Friday, May 9, 2008

Hillary's white appeal



The black blogosphere is livid about Hilary Clinton's USA Today interview.

Even though Barack is leading in pledged delegates, popular votes, states won and -- according to ABC News -- superdelegates, his appeal isn't broad enough.

"Sen. 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." - Sen. Hilary Clinton


As dnA from Jack&JillPolitics said, I guess the rest of us are sitting on the porch eating watermelon and plucking banjos.

Hilary's latest yardstick is no subtle dog whistle like her husbands, "Jesse Jackson won South Carolina" comment. This is a giant race-baiting bullhorn. Mike Barnicle got it right, Race Is All The Clintons Have Left.

From The Huffington Post:

Now, faced with a mathematical mountain climb that even Stephen Hawking could not ascend, the Clintons -- and it is indeed both of them -- are just about to paste a bumper sticker on the rear of the collapsing vehicle that carries her campaign. It reads: VOTE WHITE.
I'm not surprised. The history of the Black Freedom Struggle is never aligned permanently with any political party no matter how long voting trends last. Democrats return to their Dixiecrat roots when it fits their electoral needs. Here's the problem, Sen. Clinton (supporters).

From Steve M:

According to CNN's 1996 exit poll, Bill Clinton lost the white vote (Dole 46%, Clinton 43%, Perot 9%). He lost the white male vote by an even larger margin (Dole 49%, Clinton 38%, Perot 11%). And he lost gun owners badly (Dole 51%, Clinton 38%, Perot 10%). However, Clinton won the popular vote overall

In 2000 -- when Al Gore won the popular vote by half a million votes -- he lost white males to Bush by a whopping 60%-36%, according to CNN's exit poll. He lost men overall 53%-42%. He lost whites overall 54%-42%.

For the past forty years it has been common knowledge in American politics that Democrats cannot win the presidency without the black vote. Hilary's numbers have been Reaganesque. She's alienated that vote further. For a new generation of black voters with no agenda ties to the Democratic Party or the Clinton years, this is damning.

1 comment:

LucieLu said...

Phil, if you worked harder and spent less time dicking around on the internets you wouldn't be saying such things about the nice white lady.

But seriously, whites are the "hard workers?" Is she kidding me? It was bad enough when the media was referring to the working class as implicitly being white, been then she had to go and make this statement.