For a number of months now the primaries have largely been devoid of race issues. Sure there's talk of Barack Obama being the 1st President of color, there's was the hiccup of Reverend Wright, but race has not been an overriding factor. I wondered how long it would take for race and/or racism to begin to rear its ugly head. It seems that the recent Democratic Primary in Pennsylvania was its debut, but surprisingly, race seems to have simmered down again. I'm not convinced that it will remain so subdued, inevitably it will reappear before the general election.
It goes without saying that a candidate should be judged by character, not color and that's how many of us would like the populace to vote. However it will not go down solely in that manner. There will be some racial bias....let's call it 'acceptable racial preference' (ARP for short) in which a person might feel a tad more comfortable with one like himself (or herself). Not that this is condoned, rather it is human nature. Look at any election and you'll see people voting for their own kind whether the linkage is race, religion, location, etc,etc. It's not due to a hatred of another as much as it is a comfort. Since this blog is about race, by literal definition, these people could be called racist. However I don't feel it is most appropriate using such a label hence we'll go with ARP.
Looking at the aftermath of the PA primary, the polls said that a number of whites said race was a factor in selecting between Barack and Hillary (this number varies depending on the poll). For the sake of consistency I will use one set of results from the New York Times. Of that 13% of whites who said race was a factor, 75% voted for Clinton. Of the 13% of blacks polled, 4% (I believe this to be 4% of the total, not of the 13%) said race was a factor while the other 9% said that it wasn't. Nevertheless, 91% of blacks voted for Obama - a charge quickly pointed out by those defending the whites who said race was a factor. I'm not here to judge either side because I understand ARP. And particularly so for blacks given that this is the first time that a viable black candidate is on the ballot. In being fair, I also understand white ARP as well. It's only natural. But this talk of race and voting pattern doesn't touch on what really matters and it's not race, it's racism.
It's not so important who one would vote for because of race, rather who that person would NOT vote for due to race. Of the 91% of blacks who are voting for Obama, how many would vote for a white candidate? I don't know the answer, but what I can tell you is that up to 100% of those who have voted in a presidential election in the past have voted for a white person. On the other side, there are many whites who voted for Clinton because because they like her (and possibly because she's white), yet they would vote for a non-white candidate they found viable. The problem (for Obama) is that portion that wouldn't. If Hillary Clinton were a black woman, those same voters would cast elsewhere. This isn't to say there isn't racism by blacks nor is it to exonerate such behavior. Rather it is to highlight that there is a bigger issue of race not being addressed. It is an ugly reality of the election process that's still being swept under the carpet.
7 comments:
Even Alan Keyes and Mike Steele, two of the biggest spook-a-demuses in the universe, couldn't catch a break.
Dude you are so deep!
Interesting points. Can you post your source for the stats...I'm not understanding whether only 13% thought race was a factor (making this almost a non-issue) or that they subselected 13% of their respondents and then analyzed those results. It's almost common sense, but I feel compelled to make the point that the media will manipulate any statistic into proving whatever predetermined point they want to write their article about...
Angi, it was an article from the NY Times. I'll try to find it for you. My understanding is that 13% of blacks were interviewed (how they determined it's 13% I do not know). Of that 13%, 4 said race was a factor. I understood that to mean 4% of the total (or 4/13 of the polled).
I don't doubt the media will manipulate numbers. But what I do know is that there is racism as far as voting goes and it's something that needs to be discussed. In fact, the media needs to address it. Perhaps they're waiting for an Obama-McCain showdown first.
About your recent blog on race / racism and politics, I think what you've written is true. People do tend to vote for those who share something with them -- religion, background, gender, ethnicity. That's natural, as you say. I am an Obama supporter and the fact that he is a person of color does appeal to me. But, let me tell you, if Al Gore had decided to run, I would support him rather than Obama. (In that case, I would like Obama to be Gore's running mate.) But of all the Democratic candidates this time around, I think Obama is the best. And that's really why I support him. And you know, Obama is quite an interesting candidate in terms of his appeal to others. His character and his oratory are certainly part of that appeal. But so is his ethnicity -- and the ethnicities associated with him. As we know, his father is a black man from Kenya, his mother is a white woman from Kansas, and his half-sister is part Indonesian. Obama can associate himself with multiple ethnicities. And that is a strength. Race can work in his favor. His campaign needs to present the diversity of his background more effectively to the general public. However, there probably will be some people who will NOT vote for him because he isn't white, or fully white (just as there are some in the black community who consider him "not black enough" or "foreign"). There's not much Obama can do about that. But for the majority of voters who look at a candidate and try to draw a connection between themselves and that candidate, which is a natural thing to do, Obama can use his diverse ethnic background to connect with many of them.
I think Obama will win the Democratic nomination and the general election in November -- at least, I hope so. But Hillary is going to do whatever she can to win the nomination. It's all about power for her and hubby Bill. Hillary will lie, cheat, steal, trash anyone and whore herself to win the nomination -- all for power. The Democrats better get it right or John McCain will be the next President of the United States.
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