After logging off last night, I kept saying that I would find something positive from 04 to bring into 08.
I was googling up AA vote in 2004 was very interesting. Kerry won the TN primaries (I never ignored that :)), but in some of the western counties (i.e. Hardeman--he carried in the 04 election 55% to Bush's 45%; Fayette--small and rural), he won them by 50 percent or more, the rest of the state, he won earning percentages in the 50s (i.e. Bledsode County) 40s and high 30s.
Even though Bush carried TN :puke:, Kerry did carry some counties here like the urban ones Shelby and Davidson (Memphis and Nashville), but out in the county (as we call it here) of Grundy, Trousdale, Jackson, Benton, Haywood, Humphreys, Houston, and Lake. Some of them were light or heavy red, but East TN is GOP country.
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/primaries/pages/counties/TN/index.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/TN/P/00/map.htmlAnd another article, I found very fair and debunking the spin that he had problems with AA voters (despite it repeated out here still). Kerry spoke highly of Obama also, and a favorable quote from Carol Moseley Braun, as well as something I didn't know about Gore and the AA vote.
In Fact, Kerry Strong With Blacks
Numbers Suggest Kerry Will Score Big With Black Voters
NEW YORK, July 15, 2004
(CBS) By David Paul Kuhn,
CBSNews.com Chief Political Writer
Relatively energized, extremely serious, Sen. John Kerry spoke at the NAACP convention on Thursday in an attempt to galvanize black voters. The hard data indicates he is well on his way.
Contrary to the media's doubts about his appeal to African Americans, Kerry is producing support at a par with both Bill Clinton and Al Gore.
"Kerry having problems with black voters, this is just fantasy," said David Bositis, an expert on African American politics at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. "If there is a candidate in the primaries that was the clear selection of black voters it was John Kerry.”
"Kerry was the black candidate in this election," Bositis continued. "Black voters picked Kerry more than white voters did. Edwards would not have dropped out of the race if he would have won in Georgia, but white voters couldn't put him over the top."
There were cheers and chants of support. Kerry responded with a soft smile. President Bush rejected the NAACP invitation to speak and hasn’t spoken before the body since the 2000 election.
But clearly, Kerry is no Clinton, at least in terms of personality. Kerry is firm and formal where Mr. Clinton is pliant and personable. Edwards is more akin to the former president, yet Kerry carried the black vote in the primaries over Edwards by a margin of 2 to 1. The reason: in presidential elections the black vote is not based on person but on policy.
Speaking to reporters Thursday, Kerry said of Obama, “I think he represents the future.”
Obama’s high-profile role at the convention also represents just how seriously Democrats are taking the African American voting bloc.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/15/politics/main630060.shtmlAfter finding all this, it sheds some light on what the senator was up against in 04. He did pretty good considering he still gets dissed here and elsewhere for not "motivating people to vote." :sarcasm:
However, the article debunks that spin and also proves that even though he didn't have the support of the Congressional Black Caucus (Dean and Edwards did I think), or relating to the poor or growing up during Jim Crow like JE or BC did (though someone in GD noted the other day that Kerry had a better Civil Rights record), and Jesse and others were pissed over him conceding, he still got the AA vote.
And Kerry's story (though it is still the primaries) parallels to Obama in this election. People criticized Obama's campaign for not having minorities on his staff and the hideous "not black enough" charge. Though he supports Obama, Jesse has made some snarky comments about him and like Kerry, he hasn't had much support from the CBC or other black leaders (most of them are supporting HRC or JE). Obama is doing pretty good also (though it's very early). And the AA vote is also up for grabs in 08 (should be fun to watch also).
:patriot: