Voting Race: How the Republicans can or will beat Obama.

In the past few weeks I have seen lifelong Democrats reluctant to vote for Barack Obama. In my neighborhood (which is Democratic by a large margin) most people supported Hillary Clinton (as I did). I have seen cars parked who used to have Hillary stickers now have McCain stickers. Why? I asked some people about it and they think Obama would be the presidential version of the former NYC African American mayor David Dinkins, who was not popular even among the black community.

Polls show Barack Obama winning by a razor thin margin. There is always the possibility that people are donating money and telling pollsters that they will vote for Obama to sound politically correct, and by the election they will vote for McCain or not vote at all.

I asked that question to Professor KC Johnson (BA and PhD. from Harvard University, MA from University of Chicago) who a few weeks ago predicted Obama would win in a landslide with well over 300 electoral votes.

Read more

The Isms are Still Alive

This primary saw so many records broken. We had a woman run the longest and most successful primary campaign ever. We had a man who would be the oldest president if he wins. We had an African American take the nomination. We had a Latino run, and be viewed as a somewhat serious threat, and seen as a serious contender for vice president. Then there was an Italian who had a front runner campaign for many months, and we can’t forget that a Mormon ran too.

The primary season was a wonderful example of the diversity of America and a reminder that who you are doesn’t have to define what you will be. But it also was a reminder that isms (chauvinism, racism, religionism, ageism…) are still a problem in America. From the media, to political campaigns, to individuals, this hatred has reared it’s ugly head. But the times when identity became a part of politics, equal opportunity discrimination resulted.

Probably most notable in terms of media sanctioned sexism was Chris Mathews, who has also made many comments indicating his support for Barack Obama, at one time saying Obama made a “thrill” go up his “leg.” He made offensive comments about Hillary saying “The reason she’s a U.S. Senator, the reason she’s a candidate for president, the reason she may be a front runner, is that her husband messed around. [...] She didn’t win it on the merits.” Then of course there is the frequent use of the word bitch to describe Hillary. We heard McCain chuckling and saying that “How do we beat the bitch?” was an excellent question. And then of course everyone refers to Hillary, as Hillary, highlighting her gender in a way that last names don’t.

Even though there was only one candidate with a groundbreaking religion running in the 2008 primaries, Mitt Romney, three religions still came under fire. There was a county chairman working for John McCain that blasted Romney’s religion according to the Boston Globe, “[He] questioned whether Mormons were Christians, discussed an article alleging that the Mormon Church helps fund Hamas, and likened the Mormons’ treatment of women to the Taliban’s.”

Read more

Hillary Uses More Race Baiting

Hillary has defined herself as the white candidate today, telling USA Today that “I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on, [the AP] found how Senator Obama’s support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me… There’s a pattern emerging here. Hillary must feel pretty desperate when she has to specifically single out white voters as the hard working ones.

The Clinton’s previous comments on race were regrettable, and told black voters the Clinton’s were willing to use race baiting as their strategy. The strategy may have been offensive, but these comments are on a whole new level with Hillary implying that white voters are the only hard working voters.

Despite all her arguments that she can carry working class, rural, and Hispanic (she usually excludes blacks) voters, she needs the black vote to win in the Fall. If this group stays home or votes for an alternate candidate she will not win.

Blacks are not voting for Obama because he is black. Blacks are voting en masse for Obama because Hillary’s race baiting has driven them away. When the primaries started many African Americans where skeptical a black could win, or worried for Obama’s safety, or just felt Hillary was more likely to win in the fall. After nearly each contest more blacks vote for Obama because Hillary offends them in her attempt to court the racist vote.

It’s Hillary’s fault this primary season has turned into game a of race and gender. If she wasn’t so desperate to get back in the White House she wouldn’t have to pull tricks like this to win. If she had played less like a Republican, and more like a Democrat, maybe she’d be looking at being a vice president. But now she has shot her chance for a November win, and probably any primary wins in the future.

Hillary can try to pull in the “Regan Democrats,” but this will never work for Democrats like it did for Republicans, because they would lose their key group of civil rights advocates and blacks.

Cross posted at my personal blog.

Womans Group Engages in Black Voter Suppression

An advocacy group called Women’s Voices, Women’s Vote, is alleged to be engaging in voter suppression in North Carolina. The group sends robo-calls to predominantly black neighborhoods, telling the residents they aren’t able to vote in the upcoming Democratic primary. Technology meets government blog, Threat Level has some more details:

Voters began complaining to The Raleigh News & Observer last week that they were receiving the automated calls, which the paper reported were primarily going to black households. The calls play a 20-second message voiced by a man who calls himself “Lamont Williams.”

