'I know Joe's heart': Why black voters are backing Joe Biden

[highplainsdem]

https://apnews.com/86ac620dd00045dc9a8f21900ee4cfdc

After Kamala Harris challenged Joe Biden’s past opposition to school busing in a nationally televised Democratic presidential debate, the former vice president who prides himself on strong relationships in the black community was in an unfamiliar place, playing defense on race.

But Bebe Coker had a message for the man she’s known for decades: don’t back down. The 81-year-old education activist remembered the history differently than Harris’ portrayal, recalling black parents encouraging Biden to reject forcing black students to attend white schools.

“I told him not to back down off of that,” Coker, who is black, said in an interview. “I know Joe’s heart. I guess that’s why I’m rather defensive of him. Joe has always been straight-up Joe. But when things come back at people that don’t look like us, they will say it’s racist because it doesn’t sound right when it’s coming out of somebody else’s mouth.”

-snip-

People who have known Biden for decades speak to the depth of good will he has among black voters. They talk of Biden as someone who has known and courted black voters for more than a half century. That, they say, could make it difficult for other candidates who hope to persuade some black voters to change their minds.

“He knew our plight, he knew how we felt,” said Richard “Mouse” Smith, who met Biden as a kid in Wilmington, Delaware’s black community where Biden worked as a lifeguard during college.

“He walked through gangs, learned all nicknames, he was part of this community,” said Smith, who remains one of Biden’s oldest and closest friends. “Joe had to be accountable to the black leadership in this city. We made him.”

Biden has credited his early years in Delaware politics as formative, particularly the community known as “The Bucket,” the largely African American, downtrodden northeast Wilmington neighborhood that was home to housing projects, crime, drugs and violence. He returned to the area as a young lawyer during the 1968 Wilmington riots after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. He represented the community of New Castle as a county councilman, supporting public housing and opposing highway projects he saw as potentially harmful to black neighborhoods.

After his election to the U.S. Senate in 1972, Biden remained a fixture in the black community, a regular at the annual NAACP dinner and a commencement speaker at historically black Delaware State University. He talked to everyone, including the wait staff, according to people who knew him at the time. Most important, he listened, recalled Delaware State’s provost and incoming president, Tony Allen, who served as Biden’s speechwriter and special assistant when Biden was in the Senate.

“It almost seemed like he had a unique familiarity with people who might not have been advantaged,” said Allen. “He was always the last one to leave, making sure he connected with people and knew what their issues were. It’s kind of why a lot of African Americans affectionately call him ‘Uncle Joe.’ We feel like he’s got our back, he’s gonna consult with us and make the right decision.”

-snip-

[crazytown]

1. Older black voters.

Biden is less popular with AA voters as a whole than HRC in 2016. He has done an inadequate job in introducing himself to those who don't know him - and he hasn't really tried.

[highplainsdem]

2. LOL! Keep hoping he doesn't have the support he obviously has. But that won't make

Warren more popular with that Democratic voting bloc.

[crazytown]

3. I'm not making this observation from the point of view

of the primary race. Older black voters aside, Obama strengths - the young, college educated and liberals, are Biden's weaknesses.

[BeyondGeography]

4. Biden would be a very heavy turnout lift for that reason

No matter the running mate. We can and will do better.

[crazytown]

8. Biden complemented Obama's electoral appeal - a perfect match

He should try to find the same in his running mate, and that's no one in the current field. HRC made one hell of a mistake choosing Tim Kaine. Just sayin'.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

9. Biden won't need a running mate... as he won't be getting the nomination.

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[highplainsdem]

10. LOL!

[crazytown]

11. We an always count on InAbLuEsTaTe

Unflagging optimism - something treasured by campaigns.

[Gothmog]

20. If Biden.... isn't on the ballot in 2020, many older black voters might just stay home

Link to tweet

[Sugarcoated]

46. Omg

I hope they don't do that!

[Progressive dog]

23. There Is this.

In general elections, turnout among senior citizens is about 1.6 times higher than among young people. But in primaries, it’s four times higher.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/11/20/older-voters-really-like-joe-biden-thats-good-news-bad-news-him/
Catering to younger voters with plans that will harm the seniors might not be a winning strategy for a Democrat.

