democrats in rural strongholds still reluctant to back Obama

[galaxy21]

Johnny Telvor was not happy about Barack Obama becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. Not happy at all.

Standing outside the sturdy courthouse in the sweltering heat of a West Virginia afternoon in the small town of Williamson, Telvor smoked a cigarette and bluntly gave his opinion of Obama's historic mission to be America's first black president.

'We'll end up slaves. We'll be made slaves just like they was once slaves,' he said. Telvor, a white Democrat who supported Hillary Clinton in West Virginia's primary, said he planned to vote for Republican John McCain in November. 'At least he's an American,' he added with a disarmingly friendly smile.


snip...

sheer scale of Clinton's win in West Virginia - repeated from Pennsylvania to Georgia - took many pundits by surprise. But it did not shock people in Williamson, Jack Spence among them. The elderly retiree, enjoying the hot weather on a street bench, said he voted for Clinton and, now she has lost, he plans to sit out the November election. 'I can't vote for a Republican. My daddy would just roll over in his grave,' he said. But nor can he bring himself to vote for Obama, though he insisted it was not because of race. 'That does not matter to me. Though it might to a lot of folks around here,' he said.

Was there anything Obama could say during the coming campaign to convince him? 'Nope,' Spence replied. Then he broached the one issue many Americans consider off-limits: the potential security threat to Obama. 'Look, someone will kill him. Whoever Obama picks as running mate will end up being president.' Spence's ready smile and chatty manner on the thorny issue of Obama's possible murder gave little clue as to whether he thought it would be a bad thing or not.

Often such sentiments are dismissed as the ramblings of a few diehards, carrying with them the prejudices of a by-gone age. After all, Iowa, a very white state, was the place Obama first won. But the fact is Obama's Appalachian problem is very real.

snip...

There's a lot of Democrats around here that will be switching side to vote for him,' Little said. Behind him a white-washed message in the closed Obama Pikeville office read: 'Vote Obama 08: change!' In the brutal summer heat it seemed a forlorn hope. It was asking for the overthrow of generations of entrenched prejudice. But, come November, a black president might finally be pulling up a chair behind the desk in the Oval Office. If he does, that slogan of change might just end up being a prophecy. Even in Appalachia.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/08/barackobama.hillaryclinton


So, he thinks Obama wants to enslave the white race now? At least when Jon Stewart asked he was joking!

[anonymous171]

1. I really can't believe these people are democrats.

I really can't.

[PM7nj]

3. They haven't gotten the message that the Democrats are no longer the racist party.

They are living 50 years in the past.

[Blondiegrrl]

49. Most West Virginia Democrats aren't "real" Democrats.

They're fiscally liberal, but socially very conservative.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. Telvor spelled backward is Rovlet= "Little Rove."

[PBS Poll-435]

4. LOL

You any good at anagrams?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

7. Smargana?

Nope. I suck at them.

[PBS Poll-435]

9. Somehow I doubt that....

:D

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

21. I kick ass at semordnilap, though.

:D

[PBS Poll-435]

25. WOW

:P

[BlooInBloo]

5. Such wonderful people.

[Condem]

6. Doesn't rural strongholds say it all?

No help, here.

[Bucky]

37. Yes, thank goodness we traded in our race bigotry for geographic bigotry!

Here's a suggestion: think of a way you can be positive and constructive instead of petty and divisive.

[blonndee]

8. WTF...how can people be so incredibly stupid?

How do they manage to dress themselves each day? Seriously?

[PM7nj]

10. This is the part that gets me...

"But nor can he bring himself to vote for Obama, though he insisted it was not because of race. 'That does not matter to me. Though it might to a lot of folks around here,' he said."

Then why the fuck can't he vote for Obama?! It's always everyone else's problem.

[gateley]

17. Yeah, that jumped out at me, too. nt

[amandabeech]

33. Because he's bitter and clinging to his guns. n/t

[anonymous171]

11. Obama and Webb should do an appalachian tour.

[galaxy21]

15. There's a malice and an arrogance in it I hate

Okay, they're dumb, not educated, perhaps they don't interact with black people much. But there's something there that isn't entirely down to ignorance. They need someone to look down on to make their lives better somehow, and if it wasn't black people it would be something else.

These people have nothing in their lives, because they're so unwilling to accept anything new, and would rather cling to the crappy beliefs they still have.

[Fredda Weinberg]

22. Warning: Obama tried that analysis and when it became public, it hurt

Be careful of disrepecting those who disrespect you. It's a vicious cycle.

[Zhade]

45. Yeah, it hurt so much he beat the pants off clinton.

I wish things hurt ME like that!

[MrRobotsHolyOrders]

12. Fuck Jack Spence

Fuck him, fuck anybody that thinks like him.

If we waited to change these people's minds, we'd still be hoping for the best on desegregation. Are we going to let backwoods racists decide the progress of the Republic?

[Starbucks Anarchist]

13. I wonder how their sister-mothers will vote.

[bicentennial_baby]

14. Hillary must be so proud to have such supporters...

:crazy:

[gateley]

16. Does anyone remember a movie --

it was definitely within the past 20 years -- where the ruling class in America was black, and whites were slaves? Maybe not slaves, but definitely second class citizens. I never saw it but recall seeing a trailer for it. I'm thinking it may have been a big hit in Johnny Telvor's neck of the woods.

I believe the intent was to show whites the error of their ways, but I think would definitely feed the fire of fear and hatred to those so disposed.

[galaxy21]

18. I think I know the one you meant, it had john travolta in it

[gateley]

24. You're right --

Just looked it up on IMDB -- White Man's Burden 1995.

