Stacey Abrams Says 'Race Plays a Part' in Hype for Beto Over Herself and Andrew Gillum

[DonViejo]

by Tommy Christopher | Mar 27th, 2019, 1:57 pm

Former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate and potential 2020 presidential contender Stacey Abrams would not disparage Beto O’Rourke, but said that she does believe “race plays a part” in the disparity of attention between O’Rourke and similarly-situated politicians like herself and Andrew Gillum.

On Wednesday’s edition of Andrea Mitchell Reports, host Andrea Mitchell asked Abrams about the fact that she, O’Rourke, and Gillum all narrowly lost tightly-contested statewide races in 2018, but it was O’Rourke who created a whirlwind of publicity around his presidential bid. Both Gillum and Abrams came closer to victory than O’Rourke did in 2018, Mitchell noted.

“Why Beto O’Rourke and not Andrew Gillum, and not Stacey Abrams, as the darling of the media?” Mitchell asked.

“I don’t think that success is zero sum, so I don’t want to disparage or take away from the reaction and the legitimate response people had to his campaign,” Abrams said, “But I do want to call the question.”

“There is no difference — there is no distinction with a difference between what he accomplished and what Andrew and I accomplished,” she continued. “I would challenge people to consider why we were not lifted up in the same way.”

“I think race plays a part,” Abrams said. “I think region plays a part. I also think phenotype plays a part. My responsibility is to investigate running for president because I want people to understand I may not look like the typical candidate, but that does not diminish my responsibility to run for the job. That would be true for Andrew if he was interested.”

more + video
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/stacey-abrams-says-race-plays-a-part-in-hype-for-beto-over-herself-and-andrew-gillum/

[guillaumeb]

1. Race plays a part?

In post racial America?

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

28. How can there be ANY doubt that race and white privelege plays an integral part in politics today?

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[guillaumeb]

37. Racism is one of the foundational aspects of the US. eom

[BlueFlorida]

2. She is right

but she will use that to her detriment.

She should take her cue from President Obama who never once mentioned race as an excuse/justification for his failures. Never.

[Cha]

6. Yeah, I remember some interviewer

asking Pres Obama about that.. Steve Kroft I think.. and Prez said.. "..I think they noticed..".

[BlueWI]

15. She's didn't use race as an excuse.

She answered a media question about whether race played a part in Beto's becoming a media darling.

There are more ways to address racial issues than Obama's way of doing it, especially as the nation becomes more diverse and doesn't value the comfort of the white public so highly in how racial issues are discussed.

[BlueFlorida]

19. White people will still be a formidable majority

at least until 2050.

A true politician navigates tricky issues with finesse and without a head-on confrontation.

[BlueWI]

22. Politics evolve

and politicians must too.

The historical record of the country on race is often a sordid one because of a failure to confront hard realities and stand up for justice. Maybe it works for you to advise avoidance of these issues for another 30 years, counting on support from people of color during the campaign and leaving them at the altar after election day. This attitude had a blowback effect on the party in 2016 - black urban communities didn't turn out in the key states in enough numbers to prevent the white majority from electing Trump.

Remember the Detroit bankruptcy, a city that has had black leadership but has suffered greatly from disinvestment and deindustrialization? Try to find Obama's press statement that day. It fits easily on an index card and offered little commitment or even words of comfort. And as is known, Hillary Clinton did not campaign much there after the convention. Michigan goes red in the GE.

Yes we have a white majority, the majority of whom voted for Trump. Many of the non-GOP white voters, especially younger ones, support real change on racial issues, because people of color are much more integrated into families, friendship circles, and pop culture for younger people. They will understand if Democrats stop striving to mollify an imaginary Reagan Democrat and trust their constituents enough to be honest about issues of race.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

29. BINGO!!!

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

30. Use that to Stacey's detriment?! What, the truth?! Hardly!!

I support Stacey, all the way in this. I think even Beto would admit what she said is true. While I don't support his policies - he's certainly no Bernie when it comes to progressive politics - he strikes me as a straight shooter. Someone should ask Beto the same question.


Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[awesomerwb1]

3. Dear lord...here are some differences

-TX is a larger state
-Rafael Cruz is a well known public figure, much higher profile than GA's and FL's candidates. (I don't even remember the names of the idiots that won in GA and FL).
-Beto's use of social media was very effective.
-Beto campaigned harder than almost anyone in recent times magnified by his effective use of social media.
Therefore, more people around the country know and are interested in Beto than in Abrams and Gillum.

