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You are here: Home / Civil Rights / Racial Justice / Post-racial America / Steady And Strong, And Always Has Been

Steady And Strong, And Always Has Been

by Zandar|  October 27, 20112:06 pm| 117 Comments

This post is in: Post-racial America, Vote Like Your Country Depends On It, Yes We Did, Stuff About Black People Written By a Black Person

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The NY Times gets this one right.  Go figure.

I’ve long said the notion that black voters’ support for President Obama was somehow “wavering” was complete garbage.  Certainly the right is trying to sell that idiocy, most notably Dick Morris.  But now the NY Times has found that the president’s support among the black community continues to be massive and overwhelming.

Outside Washington, however, the story is markedly different. Mr. Obama’s support among African-Americans appears strikingly strong, even among many who are out of work, who might be expected to complain the loudest.

In a recent Pew Research Center poll, black voters preferred Mr. Obama 95 percent to 3 percent over Mitt Romney, “which is at least the margin he got in 2008,” said Michael Dimock, associate director for research at Pew. “There’s no erosion at all.”

Even more noteworthy, less than 10 percent of black voters in a New York Times/CBS News survey taken last month said that Mr. Obama had failed to meet their expectations as president, while nearly 3 in 10 said he had exceeded expectations. Among nonblack voters, 4 in 10 said he performed worse than expected, while only 5 percent said he had done better.

For many African-Americans, the main reason to support Mr. Obama is easy to cite. They argue that the modern Republican Party protects the rich at the expense of the poor, is hostile to social programs and thinks the way to fix the economy is solely through a trickle-down approach.

“We already know what the Republican Party is offering,” said Mr. Bennett, 57, the former Cooper Industries employee, a plant supervisor before he lost his job. “And we don’t want that.”

Mr. Hart said, “Look at the choice we got with those Republicans.”

Sometimes reality is so simple and easily explainable, it absolutely dumbfounds the pundits.  It’s almost as if the approach by the GOP to assume black voters are “too stupid to know the Democrats are keeping them on the Plantation” is not only completely incorrect (and not to mention absolutely insulting) but that it’s backfiring.  I’d say that it also meant that the GOP’s rancorous stupidity is driving black voters back to the President, but the larger point is we never left him because we knew exactly what to expect when you’re the first black anything in American history.

The GOP is completely invested in saying otherwise, of course.  Almost like they have a healthy fear of people exercising their right to vote.

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Reader Interactions

117Comments

  1. 1.

    WeeBey

    October 27, 2011 at 2:08 pm

    Hoocoodanode?

  2. 2.

    MikeJ

    October 27, 2011 at 2:09 pm

    I didn’t realise that people still asked the opinion of America’s best known toe sucker.

  3. 3.

    soonergrunt

    October 27, 2011 at 2:13 pm

    @MikeJ: When you need a reliably anti-Democratic opinion and the subject is touchy enough for a real politician (like race relations) then you get Dick.
    The man has no scruples nor sense of honor, so he’s always available.

  4. 4.

    gogol's wife

    October 27, 2011 at 2:13 pm

    If only more of the people on “our side” shared Mr. Bennett’s plain old common sense.

  5. 5.

    Southern Beale

    October 27, 2011 at 2:14 pm

    Certainly the right is trying to sell that idiocy, most notably Dick Morris.

    Meh. They may be mouthing that BS publicly but if they truly believed that nonsense, there wouldn’t be this rash of voter ID laws cropping up everywhere. They wouldn’t be trying to disenfranchise so many Obama voters.

  6. 6.

    Violet

    October 27, 2011 at 2:16 pm

    @MikeJ:
    His ugly mug is all over the TV. I think he’s on Fox. I see it at the gym, otherwise I’d change the channel.

  7. 7.

    Southern Beale

    October 27, 2011 at 2:16 pm

    Also, Republicans like to pretend having Herman Cain on the ticket would appeal to black voters, because we all know African Americans vote simply on the basis of the color of the candidates’ skin RIGHT?

    Pffft.

  8. 8.

    Elizabelle

    October 27, 2011 at 2:17 pm

    @gogol’s wife:

    I would guess more people share Mr. Bennett’s view than you might expect.

    Also: I think memories will be long for how Boehner and the House denied President Obama the opportunity to deliver his long-awaited jobs speech on the evening of his choice. Sheer disrespect.

    (And that Obama chose an even better date. With a football game heading off any appetite for an immediate GOP response.)

  9. 9.

    The Moar You Know

    October 27, 2011 at 2:17 pm

    People usually realize when someone hates them.

    Republicans don’t understand this because they really believe that blacks are so stupid that they’d buy the horseshit they’re peddling.

    PROTIP: No one is that stupid.

  10. 10.

    Taylormattd

    October 27, 2011 at 2:17 pm

    Funny, I’ve been told by the left blogs that Obama’s support in the AA was dropping. Of course, those people then shift seamlessly to stating AA are mindlessly supporting him only because he is black.

  11. 11.

    Xecky Gilchrist

    October 27, 2011 at 2:17 pm

    @Southern Beale: They may be mouthing that BS publicly but if they truly believed that nonsense, there wouldn’t be this rash of voter ID laws cropping up everywhere.

    I don’t think they believe it, I think they say it because they’ll say anything to try to diminish support for Obama.

  12. 12.

    Carolinus

    October 27, 2011 at 2:20 pm

    FTA:

    Sitting in a chair at the Ultimate Choice Barber Shop in Charlotte, Brian Gainey, 28, a truck driver, initially hesitated when asked if he was going to vote again for Mr. Obama.

    “Yes,” he said finally, adding: “I’d almost like to see someone else win though. Maybe then they’ll see how much better Obama was than whoever will come after him.”

    I know the feeling Mr. Gainey.

  13. 13.

    Provider_UNE

    October 27, 2011 at 2:20 pm

    Whish is one of the reasons the Republicans have voter disenfranchisement related program activities going on all over the country.

    FWIW if you live in a state with recently enacted voter ID laws and have recently gotten a replacement, double check the expiration date. In the past ours (Indiana) have been issued for four years. I just noticed that the one I was issued in April of 2010 expires in May of 2012. Had I not checked, and assumed that it was the standard 4 year issue I would have likely been SOL come November 2012.

    .

  14. 14.

    Bulworth

    October 27, 2011 at 2:20 pm

    Its really very simple. Either teh blacks are totally wavering in their support for the Kenyan ursurping soshulist or they are ignorant rubes on the plantation who only vote for black kenyans because of his color. Its a win win from a conservative standpoint.

  15. 15.

    Special Patrol Group

    October 27, 2011 at 2:20 pm

    For many African-Americans, the main reason to support Mr. Obama is easy to cite. They argue that the modern Republican Party protects the rich at the expense of the poor, is hostile to social programs and thinks the way to fix the economy is solely through a trickle-down approach.

    Also too, one of the de facto leaders of the Modern Republican Party is a racist shithead (Rush Limbaugh), Rick Parry’s former hunting camp’s name, the ne’er-ending Southern Stratgy, Andrew Breitbart’s inexplicable celebrity, and assorted other examples out outright racist assholery. One may wish to mention those unfortunate facts. Also, also too, your racist uncle.

  16. 16.

    Jude

    October 27, 2011 at 2:21 pm

    I wonder if you’re going to attract the same trolls that ABL does. Christ, I hope not.

  17. 17.

    Citizen_X

    October 27, 2011 at 2:22 pm

    …many African-Americans…argue that the modern Republican Party protects the rich at the expense of the poor, is hostile to social programs and thinks the way to fix the economy is solely through a trickle-down approach.

    Pardon me for yelling, but why isn’t this COMPLETELY FUCKING OBVIOUS TO EVERYBODY?

  18. 18.

    Martin

    October 27, 2011 at 2:22 pm

    I’ve long said the notion that black voters’ support for President Obama was somehow “wavering” was complete garbage.

    That’s because they’re all racist. 100% of them. Well, okay, not 100% – Herman Cain isn’t. He’s the only one, though, and we won’t tolerate a 2nd. Actually, we might not even tolerate him. We’re still thinking about it.

    /teabagger

  19. 19.

    Elizabelle

    October 27, 2011 at 2:22 pm

    Have you seen the reader comments on the NYTimes story?

    The flying monkeys are out in force, and were there shortly after Cooper’s story went up.

    http://community.nytimes.com/comments/www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/us/politics/obamas-support-among-blacks-remains-strong.html?sort=recommended

    Methinks the NYTimes hit a nerve with this story.

  20. 20.

    mk3872

    October 27, 2011 at 2:29 pm

    And Obama maintains high-70% favorability among ALL Dems, yet you’ll still find the daily “Obama Disappointment” headlines on HuffPo, Politico & FDL.

    Political blogs (BJ, notwithstanding, of course) are like cable evening political talk shows on steroids.

    They’re not very credible and take the smallest piece of sand on the beach and expand it to gross generalities.

  21. 21.

    Rita R.

    October 27, 2011 at 2:30 pm

    “…we knew exactly what to expect when you’re the first black anything in American history.”

    I’m not black, but this is right on point. Never mind his policies, his very identity as an American has been relentlessly denied since before he even took office.

  22. 22.

    TooManyJens

    October 27, 2011 at 2:31 pm

    @Taylormattd:

    Funny, I’ve been told by the left blogs that Obama’s support in the AA was dropping. Of course, those people then shift seamlessly to stating AA are mindlessly supporting him only because he is black.

    And then there’s the prominent “left” blogger who called Obama’s strongest supporters “the dumbest motherfuckers in the world.” Show her this poll and she’ll probably start talking like Pat Buchanan.

  23. 23.

    Provider_UNE

    October 27, 2011 at 2:33 pm

    Whish=Which…Though now that I think about it whish could be a reliable standin for which when drinking and blogging.

    .

  24. 24.

    MattF

    October 27, 2011 at 2:33 pm

    A significant chunk of the consultants and lobbyists in DC call themselves ‘Republican Political Advisors.’ It can’t be a big surprise that these guys will lie in any way they can get away with, particularly when it comes to Obama’s chances of winning in 2012. It’s point #3.4 of their business plans. No joke.

  25. 25.

    jibeaux

    October 27, 2011 at 2:33 pm

    I love the way because they assume that black people voted for Obama because he’s black (apparently black people sit out many elections, having no one black to vote for, or maybe 90% of them thought John Kerry was black?), so ta-da! Herman Cain! They’ll be torn! They’ll not know what to do! Most brilliant strategy ever since John McCain won the White House by picking a girl!

  26. 26.

    Alison

    October 27, 2011 at 2:34 pm

    @Southern Beale: It’s the exact same kind of thinking that led McCain to Palin. LOOK LADIES, WE HAVE A VAGINA FOR YOU TO VOTE FOR!! BECAUSE THAT’S ALL YOU CARE ABOUT…RIGHT?

    Sorry, but I need more in a candidate than a matching set of reproductive organs. To start with, I need one who doesn’t want to control *mine*.

    But yeah, their Cain-fluffing is so transparent. “Look, we have a black guy, too!” No, that’s not insulting to African-Americans’ intelligence at all….

  27. 27.

    Alison

    October 27, 2011 at 2:34 pm

    @jibeaux: LOL jinx :)

  28. 28.

    TooManyJens

    October 27, 2011 at 2:35 pm

    @jibeaux: Surely, the most brilliant strategy since the Republicans did the exact same thing by running Alan Keyes against Obama in 2004.

  29. 29.

    Cat Lady

    October 27, 2011 at 2:39 pm

    @mk3872:

    Co-sign. It sure seems like us Obots are the only ones standing athwart reality and yelling look out motherfuckers, we’re coming through!

  30. 30.

    Jude

    October 27, 2011 at 2:39 pm

    @TooManyJens: What happens if Cain ends up running and gets exactly 27% of the popular vote? Do we look for Jeebus to come back or somethin’?

  31. 31.

    Special Patrol Group

    October 27, 2011 at 2:41 pm

    Yeah, it’s a mystery why black people don’t vote for Republicans more than they do. Yep, I can’t figure out why that would be. Maybe some journalists should investigate this phenomenon.

  32. 32.

    GregB

    October 27, 2011 at 2:41 pm

    Cain/Rubio 2012 FTW!

  33. 33.

    Mark S.

    October 27, 2011 at 2:42 pm

    I was curious how Cain does against Obama and found this:

    Obama Beats Cain by 80 With Black Voters

  34. 34.

    Martin

    October 27, 2011 at 2:45 pm

    @TooManyJens:

    Surely, the most brilliant strategy since the Republicans did the exact same thing by running Alan Keyes against Obama in 2004.

    And look what happened there! 100% of black voters voted for the black guy! See, they’re all fucking racist!

  35. 35.

    rikryah

    October 27, 2011 at 2:45 pm

    you know, I loved reading a quote from someone at the local barbershop last week – they absolutely nailed it; from Democratic Party spinelessness to GOP obstructionism.

    Black folks have NEVER watched politics as intensely as they have since Barack Obama was elected. And, I do believe, ‘ on the street’, folks understand what this President has been up against.

  36. 36.

    Ben Cisco

    October 27, 2011 at 2:49 pm

    I said it in a previous thread, I’ll repeat it here:
    __
    It wasn’t about him being black, it was about him being SANE.
    __
    True then, truer now.

  37. 37.

    ItAintEazy

    October 27, 2011 at 2:51 pm

    @Citizen_X:

    Pardon me for yelling, but why isn’t this COMPLETELY FUCKING OBVIOUS TO EVERYBODY WHITE DIXIECRATS REPUBLICANS?

    Fix’d.

  38. 38.

    Ben Cisco

    October 27, 2011 at 2:55 pm

    Also, I find it illuminating to see who the story singled out as examples of blacks who are, ahem, disenchanted with the President:
    __

    Various black leaders — including Representative Maxine Waters of California, the television host Tavis Smiley and Cornel West, a prominent professor — have criticized Mr. Obama for what they see as not doing enough for black Americans.

