Because it bears repeating....an observation from Tim Wise

[AspenRose]

"There is a very interesting and informative post over at Racism Review today, and which deserves attention. In the wake of the election there was much discussion about how important young people were to the Obama victory, or Latino voters. And while both of those things are true, a new analysis of the exit polls actually finds that even if there had been no voters under 30, and no Latino voters at all, Obama would still have won the necessary electoral votes to achieve victory. But in the absence of black voters, he would have lost handily in the electoral college to McCain.

"Now, this is not to suggest — as many on the right have tried to do — that black voters only voted for Obama because of race (after all, the black percentage voting for Democrats is pretty consistent and close to the numbers in 2008, even when the Dem candidate is white), but it is to say that Democrats had better get clear on something: their first and primary base is black folks. Period, end of story. Without black voters, no Democrat would have won the presidency since Johnson in 1964. So the tendency of the party to take black folks for granted is a dangerous game. If black turnout drops significantly, it can torpedo the Party. Now as for me, I’m not a Democrat anyway, so the party is not of major importance to me. But I’m just saying…you better dance with the ones that brung ya, as the saying goes…"

http://www.timwise.org/2010/08/which-voters-were-key-to-the-obama-victory-interesting-new-analysis-and-its-implications/



*I find it interesting that he says he is not a democrat. Personally I think more and more blacks are leaving the democratic party due to feeling taken for granted, though they will still vote liberal because the alternative is NOT acceptable.

[Kweli4Real]

1. This is the problem with our current electoral system ...

Black voters have NEVER been able to vote our preference, even with the ascendence of President Obama. Many of us are politically astute enough to recognize that ANY candidate that is allowed to compete for a national office, will not be in our corner or will not fight hard for those issues that affect us directly and exclusively.

But as AspenRose notes, Black folks will continue voting for democrats BECAUSE the alternative is completely unacceptable.

[Number23]

3. Absolutely.

:thumbsup:

[Number23]

2. That man is a treasure

And the fact that the point he's making will be news to some people is altogether terribly sad and unsurprising at the same time.

Black folks know what's up. And your point and his about the detrimental impact to the Dem party by either blacks leaving the Dem party or not voting at all are excellent ones. The Dems should have realized this 40 years ago but innate even unrealized internalized racism can make you miss things that are right in front of your face.

[Kweli4Real]

4. What Would Be An Interesting Mind Experiment Would Be ...

Suppose the Democrats, en masse, woke up to the fact that Black folks ARE the Democrats ONLY real and consistently lasting base ... and with that revelation, began enacting legislation that catered to the issues that disproportionately affect Black folks, but touch upon working-class whites, e.g., inequitable school funding, urban disinvestment, inadequate urban healthcare.

I wonder how many DUers would pull a dixiecrat 2.0?

[Number23]

5. "I wonder how many DUers would pull a dixiecrat 2.0?"

Question of the damn year. I bet half of GD would suddenly find a reason to "no longer be able to support the Dem party" and the members of the professional left that Gibbs was referring to would be right behind them.

The people on this site that scream the loudest about "minority rights" would be mad as hell if they weren't the chosen "minority" to get the party's attention and focus. Coincidentally, issues of inequitable school funding and sponsorship has been quite the rage around here lately, but not because of care and concern for the students.