And as far as I know, neither Abrams nor Gillum are running for president....

Here's another fact: Andrea Mitchell is a cockroach. F her.

Do not take the bait Dems FFS.

[crazytown]

11. Beto raised $80m in small individual donations.

His donor base is still strong.

[BannonsLiver]

13. I'll boil it down even further

Congressman is higher on the food chain than a mayor or state senator. That’s just the way it is. There are some exceptions on mayor. NYC being one example. That’s a big job that caries some prestige. But not on state Senator. Congressman trumps that every time.

[dalton99a]

17. Beto didn't get a lot of media attention until much later on

when the GOP realized that he was going to flip the state - which he almost did

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

31. Wish both WERE running for President... they would make formidable candidates.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Amimnoch]

4. She hasn't announced a run yet.

She had a ton of national coverage in her Governor’s race run. It was all over every news source I usually look through.

Other than a few speculative articles about him running, Beto had fallen out of most major news stories, until he announced.

Personally, I ABSOLUTELY F’N LOVE the idea of an Abrams/Beto or Beto/Abrams ticket!

OMG, just think both Georgia AND Texas could be in play, and even if neither actually “flips”, the amount of money the GOP will have to throw into the race in both states to stay competitive! Our party would have the option of really focusing on Texas or Georgia, and all the traditional battleground states like OH, FL/PN/WS etc..

Georgia’s 16 EC votes.. Texas 38.. The GOP would crap it’s pants at such a ticket. I can’t think of a stronger, most potential to win the 270 for the electoral college ticket.

God, but that would make for one beautiful ticket to really challenge Cheetolini!

[Hortensis]

5. Of course it does. A number of other

factors do also, such as Beto’s charisma and speaking ability. Gillum may be fairly comparable.

but much as I admire her I don’t believe she’s in the same league in that respect. As either.

To me, her power’s in her messages and her character, not in her delivery. And we know what those are worth stacked up against some clod or scoundrel, like Trump.

[Celerity]

35. she is an extraordinary speaker

[Hortensis]

36. Okay. I like her too.

[Hortensis]

7. Of course it does, also phenotype.

Other factors do also, such as Beto’s charisma and speaking ability. Gillum may be fairly comparable, And his color may be a factor in why he didn’t catch national fire like Beto. So far. Why is Beto being called the new Kennedy AND the new Obama?

But much as I like her I don’t believe Stacey’s in the same league as either in that precious respect. I could be wrong in future. After decades in politics, even a hopeless policy nerd likeHillary finally learned to charm and own a stage, though that magic charisma...

To me for now Stacey’s power’s in her messages and her character, not in her delivery. And we know what substance is worth stacked up against some low achieving gadfly whose delivery is 100% of his talent for the job. For that matter, can anyone seeing Stacey owning the stage and cheering audience if Kamala Harris were on it?

[RLG]

8. She should mention Buttigieg as well.

At least Abrams and Gillum are continuing to work statewide to break the GOP's iron fist in their states.

I'm a fan of Abrams and I hope she thinks about a race as well.

[R B Garr]

9. Gillum ran on Medicare for All and got stuck explaining

the expenses when many other candidates never get asked the same kinds of questions. That should be a clue going forward, but nothing to do with race.

[Buzz Lightyear]

10. Counterargument: Journalists preferred Obama over Hillary in 2008

I remember.

[BannonsLiver]

12. Why is it just O'Rourke?

Mayor Pete is white. So is Biden, Inslee and Bernie. It’s odd she would single him out.

[BlueWI]

16. She singled him out because that was the question, obviously.

And as much as I like Inslee, he hasn't been the media darling that Beto has been, despite a stellar and continuing record of service as governor and as congressman.

[dalton99a]

18. The media looks for conflict in the narrative. Washington is a solid blue state

Texas is red, it's the biggest state in the lower 48, and Beto is a more compelling story - a congressman from El Paso who drove around for almost two years trying to flip the state, and raised a record $80M in the process

[BlueWI]

21. Yes, the media looks for good stories.

That's why we have a president who's all sizzle and no steak. And that's why it's the job of informed voters to push back and demand more from the media, our candidates, and ourselves.