“In the next few days, you will receive a voter-registration packet in the mail,” the Williams recording said. “All you need to do is sign it, date it and return your application. Then you will be able to vote and make your voice heard. Please return the voter-registration form when it arrives. Thank you.”

The message doesn’t identify the group, but after some research, the Institute for Southern Studies traced the calls back to Woman’s Voices, Woman’s Vote. The group acknowledged the campaign, but it’s President, Page Gardner said the “Calls were an extension of a legitimate voter-registration drive that the group began in July 2007.”

But Gardner fails to elaborate on why the messages where done anonymously. If it truly was legitimate it would seem like the group would want it’s name attached. This isn’t the first state where the group has been accused of voter suppression. But it also turns out Gardner has donated $4200 to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Wired goes on to quote another man in the automated political call industry as saying “The fact that the autodial campaign was performed anonymously suggests it wasn’t an innocent mistake. In general, automated campaigns are designed to suppress voter turnout.” Don Powell went on to say “”It does happen in North Carolina, it works, or they wouldn’t bother. It’s sleazy money, and it affects people like me who would never think about doing this.”

It’s unfortunate that at a time when America was guaranteed to see either a woman or African American in the White House, it turned into a game of identity based politics. It’s understandable that women vote for Hillary, and blacks for Obama, and it’s reasonable to expect these group to be excited about their choices. But what’s disappointing is how the primary has become a fight between white woman and blacks.

Cross posted at my personal site. 

Hillary Can Say Goodbye to Black Support

A Rasmussen poll shows that Hillary Clinton can only capture 55% of a key Democratic voting block, African Americans. Likewise Obama only gets 36% of votes from white males. Such identity politics plays right into the hands of John McCain, the same article even said “McCain currently leads Barack Obama 49% to 42% and Hillary Clinton 51% to 41% margin.”

I won’t blame this on Hillary Clinton, or on African Americans. The Hillary campaign has done it’s share of race baiting. But the media is one of the main culprits, running inflammatory comments over and over again to cause controversy and in turn get more viewers.

Nor is this the fault of blacks either. For about 150 years we’ve been voting for white men. We don’t have a problem if Obama looses to his only Democratic opponent. Where the problem stands is if he looses because of race baiting, and if he looses it certainly will look that is true.

For one Hillary’s campaign has used the race card (I won’t yet call her a racist) to gain votes. They are perfectly fine with loosing the black vote in the primaries, to gain a larger share of votes from people on other spectrums of the hue. Some think because eighty to ninety percent of blacks vote for him suggests that his campaign is somehow racist because the vote doesn‘t break down more evenly.

Second, if you’ll recall the Clinton campaign used the race card in South Carolina too. But then it seemed they backed down after they realised the element of the white vote that was racist, would go for John Edwards. But as soon as Edwards dropped out we saw this creeping back into the campaign.

The real issue is how will this affect the Democratic party beyond 2008? I’m starting to wonder if Hillary would rather see a Democrat loose in 2008 so she can run again in 2012. The poll certainly makes November look ominous for Democrats in November. But if Hillary is successful in using her race based politics, and then continues those same policies to ensure she’s still president until 2016 America might see a new coalition of progressive thinking Democrats and blacks.

The whole Reverend Wright controversy is of particular concern. I believe that Hillary was behind the timing. Why hasn’t she made any comments denouncing the press’s obsession with his comments, several of which where reported out of context? I remember when the New York Times ran the whole McCain affair story, Mike Huckabee simply denounced it as “politics.” I’m not asking Clinton to endorse Reverend Wrights inappropriate comments, but merely the way the media is using race baiting and distorting the comments to manipulate voters as if they where kids.

I for one was still willing to ignore the racist campaign in South Carolina and vote for Clinton in a general election. But now I can’t justify my people being used as a disposable pawn throughout this cycle. If Obama doesn’t win I’ll probably be voting for Ralph Nader. My mother has said she would write Obama’s name in. Meanwhile my dad and grandmother both feel Clinton would be better over McCain. With so much attention focusing on swing states, shouldn’t key demographics be viewed as important too?

Cross posted on my personal blog, Joshua Davis Photography.

Barack Obama Wins Mississippi

Scoring a more than 20 point lead, Barack Obama won Mississippi last night. Exit polls showed 90% of blacks voted for Obama, only 1 in 3 of whites voted for Obama in the deep south state.

As the campaign moves into blue collar Pennsylvania, the Clinton campaign seems more than happy to cede the black vote to Obama, and use racism to capture the rest of the electorate. Today, Geraldine Ferraro, vice presidential candidate in the 1984 presidential election has said Obama is only a phenomenon because “He is black.” She went on to slightly clarify her remarks be saying “If my name had been Gerald Ferraro I would not have been the VP nominee.”

Nice try, I can even partially agree with her points. If Hillary had been running against John Kerry and John Edwards, people that they are great politicians, still represent the same old government. If Obama was a white male but still had his message of hope and change, along with a record of getting leglisation approved in the midst of strong oppostion, he’d still be a serious contender.

This controversy comes just weeks after an Obama aid resigned for calling Clinton a “monster,” which was completely inappropriate. The Clinton campaign should use the same standards it held Obama to and ask Ferraro to step down.

Home of the Free Ranked Number One For Imprisonment

When the US has more prisoners than billion person plus China, you know somethings wrong. Yet the Pew Center issued a report saying 1 in 100 adult Americans are in jail. Here’s what the AP says:

For the first time in U.S. history, more than one of every 100 adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report documenting America’s rank as the world’s No. 1 incarcerator. It urges states to curtail corrections spending by placing fewer low-risk offenders behind bars.

Using state-by-state data, the report says 2,319,258 Americans were in jail or prison at the start of 2008 — one out of every 99.1 adults. Whether per capita or in raw numbers, it’s more than any other nation.

The report also noted severe racial disparities in prison sentencing. 1 in 9 black males between 20 and 34 is in jail. The numbers are still pretty bad for men in that age group, with 1 and 30 of them behind bars.

One reason attributed to large inmate populations is because politicians are afraid to appear soft on crime. The moment a criminal is released on a newly created inmate reduction program and commits a crime, politicians usually face a campaign of fear mongering. The end result is less spending on education, and more men and woman in jail so politicians can keep their seats.

All these numbers are crunching state budgets. Vermont, Michigan, Oregon and Connecticut all spend more money on prison then on higher education. But this budget crunch is accomplishing what common sense can’t. States are relaxing punishments for small probation violations, reviewing three strike laws, and looking at other means of reducing prison population.

What’s really shameful is communist China only jails 1.5 million of it’s citizens, while the Chinese population is over 3 times that of the America. Coming third is the former communist stronghold of Russia where businessmen are still thrown in jail for earning too much money.

The report was written by the Pew Center’s Public Safety Performance Project, who is also working with 13 states to reduce inmate populations.

GOP Anti Immigration Stance Harming Party

One day white people will be a minority. And just like blacks remember the advances for civil rights made under the Kennedy/LBJ administration, Hispanics will remember Republicans vilified them in the ‘06, ‘07 and ‘08 elections. With a new poll from Pew Research showing Latinos prefer Democrats to Republicans by 2:1 spells bad news for the GOP. Read more

Low Congress Ratings due to Republican Control

Two inter sting things happened relating to congress today. First an immigration bill granting children citizenship in the US after meeting certain criteria was struck down. Second a controversial judge, who overwhelming sides with corporations, was elected to the 5th Circuit Federal Court.

But last November Americans voted out the current leadership in congress. But some politicians haven’t realized Americans want change from twelve years of Republican mismanagement. But they’re still voting for (the Iraq war, uncontrolled spending) and blocking (children’s health care, immigration reform), the same policies that Americans are disgusted with. Unless the Republicans can let the Americans have a voice, more can look to loose their seats in 2008.

And it’s time for Democrats to be Democrats. I want to see Lyndon Baines Johnson type strategies. Not Democrats defecting, and siding with the Republicans. Many of the issues that have failed to be solved are just as important, if not more than the Civil Rights Movement.

Racism is making a resurgence in America (not that it was ever gone), for instance the State Department wants to shut down a Muslim school, because curriculum doesn’t “Meet their standards.” The head of the voting rights protection agency feels “The white vote is the most important to protect.” And there is a tremendous government/Republican started backlash against legal and “illegal” immigrants.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid need to become true leaders, willing at any cost to pass important legislation. But blame cannot be entirely placed on the leadership, Democrats need to stop being bullied by Republican tactics. And Americans need to stop being intimated by Republican fear mongering (ever noticed how a new Osama tape appears when Bush needs more money?). Lets live by the motto “Give me freedom or give me death.”