[highplainsdem]

6. The latest SurveyUSA national poll has Biden well ahead of Warren and Sanders with college-educated

voters (33% to 18% for Warren and 14% for Sanders) and with voters 35 and older. And although Biden trails Sanders with the 18-34 age ground (19% to 36%), he leads Warren, who has 15% support from that age group.

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=1a56d146-5d59-4e5f-a9fa-78219f1ff42f

We don't have Obama or a candidate like him running this time.

But Joe Biden has the best chance of putting together a coalition that will beat Trump.

It doesn't have to be the exact coalition Obama assembled.

[LakeArenal]

25. Do you have any real statistics of this claim?

I’ve seen Biden speak on campus. He was really received well. Lots of enthusiasm.

[beastie boy]

13. Define "inadequate"

I would venture a wild guess that even the youngest AA voters have been adequately introduced to Obama's Vice President.

[crazytown]

14. cf.

Even the youngest AA voters have been adequately introduced to Obama's Vice President - but he's not courting them. Biden is 30 years older than Obama was in 2008.

[beastie boy]

15. I disagree.

Biden seems to be "courting" young black voters at least as much as any other candidate, apparently with better results.

Is he being strategic with the courting so it doesn't go over the top? Hell yeah! Every candidate does it, and Biden's core base is elsewhere.

[crazytown]

17. I would like to see him reach out more

with a vision for the future. He has put together some good policies, but the campaign is retro: return, reclaim, restore, rebuild - 'rememberer who we are'.

[beastie boy]

21. That's the sentiment of the majority of the country.

A good thing to run on both in the primaries and the GE

[crazytown]

29. "That's the sentiment of the majority of the country"

But is not, and never has been. the sentiment of the majority of young people, which is why Biden is doing poorly with them. My point stands.

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop, it'll soon be here
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone
Oooh, don't you look back

[beastie boy]

32. I think I lost you there...

If your point is that you would like to see Biden reach out more with a vision for the future, I am not disputing your wish. By all means!

What I was talking about was the general sentiment of most Americans who tend to favor what you call retro: return, reclaim, restore, rebuild - 'rememberer who we are'. Young people don't constitute the majority of Americans, and, as much as I love young people and their irrational exuberance, reaching out to them at the expense of other Americans, is not only unfair, it is bad strategy for any presidential contender. It is commendable that you want Biden to reach out more to young people, but the discipline required to run a presidential campaign calls for strategic choices that by necessity divide a candidate's attention among ALL constituents. Biden made his choices in this regard, and it appears to be working in his favor.

[crazytown]

33. Yes. Reaching out is what I am talking about,

with a simple message - It will be better than before.

[WA-03 Democrat]

27. Things are going so well

Tru$$ia has done such a fantastic job. Some say the greatest ever. He’s just lining up the balls for our revolution. Nothing to fix at all. The socialists paradise is just around the corner.

Black voters know that Biden is a proven Democratic Executive and Legislative leader. He will win WI, MI, OH, FL and PA.

His election coattails will allow democracy to prevail.

[peggysue2]

34. Return, Reclaim, Restore and Rebuild will be necessary . . .

to get anything done. Our institutions have been damaged, the rule of law trampled and our alliances around the world have been shredded. No one is talking about returning to the past but the basic pillars of government need to be repaired in order to go forward with all the things we wish to accomplish for the welfare of the country and our people.

Joe Biden is the most qualified and experienced candidate to get that job done.

As for vision? Biden has said time and again, he wants the country to grab the reins of its own destiny be it in healthcare, climate change, whatever and remember that we lead both domestically and in the world by the strength of our principles, something Trump and his Russian cronies wish to throw overboard. Yeah, we've made mistakes in the past. Time to shake the dust off, get back in the saddle and vow to do it better in the future.

Biden's vision has been stated repeatedly in his speeches, on his website and by his own personal example as a statesman over decades. No, he isn't perfect. None of our candidates are perfect. No saints at the party.