    Uh huh.

  39. 39.

    Steve

    October 27, 2011 at 2:56 pm

    @Citizen_X: Why isn’t it obvious to everyone? That’s a good question. Maybe it’s because non-black folks seem more vulnerable to distractions, such as “Hey! That black guy over there is buying a T-bone with your tax money!”

  40. 40.

    kay

    October 27, 2011 at 2:58 pm

    but they also say there are still new black voters to be reached.

    I’m glad they realize that. I was talking to my (basically not political) daughter about the House “war on women” earlier this year, and she was just so dumbfounded/betrayed by it. “What is WRONG with them?!”

    It was as if she had never seen a GOP majority House before!

    She hadn’t, of course. She first voted in 2008. Her entire experience of “Congress” was Pelosi. That’s when she started paying (some) attention.

    I think we have to pay attention to what people “know”, and what they don’t, actually, know.

  41. 41.

    Tom Hilton

    October 27, 2011 at 3:00 pm

    @soonergrunt: And when Morris isn’t available, they go for Doug Schoen.

  42. 42.

    Tom Hilton

    October 27, 2011 at 3:04 pm

    @Southern Beale:
    @Alison:
    Republicans practice a kind of “affirmative action” that exactly mirrors their distorted caricature of the term: a free ride for completely unqualified tokens chosen for their race/gender.

  43. 43.

    Daniel

    October 27, 2011 at 3:05 pm

    This and the “Jews are abandoning Obama” line come out again and again. Wishful thinking.

  44. 44.

    Elizabelle

    October 27, 2011 at 3:08 pm

    @Ben Cisco:

    Yeah.

    And this is big enough to drive a bus through:

    Despite a school of thought in Washington that Mr. Obama’s support among blacks has weakened because of the poor economy and a sense of unmet expectations

    WHAT school of “thought?” Who is saying this?

  45. 45.

    quannlace

    October 27, 2011 at 3:09 pm

    His ugly mug is all over the TV. I think he’s on Fox. I see it at the gym, otherwise I’d change the channel.

    You mean Mr. ‘I’m wrong 99.9% of the time.’ It’s amazing that anybody gives him the time of day, but then, this is Fox.

  46. 46.

    Martin

    October 27, 2011 at 3:10 pm

    Republicans practice a kind of “affirmative action” that exactly mirrors their distorted caricature of the term: a free ride for completely unqualified tokens chosen for their race/gender.

    Unqualified? I’m pretty sure Palin’s tits are real.

  47. 47.

    dmsilev

    October 27, 2011 at 3:11 pm

    @TooManyJens:

    Surely, the most brilliant strategy since the Republicans did the exact same thing by running Alan Keyes against Obama in 2004.

    And thus, the crazification factor was born…

    One of the funnier sights I saw in the 2004 race was walking through the heart of Hyde Park and seeing a lone Alan Keyes for Senator sign. I always figured that someone either had a strange sense of humor or felt like annoying their neighbors. Hyde Park went something like 95+% for Obama in the election.

  48. 48.

    Comrade Luke

    October 27, 2011 at 3:20 pm

    Outside Washington, however, the story is markedly different

    Isn’t this the case for pretty much…well, everything?

  49. 49.

    Ben Cisco

    October 27, 2011 at 3:26 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    WHAT school of “thought?” Who is saying this?

    The poli-sci equivalent of this joint.

  50. 50.

    ABL

    October 27, 2011 at 3:31 pm

    @Ben Cisco: it’s the same damn three people that aggrieved white liberals throw at you when they’re trying to convince you that obama is so FAIL LOL.

    it’s like they thought “after brother west, goeth all negros.”

    please.

  51. 51.

    Brachiator

    October 27, 2011 at 3:32 pm

    @Zandar:

    I’ve long said the notion that black voters’ support for President Obama was somehow “wavering” was complete garbage. Certainly the right is trying to sell that idiocy, most notably Dick Morris.

    Yawn. Is Dick Morris still around? He’s the Ahmad Chalabi of pundits. Only Fox News cretins take him seriously.

    It’s almost as if the approach by the GOP to assume black voters are “too stupid to know the Democrats are keeping them on the Plantation” is not only completely incorrect (and not to mention absolutely insulting) but that it’s backfiring.

    You’re a bit out of your league here. Do you realize that a variation of this charge came in the past from WEB DuBois and Malcolm X? And while this may add to the many reasons that black people might reject the GOP, I don’t know that it is high on the list.

    @Tom Hilton:

    Republicans practice a kind of “affirmative action” that exactly mirrors their distorted caricature of the term: a free ride for completely unqualified tokens chosen for their race/gender.