Proof The GOP Fails the Black Vote

If you go to gop.com, the official website of the Republican party you’ll find they have multiple categories for various issues. Immigration reform, woman, economy… They also have one for African-Americans, but when you visit that category they have only one blog post.

It goes on to talk about how African America education scores have increased on the Republican white house and congress. I guess that’s why lower SAT scores where blamed on more African Americans and Latinos taking the test. Anyways I’m not here to critique their lone post.

Today the Senate will be holding a vote on weather Washington DC (62% black) will have proper representation in the House of Representatives. The vote today is only a procedural one, if they get 60 or more votes to avoid a filibuster, then they’ll move on to the real “vote” later this session. But house minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) says “The right to vote is fundamental, and I will fight any attempt to dilute or impede that right, my opposition to this bill rests instead on a single all-important fact: It is clearly and unambiguously unconstitutional.” Most other Senate Republicans hold this view.

Not to vilify all Republicans on this issue, because Tom Davis (R-Va) cosponsored this legislation. But if this vote fails due to Republican opposition it will be the first voting rights filibuster since segregation was ended.

Update

The vote had 57 yes votes, and 42 no votes, with a Democrat from West Virginia, missing the vote, because he believes it is unconstitutional. Either ways they would have still been 2 votes short.

Immigrant Hatred Fuels KKK

I had previously reported on a Virginia County banning services from immigrants, and now the county seat has become a ground for the Klu Klux Klan to recruit supporters. The DC Examiner is reporting that the Klu Klux Klan LLC, of Arkansas distributed hate filled newspapers and recruitment fliers in the suburban community. Citizens on both sides of the immigration debate have condemned the move.

Any legislation that attracts hate groups should be considered racist. I wonder how much the people on the wrong side of the immigration debate are under delusion that such laws aren’t racist, and thus the appearance of the KKK rudely awakened them. But one of the leading anti-immigration groups, Help Save Manassas said “If Mexicans Without Borders protests [the KKK], we would be right alongside.” Mexicans Without Borders organized a one week boycott of anti-immigration businesses, and will hold a work stoppage in several weeks.

Election 2008 is about far more than Iraq, health care, and taxes. It will be one of weather America will continue to be a country that welcomes all ethnicities, or weather we return to a pre-1960s mindset.

Boycott Michael Savage, and HATE Radio

I hate to give attention to people who provide nothing to the political process except a loud money making scamming mouth. Michelle Malkin, Bill O’Reilly, and the ’she-devil’ aka Ann Coulter. (Let’s thank John Edwards for that hilariously true interpretation of her.) But in this case Michael Savage is the target.

The reason people like Michael “Weiner” Savage are on the air, and continue to stay on the air, are the listeners. It’s their fault. The people that continue to listen to him, even the ones who hate Savage, but who still listen to him anyways. Those same liberals, progressives, Democrats, and centrists, who say that the only reason they listen to Savage is because they like to hear what the ‘other side’ has to say on the issues of the day.

If you are one of those people who likes to hear the opposing side’s viewpoint, let me tell you why you should not be listening to Savage. Read more

Review: No End In Sight

Award winning film, No End In Sight documents the cause of failure in Iraq. They interviewed many government and former government workers involved with Iraq. Presented us with footage from the war, and generaly managed to keep the audience from dozing off.

The film felt very much like a propaganda piece - propaganda that any liberal would want see, but still there seemed to be no objectivity. For instance they seemed to pick photos and video of Bush that added nothing to the movie, except for showing what a dumbo he is.

Some of their interviews seemed to take what the interviewers where saying out of context, for instance I noticed a couple of times there was a transition in the middle of a speakers sentence. But many of the leaders who realized they had made mistakes, where willing to talk. They told us what exactly went wrong, which while it certainly didn’t offer any help to fixing Iraq now, it offered insights in what not to do next time. The ones who still felt in debt to the president, or not at fault, offered little insight into what went wrong.
Read more

More Media Matters followers try to get rid of Savage.

Media Matters and their supporters have started a new campaign to fire Michael Savage for saying “The homosexual left will bring the devil down to earth” and for Calling Dianne Feinstein a ho. Is this an excuse to bring back the fairness doctrine? Is it ok to stop conservative talk radio so liberals can have a larger role in radio?

Currently Michael Savage is the only conservative host who has “Listener Discretion Is Advised” (And rips me off on his DVD-but i got a refund). And he is making more money then any other talk show host in America (possibly the world).

Do you think the Fairness Doctrine should be brought back?

Next Page »