As for reaching out? He has, he is and he will continue to embrace Elijah Cummings' idea that as Americans we're better than this, can be, must be better. For ourselves. For our children.

Read his speeches for yourself. Then tell me he has no 'vision for the future.'

[IluvPitties]

5. Obama trusted Joe.

We can trust him too.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

16. Just not enough to endorse him for President.

Neither do I.


Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[beastie boy]

22. When Obama endorses him, will you?

[highplainsdem]

24. Obama waited till the primaries were over in 2016 and wil do the same in 2020. This point

has been mentioned here and in the media again and again

https://time.com/5577983/obama-not-endorse-biden-president/

and yet for some reason Biden haters keep ignoring the commonly known facts.

The "Obama hasn't endorsed Biden" line is one I usually see from RWers on Twitter, though, more than from Dems.

From that Time magazine article, published in April:

Ex-President Barack Obama is holding off on an endorsement of his former running mate, Joe Biden, who on Thursday joined the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

He did, though, voice support for the former vice president in a statement timed to Biden’s announcement. “President Obama has long said that selecting Joe Biden as his running mate in 2008 was one of the best decisions he ever made,” Obama spokeswoman Katie Hill said.

“He relied on the vice president’s knowledge, insight, and judgment throughout both campaigns and the entire presidency. The two forged a special bond over the last 10 years and remain close today,” Hill added.

Obama’s endorsement would have been a boost for Biden, whose candidacy draws on the warm feelings that many Democrats have for the eight years the pair spent in the White House. It would also have been seen as an effort by Obama to clear out a crowded primary field that also includes one of his former cabinet secretaries – without giving voters a chance to decide for themselves at the polls.

A source familiar with Obama’s thinking said that he’s not planning to endorse anyone during the early stages of the primary process, in part because he believes that his experience battling for the 2008 nomination made him a better candidate and president. Obama, then the sitting president, waited until voting in the 2016 primaries had ended before endorsing Hillary Clinton.

-snip-

That statement from Obama, at the same time as Biden's announcement, is about as close to an endorsement as you can get without actually being an endorsement.

[SaschaHM]

30. The same people parroting the fact that Obama hasn't endorsed...

would be jumping off cliffs if he did.

[highplainsdem]

35. I'm glad Obama hasn't endorsed anyone. I want him to be able to throw all his influence

behind the eventual nominee, during the months before the general election, without any divisive bickering over whom he would have preferred.

The same goes for Michelle.

And for Hillary Clinton.

They're all doing the right thing by NOT endorsing anyone at this stage.

[BlueWI]

7. Biden is supported by a plurality of black voters

not a majority. As with Clinton, this support has to broaden and deepen for the GE in order to win. Hopefully his campaign has this mindset too. Premature end zone dancing about black support helps no one.

[highplainsdem]

12. With so many candidates, it isn't surprising for the front-runner to have a plurality rather than an

outright majority with particular demographic blocs as well as overall support.

[BlueWI]

18. To a point I agree.

But your response is also spin - lowering the expectation for what support Biden should have among this voting block, while ignoring generational and regional differences in his black voter support. Have we even seen one news story about why black voters support another candidate? A majority of Latinx voters supported Warren at one point, and her support among black voters has grown from low single digits to mid-teens - where's that coverage?

Warren, Sanders, Booker, etc. don't have a 40-year profile as a national politician and former vice president serving the only black president. I respect Biden's accomplishments, but the need to make fresh connections with emerging voters and to craft a turnout strategy are critical. Failures in this area in 2016 cost the party big time in Wisconsin and Michigan.

The bottom line is that before votes are cast, all candidates need to maximize their outreach among voters of color, including Biden. Otherwise, the hill to climb in the GE gets bigger.

[Gothmog]

43. Biden holds wide lead among black voters in Democratic presidential race, Post-Ipsos poll finds

Link to tweet

Former vice president Joe Biden is far and away the favored candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination among black Americans, boosted by his personal popularity, his service in the Obama administration and perceptions that he is best equipped to defeat President Trump, according to a national Washington Post-Ipsos poll.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) occupies second place in the Democratic field among African American voters, easily outdistancing the remaining candidates in the race. Sanders is leading among black voters under age 35, replicating his success with younger white voters in other national polls. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) runs third.