    Bullshit. The GOP is into ideological purity, a test that Herman Cain easily satisfies. Apart from this, none of the GOP contenders are strong on qualifications, not even Mittens Romney. Sarah Palin didn’t have much to qualify her, and Dubya was the poster child for getting by on family connections, a living refutation of any idea of meritocracy.

  52. 52.

    ABL

    October 27, 2011 at 3:34 pm

    @Ben Cisco: here’s your internet. use it wisely.

    @Elizabelle: the FDL School for the Gifted in which students are taught that “afro-americans” need to be reeducated using cornel west as a hypnosis pendulum.

    “you’re getting sleeeeeepy. you hate obaaaaama. you will vote for naaaaaaader. or maybe ron paaaaaaul.”

  53. 53.

    Paul in KY

    October 27, 2011 at 3:36 pm

    @TooManyJens: From what I’ve seen, Mr. Cain is not quite as whacky as Mr. Keyes was. Alan Keyes was truly the dream candidate, if you’re running against him.

  54. 54.

    ABL

    October 27, 2011 at 3:37 pm

    @Elizabelle: ok, i can’t stop laughing at this comment from the article:

    The troubling aspect of this to me is that my fellow African Americans continue to mindlessly support Democrats whose liberal policies have brought us a 72% illegitimacy rate, destroyed the black family unit and perpetually leaves us in the bottom rungs of society. They throw us a few social welfare crumbs and in return they receive their most mindlessly loyal voting bloc. We’ve traded one plantation for a different one.

    I guess I’m one of the 5%…I don’t see a Republican candidate I really like, but any is preferable to Obama. I’ve seen where his path leads us.

    errrrrybody’s black on the internet. “my fellow african-americans” has me in stitches.

  55. 55.

    Paul in KY

    October 27, 2011 at 3:38 pm

    @ABL: He does have a bodacious afro.

  56. 56.

    Mark S.

    October 27, 2011 at 3:39 pm

    Dick Morris is almost never wrong.

    It’s almost touching that they’re charging $25.95 for it. At least it costs enough to get Super Saver Shipping!

  57. 57.

    Mark S.

    October 27, 2011 at 3:41 pm

    @Paul in KY:

    People in mental asylums aren’t quite as wacky as Alan Keyes.

  58. 58.

    gwangung

    October 27, 2011 at 3:42 pm

    …many African-Americans…argue that the modern Republican Party protects the rich at the expense of the poor, is hostile to social programs and thinks the way to fix the economy is solely through a trickle-down approach.

    Pardon me for yelling, but why isn’t this COMPLETELY FUCKING OBVIOUS TO EVERYBODY?

    Because white people are too stupid to see that Republicans really are trying to put them on the plantation with the rest of the colored folk?

  59. 59.

    DougJ

    October 27, 2011 at 3:44 pm

    Good post. Well put.

  60. 60.

    RareSanity

    October 27, 2011 at 3:45 pm

    “We already know what the Republican Party is offering,” said Mr. Bennett, 57, the former Cooper Industries employee, a plant supervisor before he lost his job. “And we don’t want that.”

    African Americans are the USA’s conscience. Been that way for a long, long time.

    Reminds me of the fact that, during his entire 8 years in office, the approval rating of GWB with blacks, hovered around 2%. We never bought anything Bush was selling.

    Republican have such a low opinion of blacks in this country, they cannot comprehend, how insulting they are to us as a group.

    After a meeting wrapped up yesterday, I had to listen to our teabagger VP, born and raised in that multicultural mecca of suburban Indianapolis, explain why he thought Herman Cain seemed to be the best candidate. The look of “WTF?” on my face, must have hit him like a ton of bricks.

    Because I don’t generally like discussing politics with teabagger executive types (a most pointless endeavor), when he asked me who was I voting for, “Obama…” came out of my mouth, before I could try to pull it back, and throw out a “I don’t really like discussing those issues, at the office.”

    But, since it was out there, I figured I might as well run with it. I told him that even if Cain was the “best candidate, saying that he is better than Perry or Romney wasn’t saying much. I went on to say, GWB could enter this field and wipe the floor with all of them. He agreed, and fell right into my trap.

    They I left it with, “Bush wasn’t a very good President. Why would I vote for someone that will be a worse President than George W. Bush?” BOOM!

    Haven’t had another conversation with him, but I’m sure he probably thinks I’m a pinko-communist.

  61. 61.

    Culture of Truth

    October 27, 2011 at 3:46 pm

    95 percent to 3 percent over Mitt Romney

    Like that one dentist who refuses to recommend sugarless gum.

  62. 62.

    metricpenny

    October 27, 2011 at 3:47 pm

    Yep. We’ve got President Obama’s back. Not because he’s black. Because he’s a competent, compassionate and capable leader.

    Not to mention that the longer he remains in office, the more it does to dispel the image of black Americans as lazy, stupid and criminal. You wouldn’t know it from the media but there are more black Americans like President Obama, and the other members of the first family, than not.

