Black voters may be just as engaged as they were in 2008, polls show

[bigtree]

Thursday, October 14, 2010; 8:46 PM

Will black voters turn out in November?

Historically, black turnout for midterm elections has lagged behind the national average, but two new reports offer a bullish outlook for this year.

A major survey conducted by The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University found that 80 percent of black Democrats are as interested or more interested in the midterms than they were in the 2008 presidential election, when their enthusiasm helped propel Barack Obama into office.

This year, 62 percent of all black Democrats say they're likely to encourage others to support certain candidates, according to the survey, compared with 47 percent of white Democrats and 57 percent of all Republicans.

And the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, which researched the black electorate, said in a report Thursday that African American participation in November may be higher than in many past midterm elections . . .

read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/14/AR2010101406750.html


related:

Rep. Clyburn: Black vote could be 'secret weapon' for Dems
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/124271-rep-clyburn-black-vould-could-be-dems-secret-weapon

Black voters may sway 20 House races in Nov. vote
http://www.wtvm.com/Global/story.asp?S=13320990

Message to voters from the President: “We cannot sit this one out.”
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/election/2010/10/14/we-cannot-sit-this-one-out-says-obama-in-new-ad

[bigtree]

1. kick

:kick:

[arbusto_baboso]

2. Let us hope this is true.

[K8-EEE]

3. NO NO NO I SAW ON THE TEEVEE THEY'RE NOT VOTING ANY MORE!

:sarcasm:

[Arkana]

4. Republicans have nightmares about black people voting

because it's their political kryptonite.

[bigtree]

5. yep

That's why they engage in voter intimidation at the polls and wage political campaigns against voter registrars. It's sad, really, that many younger folks are mimicking the hateful, ignorant, and racist attitudes of the past in their efforts to marginalize, discourage, and disqualify minority voters. They know their own party hasn't any visible appeal to minorities and they realize that the increase in registrations means an increase in the Democratic vote.

I suspect it will always be so, but I am aging. My perceptions may well be colored by my own lifetime experiences with discrimination and racism. My children seem to take it all much easier than I do.