The survey finds meager support for former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg, who is among the leaders in polls in the predominantly white states of Iowa and New Hampshire but stands at 2 percent among Democratic black voters nationally. A lack of familiarity with him and concerns about his experience and sexual orientation appear to be contributing to his current standing. Buttigieg has said that as African Americans get to know him, he will gain more support, but the poll undercuts that assertion. He receives only 3 percent support among black voters who are familiar with him.

[Gothmog]

19. This is a great article

Link to tweet

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms endorsed Biden this summer and recently joined him at a meeting with other black mayors from the South who are considering which candidate to back. She vouched for Biden’s commitment to the black community even if he says things that seem in poor taste, such as his comments early in the campaign in which he fondly recalled being able to work with segregationist-era senators early in his career.

“The larger context of it was that you have to work across the aisle with people you don’t like, people who you don’t agree with,” she said. “I do it each and every day as mayor of Atlanta in a red state.”

Bottoms is a prominent surrogate with black voters, stumping for Biden in South Carolina and at historically black colleges. She’s among a few high-profile African Americans associated with his campaign, including campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond, a Democratic congressman from Louisiana and the former head of the Congressional Black Caucus.....

Richmond credits Biden’s popularity with black voters to their ability to discern authenticity and the vice president’s relatability that transcends race.

“If they look at his life, they understand although he’s white, he’s had a life full of some very big ups, but some humongous downs,” Richmond said, adding that Barack Obama’s decision to choose Biden as his running mate sends a strong signal to black voters.
“We don’t want to lose,” Richmond said. “He’s our best chance and he was vice president to Barack Obama. The person he trusted the most was Joe Biden.”

[B Stieg]

26. "Straight-up Joe"

Pretty much says what voters of all colors are looking for, integrity.

[Cha]

28. We know Joe's heart, too! So grateful

that the African American community knows what Biden is about.. steadfast throughout all those trying to take him down!

Thank you for this, hpd! :party

[SaschaHM]

31. This.

It angers me that people are shocked that their new national candidate can't compete with someone who has spent decades building relationships. Many black voters routinely have candidates statewide/national come in promising the moon, only to spend their time governing to the benefit of others.

Hell, even the candidate that I'd vote for if the primary was today can't compete with those tested relationships. The Khive isn't making insulting assumptions about African American voters to explain this natural deficit though.

[Scurrilous]

36. K&R

[Tarheel_Dem]

37. I certainly can't speak for all black voters, but this AA household has never even considered...

anyone else, since Uncle Joe entered the race.

[oasis]

38. Joe's authenticity comes shining through. It's a valuable characteristic when

it comes to winning over older voters.

[Gothmog]

39. How Black voters can help win the nomination for Biden

Link to tweet

[Cha]

40. Thank you for the tweet, Goth!

[highplainsdem]

41. kick

[Gothmog]

42. Opinion: Biden's advantage is underestimated

Link to tweet

On favorability, the extent of Biden’s advantage among African Americans is just as pronounced. At 69 percent favorable and only 13 percent unfavorable, Biden’s net favorability (plus-56) tops that of Sanders (plus-48), Warren (plus-39) and Buttigieg (plus-8). The good news for Buttigieg is that 34 percent of African American voters haven’t even heard of him and 21 percent have heard of him but have no opinion. He has room to grow, in other words. If Biden were the nominee, he would get 82 percent of African Americans. No other candidate would draw more than Sanders’s 74 percent.

Part of the explanation for their preference for Biden may be that African Americans overwhelmingly prioritize winning (57 percent) over agreement on issues (33 percent). In addition, by a 61 percent-to-21 percent margin, African American voters favor continuing President Barack Obama’s policies over policies that are more progressive than his. Whether this is based on loyalty to Obama, an assessment of what the voters as a whole will accept or their own moderate ideology (or some of each) is debatable. (When Warren talks about “big” and “fundamental change,” she probably is not endearing herself to these voters.)