  63. 63.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    October 27, 2011 at 3:48 pm

    @soonergrunt:

    And when Morris isn’t available, they go for Doug Schoen.

    Has Pat Caddell’s nuttiness progressed to the point that even Fox won’t put him on?

  64. 64.

    Violet

    October 27, 2011 at 3:53 pm

    @RareSanity:
    That’s an excellent story. The poor, stupid VP probably didn’t know what hit him.

  65. 65.

    Martin

    October 27, 2011 at 3:53 pm

    @ABL:

    errrrrybody’s black on the internet

    I’m supah white, ABL. Like, a black hole of whiteness.

    Got a black cousin, though. But I haven’t known her very long. It’s a story. We all got ’em. Good lesson in ‘Be good to everyone, because you never know when your aunt will invite you over and unexpectedly introduce you to your unknown long-lost black cousin, and you won’t want to be standin’ there all slack-jawed wondering if you did something douchey and racist in college that she’s now going to find out about because she went to high school with your wife’s ex-boyfriend and there’s Facebook and now you’ve got this big worlds colliding catastrophe going on.’

    So, just be good to everyone y’all. Just in case. Oh, and have a black girlfriend sophomore year in college because it’ll give you good cred with the new cousin when that whole Facebook circle closes.

    My life is complicated.

  66. 66.

    Paul in KY

    October 27, 2011 at 3:53 pm

    @RareSanity: Watch your back.

  67. 67.

    Paul in KY

    October 27, 2011 at 3:55 pm

    @Mark S.: I don’t see how he escaped. Maybe they just don’t want him back.

  68. 68.

    Lysana

    October 27, 2011 at 3:59 pm

    @Ben Cisco:

    It wasn’t about him being black, it was about him being SANE.

    He was elected because he’s sane. He’s hated because he’s black and sane. Yep, about right.

  69. 69.

    scav

    October 27, 2011 at 4:00 pm

    @Paul in KY:

    From what I’ve seen, Mr. Cain is not quite as whacky as Mr. Keyes was.

    Been wrestling with that concept for a bit, but I think I’ve more or less got it now: It’s drawing the fine distinction between being killed by a falling piano or Skylab.

  70. 70.

    Rhoda

    October 27, 2011 at 4:00 pm

    Mark Halperin said that Barack Obama is going to lose in 2012; that’s the new CW according to Ben Smith at GOPolitico.

    So, I’m feeling good today about POTUS’ chances for the re-elect.

  71. 71.

    GregB

    October 27, 2011 at 4:02 pm

    Cain is bound to lure over lots of African-American voters by repeatedly saying that they are plantation slaves who are easily brainwashed.

    Winning.

  72. 72.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    October 27, 2011 at 4:03 pm

    @Rhoda: He is such a smirky little punk.

    eta, The wiki doesn’t even know where the weasel was hatched!

    “Mark Halperin is the son of Morton Halperin and Ina Young. He has two brothers, David and Gary. He was born in Bethesda, Maryland,[2] or Cambridge, Massachusetts,[1]”

  73. 73.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    October 27, 2011 at 4:06 pm

    @Rhoda: apparently Tweety has joined the chorus. Obama’s problems is that he doesn’t enough friends among the Very Important People Tweety knows, because Tweety, in case you didn’t know, is also a Very Important People.

    I can’t remember where I saw yesterday that Obama is in trouble because he only leads Romney by four percent in Ohio. That’s some through-the-looking-glass thinking, there.

  74. 74.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    October 27, 2011 at 4:08 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Did you catch Morning Joe and that dope Barnicle just hammering the Oakland police this morning? I couldn’t believe it.

  75. 75.

    Villago Delenda Est

    October 27, 2011 at 4:09 pm

    Why in the name of Jeebus on toastpoints would you EVER listen to a fucking word out of Dick Morris’ mouth?

  76. 76.

    daveNYC

    October 27, 2011 at 4:10 pm

    That’s because they’re all racist. 100% of them. Well, okay, not 100% – Herman Cain isn’t.

    I’ll grant you that Herman is post-racial in his contempt for all poor people.

  77. 77.

    shoutingattherain

    October 27, 2011 at 4:10 pm

    @Martin:
    Yeah like that’s the funniest thing I’ve read in a while.

    “I’m supah white, ABL. Like, a black hole of whiteness.” I’m there…

  78. 78.

    RareSanity

    October 27, 2011 at 4:11 pm

    @Paul in KY:

    Not really necessary, this is a Japanese company, and he is really more of a figure head. Me and my boss ran off his predecessor a few years ago, which lead to him getting the job.