[FrenchieCat]

26. No, but I remember reality, where a White guy broke our treasury

by starting a war with a country that didn't attack us, telling our allies to kiss our ass, and giving all of our money to large corporations working hard in the invaded country.

Also, earlier, allowing terrorists to take down our most famous buildings in the financial center of our country......while allowing planes to crash into the Pentagon.

That White Guy in charge got 3,000 Americans killed here, with another 4,000+ over in a foreign country. Gas went from $1.65 per gallon to $4.50.

He also got rid of Haebus Corpus, and took away lots of our rights.

and that wasn't even just a movie, and the guy is still where he was the last time I looked.

Anyone attempting to convey a potential nightmare with Obama at the helm, hasn't bothered to analyze that the nightmare has already happened.

[Zhade]

48. Let's not forget the million Iraqis his lies murdered.

NT!

[grantcart]

19. Your title is misleading - Obama won the nomination because he dominated

Senator Clinton in rural areas in the West and the Mid West including Iowa.

[FredScuttle]

20. These ignorant clowns must not, cannot dictate the direction of this campaign

Reach out to these mouth-breathing racists? Never!

We must redouble our efforts throughout the country so that these Appalachian idiots remain cocooned in their ignorance.

[Yael]

23. What? You mean the LIV racist vote is moving to the Rs in the fall?

All of that support for Ron Paul makes sense now. I totally missed the connection.

:eyes:

[Barack_America]

27. It's not Obama's problem, it's Appalachia's.

And, as I've said before, if they want to vote themselves into economic extinction, we've no choice but to let them.

[TahitiNut]

28. Obama doesn't have an Appalachian problem.

America has an Appalachian problem. It's the land of the "company store," Alvin York, substandard education, almost non-existent health care, ecological nightmares, and quasi-religious predation. For bottom-feeding carpetbaggers, there is never anyone so poor that they cannot be preyed upon. In a nation that increasingly treats human beings as objects - mere means to an end - we consign our poorest to the "excess inventory" annex of our human warehouse.

[JeffR]

36. In a nutshell.

Or I guess a TahitiNutshell.

[27inCali]

29. Why do we want these people to be Democrats?

Should Obama wear a swastika to make these worthless pieces of shit happy?

Fuck em, they're Republicans, they're just to stupid to know it.

[NotThisTime]

30. These people shouldn't be allowed to vote in this century, BUT since they can, we can't afford them

to go Republican, it's that freaking simple and it sucks....

[Blondiegrrl]

50. LOL, great post. n/t

[Middle finga]

31. It's funny how those same intolerant, rural voters use

to hate Hillary Clinton now she's their hero, I wonder why..

[Mz Pip]

32. I thought all these idiots

left the Democratic Party in the 60s when the Dems started pushing Civil Rights.

I don't even know where to begin trying to win these people over. Not a clue.

[PM7nj]

40. Sadly, a lot of these people are still living in the 60s. nt

[SoCalDem]

34. translation.. racism cuts across all politics..r or d

"low education"
"blue collar"
"working class"
"rural/small town"
"hardworking Americans-white americans"
"traditional values"
"cultural heritage"
"reagan democrats"

ALL euphemisms in the dog-whistle world of bigorty & racism..

It's now OKAY to BE racist or bigoted as long as you couch your "feelings" in the above "approved" language.

There is a core group who would NEVER vote for a black person..no matter how likable they are or how smart they are.. The dead-enders must just be left behind, and others sought to replace them.. Let them vote for Mccain or Barr or Paul or just stay home..

[cooolandrew]

35. George W Bush has made all Americans slaves. African Americans freed slaves...

West Virginia has to get a grip real quick, this is beyond stupid.

[wvbygod]

46. Don't paint the whole state due to a few bad stains

I don't know from what state you hail but I know I could uncover morons in every corner.

Why someone from the UK decided to come here and seek these kind out to smear the state is
likely a reflection of their own internal bigotry against people from these rural parts.

[Blondiegrrl]

51. I've noticed that the media ALWAYS goes to the heart of coal mining country

to interview the "average" West Virginian: McDowell County, Logan County ... I'll bet the average U.S. citizen doesn't even know that there are cities and universities in this state and that not every single resident is a coal miner.

[zulchzulu]

38. I don't care about these people... there are plenty of new voters to compensate for them

They will either sit out the race or vote against their interests... pandering to these knuckleheads leads you down a road where the road turns to sage brush.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

43. Thank you! nt

[Blondiegrrl]

52. I agree. We should cut our losses. Let the Repugs have them.

We've got plenty of young voters and independents with which to replace them.

[thevoiceofreason]

39. give it a little time

As the economy races for the shitter, more people will see the light.

[TTUBatfan2008]

42. No they won't...

This country was stupid enough to vote against its own economic interests in 2004 after Bush had already proven during his first term his ability to screw over the average worker. Yet many of these people still voted for him. If people were dumb enough to vote for Bush a second time after his disastrous first term, then they're dumb enough to refuse voting for a black man even if that man has all of their best interests in mind. Given this country's history, never underestimate stupidity and ignorance in America.

[Skittles]

41. Mr. Telvor is not a Democrat

is is a racist, ignorant piece of SHIT

[Zhade]

44. "racists in rural strongholds still reluctant to back Obama"

Fixed the headline.

[Blondiegrrl]

47. Jesus. I hate to say it, but Dick Cheney was right.

Most West Virginians really ARE inbred, redneck idiots.

Fortunately, as a native West Virginian, I'm an exception to the rule. :+

But this ... white slaves? Good God, that's embarrassing. I wouldn't blame Obama if he never set foot in this state ever again.