There has been a long-standing debate in the Democratic Party about the continued status of two overwhelmingly white states in the first and second positions in the primary schedule. When one candidate dominates among African Americans to the extent Biden does, Iowa may prove predictive of nothing at all. If Biden eventually wins the nomination, it might be the perfect time to rethink the entire primary process, by rotating states, giving primacy to states that are the most diverse or moving to a regional primary system with a series of Super Tuesdays.

Finally, the media should take stock of their coverage to date. The overwhelmingly white national press corps has consistently devalued Biden’s strong base of support and harped on things that are entirely irrelevant to supporters or even endear him to them (e.g., gaffes, his hokey language). Mainstream outlets that pay more attention to Twitter than to African American voters, especially older African American voters who are not active on social media, may have underestimated Biden’s chances and overestimated the chances of candidates who, like them, are active on social media. This should be a reminder for the chattering class that their assessments of candidates do not necessarily correspond to reality.

[Gothmog]

44. Jonathon Capehart-Biden leads among black voters for a reason

Link to tweet

Before you @ me, remember the truism: No candidate will win the Democratic presidential nomination without significant support from African Americans. They are the foundation of the party, and black women are its backbone. And the Post-Ipsos poll, like many national polls before it, makes it clear that they want Trump defeated and they think former vice president Joe Biden is the person to do it.

Biden snagged 48 percent of those surveyed when asked which candidate they would vote for or caucus for in their state. The next-closest was Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), with 20 percent. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) came in third with 9 percent.

Biden had the highest net approval rating among registered Democrats (69 percent) and overall (78 percent). Sanders followed with 63 percent and 71 percent, respectively. And Warren came in third with 51 percent and 58 percent, respectively.

Biden led on “best chance to defeat Trump” (53 percent), “handles issues important to blacks” (32 percent), “would unite the country” (43 percent), “strong character” (33 percent) and “closest on issues” (35 percent). Sanders is second to Biden on all these questions. But Warren comes in third on just “would unite country“ (6 percent), “strongest character” (10 percent) and “closest on issues” (9 percent). Interestingly, former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg did better with black voters on “best chance to defeat Trump” (6 percent) than Warren (5 percent). And Booker did better on “handle issues important to blacks” (14 percent) than Warren (7 percent)…..

What this new Post-Ipsos poll of African Americans voters has done is confirm that my Aunt Gloria has her finger on the pulse of black America. At the family barbecue, I asked her why she thought Biden was the person to take on Trump. Her answer left me slack-jawed and remains the best explanation for Biden’s continued strength. “The way the system is set up now, there is so much racism that it’s going to have to be an old white person to go after an old white person,” Aunt Gloria said. “Old-school against old-school.”

[Tarheel_Dem]

45. K&R

[Gothmog]

48. African Americans trust and support Joe Biden -- and Bernie Sanders' dirty tactics won't change that

Link to tweet

Joe has more relationships in our communities than anyone else in this race.

He has more history with our communities than anyone else in this race.

And Joe is more comfortable in our communities than anyone else in this race.

To say that Joe has betrayed black voters is not only dangerous, it is flat-out wrong. We already know his character, his heart and his record; you can’t try to make us believe something that runs counter to our own experiences with Joe Biden.

Not only has Joe spent his entire career fighting for civil rights, voting rights, equal justice and equal opportunity, it is what brought him into public service in the first place. In fact, Joe led the charge as a United States senator to extend and strengthen the Voting Rights Act in 1982.

He has fought for more resources to prosecute hate crimes, including resources for the Justice Department and FBI to reopen painful, unsolved murders from the civil rights era.

And in one of the greatest achievements of his career, Joe forged a path for the protection of women and girls — including women of color — by writing and spearheading the Violence Against Women Act.

Here’s what I don’t understand: If Joe Biden wasn’t a champion for black America, why did Barack Obama, our nation’s first African American president, choose Joe to be his vice president?

In my lifetime Joe’s steadfast support as Obama’s No. 2 was unprecedented; it was one of the first occasions when people who look like me were able to see a white man standing proudly and loyally behind a black man. And I can tell you this: South Carolina voters will never forget that.