    We are the engineers, there would be a parade of VP types to leave this company before we would. It’s not easy for someone that can’t fix shit, to justify getting rid of the people that can. You have to come up with a better reason than “he’s a Democrat” to get the Japanese powers that be to sign off.

    Or as my boss likes to say, before he blasts someone, “I was looking for a job when I found this one.”

  79. 79.

    Villago Delenda Est

    October 27, 2011 at 4:11 pm

    @gwangung:

    The teatards are what I call “natural serfs”…utterly unworthy of the freedoms that so many have fought, bled, and died for.

    I hold these vile lickspittles of the parasite overclass in unwavering contempt.

  80. 80.

    Redshift

    October 27, 2011 at 4:17 pm

    One interesting point occurs to me — we used to hear a lot about how Republicans tried to appeal to African-Americans not because they thought they’d actually get their votes, but to hold onto white suburban Republicans by pretending they aren’t racist. That seems to have gone out the window since Obama was elected. The racism can’t be kept under wraps any more, any more than the virulent anti-immigrant attitudes that killed Rove’s planned Latino outreach. I wonder how much of an effect it will have, if any, on their support from those suburbanites.

  81. 81.

    Rhoda

    October 27, 2011 at 4:19 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Hah, that dude slays me. I love his incoherence.

    President Obama has a hard campaign ahead of him; but he’s helped by the quality of his challengers. And I don’t think the villiage quite grasps the problems Willard has if he manages to get the GOP nomination (I honestly still don’t think he will; but we’ll know in a few months when actual votes happen).

    Romney is going to have twice the problems McCain did unifying the GOP; and he’s going to have to choose a Huckabee like person to have a chance. Then, he’s going to have to deal with his record in a way that no one has scrutinized. And President Obama’s team will have the money to take a hammer to him themselves.

    This is going to be a brutal election; but I still think the fundamentals of it favor President Obama even with the weakness of the economy.

  82. 82.

    DPirate

    October 27, 2011 at 4:21 pm

    Who knew that blacks were so massively and overwhelmingly racist? I can think of no other explanation.

  83. 83.

    jibeaux

    October 27, 2011 at 4:22 pm

    @ABL:
    Yeah, I’m going to go ahead and say not black, like me.

  84. 84.

    Woodrowfan

    October 27, 2011 at 4:23 pm

    @shoutingattherain:

    speaking of white boys, do any of the other older white guys here feel the same way I do? I get nervous when I’m with other older white men I don’t know because I keep expecting one of them to start talking about what Rush said today or otherwise go all Faux News. (shiver).

  85. 85.

    El Cid

    October 27, 2011 at 4:30 pm

    @Woodrowfan: I live in Georgia, and I’m not nervous around other white guys because I pretty much know that will happen.

  86. 86.

    Mino

    October 27, 2011 at 4:32 pm

    I’ve lived in the South for 50 odd years, Texas for most of them, though I was born in Missouri 60 odd years ago. Honestly, I have been shocked by the mainstreaming of such vile racism as we have witnesses in the last three years. Oh, I know it existed before, but civilized people(or at least the ones who claimed to be) were not out and proud of it.

    Maybe we will embarass ourselves enough that some of the hate will be lanced, but I’m not hopeful.

  87. 87.

    The Other Bob

    October 27, 2011 at 4:43 pm

    @Woodrowfan:

    speaking of white boys, do any of the other older white guys here feel the same way I do?..

    I didn’t go to my high school reunion becuase my former home town was (is) filled with racists. Now that half my family is black, I did not feel like paying $50 for rubber chicken and then have to punch some racist in the face.

    I need to teach my kids how to deal with racists, but I do avoid them where possible.

  88. 88.

    Martin

    October 27, 2011 at 4:44 pm

    @Woodrowfan: Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Happens to me constantly. Here in my part of the OC it’s a pretty rare occasion to have a pure white serendipitous gathering though – just enough asians, middle-east, indians, etc. to keep things safe.

    But when it happens its turns into that Eddie Murphy SNL day in the life of a white man skit. The neighbor’s plumber would chase me down as I got home from work just to get his regular white man affirmation, share my thoughts on whether I thought the city really was being overrun by the orientals, and the latest on the UNs plan to take our guns. The first time I just did the polite ‘change the topic’ conversation. The second time I was bewildered and didn’t know what to do because if he was going to get the ‘good ol boys’ recommendation, that would have come from the first chat, why is he talking to me again! The third time I told his crazy racist ass off and went off of every bugnut sticker he had on his van and explained that maybe the reason he wasn’t getting any business wasn’t because of the black guy in the white house but because the stickers on his business truck advertise him as a goddamn racist fucknozzle in a town where the population is less than half white, so we each likely have a nonwhite neighbor that we like and if anyone asked me for a plumber recommendation I sure as fuck wouldn’t subject them to him.

