Hart2008
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Sun Feb-10-08 02:30 PM
Original message |
Why do so few Italian-Americans run for the presidency? |
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Edited on Sun Feb-10-08 02:34 PM by Hart2008
I am just curious. There are a lot of them.
Cuomo would have had a good chance, but he didn't run.
LsGardia didn't either. They just named the airport after him.
We have had several African-Americans run, i.e., Chisholm, Jackson, Sharpton, Keyes, but so few Italian-Americans.
Columbus was Italian, right?
Why is it that they don't run for the presidency?
:dilemma:
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TwilightGardener
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Sun Feb-10-08 02:33 PM
Response to Original message |
1. Rudy ran. Didn't end well. |
Hart2008
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Sun Feb-10-08 02:40 PM
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4. Rudy's three marriages don't go over well with Italian-Americans. Family is important to them. |
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It was very hard for Rudy to run when his kids wouldn't even talk to him.
I think Rudy makes a bad case study.
Holding a press conference to announce you are divorcing your wife?
:spray:
I am glad Rudy is done.
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LeftyMom
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Sun Feb-10-08 02:37 PM
Response to Original message |
2. In most of the country, Italian-Americans are sufficiently integrated |
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that they do not benefit from bloc voting as some other groups do (and in the case of younger people, they also tend not to be exclusively or Italian extraction or identity, which is both a symptom of and further cause of integration.)
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TheCool
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Sun Feb-10-08 02:40 PM
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3. I'm curious what you mean by this |
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Because it almost seemed like a swipe at Obama and African Americans.
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Kolesar
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Sun Feb-10-08 02:42 PM
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Welcome to our forum :hi:
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TheCool
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Sun Feb-10-08 02:55 PM
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LeftyMom
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Sun Feb-10-08 02:47 PM
Response to Reply #3 |
6. I haven't even looked at the numbers for this election (honestly, I barely care) |
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Voting by ethnic bloc is a long tradition in this country. It was a key factor in urban politics during the Industrial Revolution, though voting became more ideological in most of the twentieth century on a regional level it's still a very important influence in some areas.
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Hart2008
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Sun Feb-10-08 03:46 PM
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8. If they are so integrated then more should run for president. |
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I have heard Hispanics refer to all whites as "Anglos", which ignores the fact that there are ethnic divisions among whites. (Just as there are among Hispanics.)
It is not as insidious as racism, but ethnic bigotry still remains among whites. There still are Irish mothers who don't want their kids marrying Italians, and vice-versa. The skin heads in Sweden don't think Italians are white. Some ethnic Germans have contempt for Poles, etc.
Bigotry isn't limited only by race.
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LeftyMom
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Sun Feb-10-08 04:32 PM
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13. I know that (I'm Italian and Hungarian, my g'parents dealt with a lot of bigotry) |
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But having a built in base is a huge advantage, and as there really aren't many significant enclaves of people in this country who identify as Italians (outside of NY/NJ, there's what, six blocks in San Francisco?)
Anti-Italian bigotry really isn't much of a factor anymore in most of the US (though anti-Catholic bias might be a larger one.)
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alcibiades_mystery
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Mon Feb-11-08 08:34 AM
Response to Reply #8 |
19. "Ethnic bigotry" among whites rarely results in structural disadvantage |
goodgd_yall
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Sun Feb-10-08 04:20 PM
Response to Original message |
9. Prejudice and stereotypes |
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Edited on Sun Feb-10-08 04:22 PM by goodgd_yall
There's always this "Cosa Nostra" suspicion following them. Add to that an East Coast connection and an Italian-American candidate has a lot to overcome just as far as bias goes.
LaGuardia was living in a time when it REALLY would have been unlikely he'd win.
It's only been in the past 40 years or so that Italians, as a group, began being looked on in a positive light.
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zonkers
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Sun Feb-10-08 04:30 PM
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10. And I thought it was because it took time away from their extortion and loansharking operations. |
JVS
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Sun Feb-10-08 04:31 PM
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11. Or German-Americans. Gephardt is not enough! We are under-represented, |
Hart2008
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Mon Feb-11-08 06:50 AM
Response to Reply #11 |
17. Has there even been one Polish-American run for president? |
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Edited on Mon Feb-11-08 06:56 AM by Hart2008
The Greeks had Dukakis and Spiro Agnew.
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nonconformist
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Sun Feb-10-08 04:32 PM
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12. As an Italian-American myself, I'd love to see more run. nt |
suston96
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Sun Feb-10-08 04:33 PM
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14. Run for what? And give up the lucrative Waste Management Business? nt |
nonconformist
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Sun Feb-10-08 10:01 PM
Response to Reply #14 |
15. Wow, that is incredibly offensive. nt |
suston96
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Mon Feb-11-08 09:28 AM
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20. Why is it "offensive"? nt |
CreekDog
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Sun Feb-10-08 10:02 PM
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16. Think quality not quantity |
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Oh, crap, nevermind. :eyes:
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Hart2008
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Mon Feb-11-08 06:57 AM
Response to Reply #16 |
18. So Pelosi shouldn't run then? n/t |
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