There are really only two questions relevant to being a good presidential candidate: can they win, and can they govern. Up to now, Governor Inslee has been strong on both counts, with a clear legislative agenda for the presidency. Beto almost won a Senate race and was in Congress in the past. Yes, the current political landscape looks at the horse race more so than the issues and candidate voting records, but this approach weakens our democracy by lessening our focus on the challenges we face and who can best address them.

[BannonsLiver]

32. Meh I'm not so sure that's how the question was asked.

[mcar]

14. It sure does

[RLG]

20. It also plays into the current media praise for Pete Buttigieg.

Andrew Gillum and Stacey Abrams made credible runs in a losing cause for statewide office. Stacey Abrams gave a competent rebuttal to the State of the Union address. Yet, they're not being talked up for higher office and Gillum was the mayor of the state capital.

[madville]

23. Gillum is still in ethics trouble in Florida

over gifts and trips accepted from lobbyists and the undercover FBI agent that was working the corruption case there that snagged the former mayor and his lobbyist partner. The State Ethics commission (comprised of Democrats and Republicans) voted unanimously in January that there was probable cause Gillum violated state ethics laws. Gillum is contesting their ruling to an administrative law judge, which is the next step in the process.

[Awsi Dooger]

24. Challenge accepted

* Beto ran in a federal race, which is considerably more rigid along party and ideological lines than the statewide races of Abrams and Gillum

* Beto tried to unseat an incumbent who had fundraised and strategized toward re-election for 6 years, a much more difficult task than Abrams or Gillum trying to win open races

* Beto ran in a more conservative state. Texas has 44% self-identified conservatives at base level, compared to 42% in Georgia and 36% in Florida

* Beto survived the attacks and emerged with a 52-42 favorable approval rating in the exit poll. In contrast, 46% of Floridians rejected Gillum as too liberal for the state, and likewise 41% in Georgia indicated Abrams was too liberal for the state.

* Those numbers of 46% and 41% are absolutely dreadful. It is very, very, very rare that anyone reaches 37% or above in that "too liberal" category. It basically means that not many people who didn't vote for Gillum or Abrams even considered them at all. Abrams and Gillum were simply overhyped. Abrams had a slightly underwater favorable number of 48-49 in the Georgia exit poll, compared to Beto's very positive 52-42 in Texas

[radius777]

25. "too liberal" in polls can also mean "too black"

Beto ran well to the left of TX's political center, as much or more than Gillum or Abrams did of their respective states. Gillum was a Hillary delegate and is no radical, neither is Abrams.

Basically, all three of those insurgent campaigns were similar, in that they ran uplifiting campaigns in the Obama mold, attempting (consciously or unconsciously) to reassemble the Obama coaliton.

I would say that both Beto and Gillum are more charismatic than Abrams. Gillum would be getting presidential hype if not for his ethics scandals.

The loss in FL was due more to the FL Dem party's incompetence than it was to Gillum as a candidate. Nelson - a white moderate - did about the same as Gillum.

GA was stolen due to voter suppression and other tactics.

[David__77]

34. Some people might argue that a black person, woman, gay person should not be run...

...due to the fact that some people somewhere won’t vote for that person who might otherwise vote for another Democratic candidate. I think it might be good to clearly articulate that concern and discuss it.

[radius777]

38. We either stand for civil rights or we don't.

Gillum and Abrams were good candidates that did suit their states, and I think the racist Dem voters they lost were offset by the injection of energy in bringing new people into the party.

Remember, Beto also lost... yet there's no one saying that possibly a more centrist or traditional candidate (like say one of the Castro brothers) could've won.

The problem is the local and national Dem party has to be ready to make sure our voters get to the polls and that their votes are counted - would've made the difference in both FL and GA (and perhaps even in TX).

[RandySF]

26. Mitchell's trying to start shit between Democrats.

[Mike Nelson]

27. I think...

… Stacey Abrams is GREAT! We've had "media darlings" come and go... Beto is officially running for President and he may not be April's "flavor of the month." I'd advise Stacey to consider running for President, seriously... she would get a turn in the spotlight... also, stay away from Andrea Mitchell!

[Renew Deal]

33. Beto has worked to build hype. Has Abrams?