R....and so that made it even harder for the young people to figure out a ballot with so many positions they had little or no experience or interest in.

That's why the "old" vote more in Mid-Term Elections.

She makes good points though all around.

[JonLP24]

5. I never found those elections to be much more than a guessing game myself

I rely on the Arizona Judicial Review which use ratings, I focus on the fairness rating and vote yes or no based on that. If it is borderline then I look at other ratings. One judge ratings were so unusually poor I did a search and even came across a Youtube video.

The lower you go, the harder it is to find information on all candidates. I usually base my votes on state party endorsements. At the city level however, Democrats don't even run. The biggest liberal victory was moderate Scott Smith elected mayor. The one Democrat in city council claims to like him, says he isn't partisan. Now he runs unopposed like most other politicians. We did manage to recall my legislative rep Russell Pearce in favor of a conservative who only differs on rhetoric. The school board elections pretty much only features charter school lovers so local politics voting really comes down to a lesser of two evils but most of the time I don't vote if both candidates suck though I emphasize, most of the time they run unopposed with no threat of Democrat opposition.

My city is tops on the chart

[KoKo]

6. That's a great chart of Cities...

Thanks for posting it.

[BlueCaliDem]

3. This is exactly what I believe happened. The Plutocrats have strategized to take over this country

by sabotaging our democracy so they can replace it with a plutocracy. They long to kill the U.S. Constitution and replace it with a National Corporate Charter (along the same lines as the Federal Reserve - owned and ruled by banks - has replaced the Treasury - the true Bank of the United States. Hey! It worked, didn't it?).

And they're WINNING.

The Divided States of America is becoming the old South Africa of the last century, where Whites believe they are privileged and stand above people of color (perhaps ordained by their chosen deities as a superior race?) and all those others, those "minorities", were born into perpetual servitude to serve these elevated Caucasians.

The sad thing is, these Whites who are not part of the wealthy in this country but who continue to vote for Republicans as if they are, have been fooled and are useful idiots of the wealthy and well-connected. As this past election has shown, as the disproportionately executed Blacks by our police have shown, we are not the United States of America. We are still Jim Crow's Segregated States of America.

[heaven05]

8. thank you

for some honest truth.

[Orsino]

7. The number not mentioned here? Turnout.

How was turnout? Everything else is spin.

[MisterP]

9. they were told to GOTV and they did, so apparently they're gonna get punished for it ...

[Doctor_J]

10. I read somewhere that we lost because blacks stayed home in protest

over the harsh treatment of the president. Wait...that was on DU.