    Needless to say he doesn’t swing by Martin’s cracker barrel any more. But yeah, I try to keep at least one minority between me and the other old white guys. It’s just safer that way.

  89. 89.

    taylormattd

    October 27, 2011 at 4:48 pm

    @Jude: Maybe Anne Laurie can write an enraged response to this post.

  90. 90.

    Cain

    October 27, 2011 at 4:49 pm

    I am more interested in hearing from Cornel West’s brother Hornel East.

  91. 91.

    David Koch

    October 27, 2011 at 4:52 pm

    This doesn’t surprise me.

    As my dear friend, Jane Hamsher recently said, “Obama’s most ardent supporters are the dumbest motherfuckers in the world.”

    And Jane is right when she says blacks are “dumb motherfuckers”.

  92. 92.

    David Koch

    October 27, 2011 at 4:57 pm

    @Taylormattd:

    Funny, I’ve been told by the left blogs that Obama’s support in the AA was dropping.

    To be fair, Left blogs are experts on black sentiments, as seen in this seminal work.

  93. 93.

    Linda Featheringill

    October 27, 2011 at 5:02 pm

    Woodrowfan et al.:

    Wow. I don’t think aging white women have that problem. Of course, it’s easier for us to say something dismissive and move the conversation on to something else. I’ve seen “All men are unreliable” used to good effect.

    And yes, this is insulting to you guys. Sorry.

  94. 94.

    Woodrowfan

    October 27, 2011 at 5:06 pm

    @Linda Featheringill:

    LF: FWIW, my Mom says she’s the only Democrat in her retirement community (other than the staff, who are usually persons of color) and she says she gets tired of hearing the latest “nonsense” from Faux news. She tunes it out or changes the subject.

  95. 95.

    Eric S.

    October 27, 2011 at 5:12 pm

    @Woodrowfan:

    speaking of white boys, do any of the other older white guys here feel the same way I do? I get nervous when I’m with other older white men I don’t know because I keep expecting one of them to start talking about what Rush said today or otherwise go all Faux News. (shiver).

    You can’t see it but my hand is raised.

  96. 96.

    chrome agnomen

    October 27, 2011 at 5:12 pm

    @Jude:

    after all, 9-9-9 adds up to…

  97. 97.

    Cain

    October 27, 2011 at 5:17 pm

    @Woodrowfan:

    LF: FWIW, my Mom says she’s the only Democrat in her retirement community (other than the staff, who are usually persons of color) and she says she gets tired of hearing the latest “nonsense” from Faux news. She tunes it out or changes the subject.

    Must be a lonely life living in a retirement community of republicans.

  98. 98.

    ABL

    October 27, 2011 at 5:58 pm

    @Martin: hahahaha

  99. 99.

    Chris

    October 27, 2011 at 6:04 pm

    @Martin:

    I empathize. I’ve had that happen to me from time to time (and I don’t mean from old people). My normal MO would be to just ignore it, but they usually seem to take that as a license to keep on using you as a venting outlet for their Righteous Political Rage – the only thing that seems to work is doing what you did and telling them to piss off in no uncertain terms.

    On the other hand, the same thing’s currently happening via facebook from a couple of wingnut relatives – a bigger problem because those, you actually have to live with. Making a bigger effort to be civil in this case, but I have my doubts if that’s sustainable.

  100. 100.

    Ivan Ivanovich Renko

    October 27, 2011 at 6:42 pm

    @Woodrowfan: I sympathize, from a slightly different direction.

    These days, whenever I’m around white men over 40, I assume they’re teabagging assholes. I find myself just glaring at these guys, thinking, “I WISH you would say something to me, you over-privileged piece of shit.”

    For me at this point it’s like white privilege in reverse– white men are all assholes until proven otherwise.

    (for those of you like our esteemed host and others who, if they don’t “get it,” at least try, forgive me. You may have a SMALL idea of how I feel when it’s assumed that I am lazy, thieving, shiftless, incompetent, etc. etc. etc.)

  101. 101.

    Kane

    October 27, 2011 at 7:05 pm

    The neverending media narrative of President Obama’s problems with his base is not limited to black voters. Who among us haven’t seen the countless stories detailing how Obama has somehow let everyone down? One week it will be reported how the LGBT community is angry with Obama. The next week it will be that progressiv­­es are disgruntle­­d with Obama and his administra­­tion. The next week the narrative will be that African Americans are upset with Obama. And the following week the narrative is that Jewish Americans might not be as supportive of Obama as they once were.

    Rarely is there any context provided and seldom is it noted how these groups continue to overwhelmi­ngly support President Obama and Democrats. Instead, if someone manages to offers any criticism of Obama whatsoever­, it is sure to be reported and given a narrative of looming doom for Obama and the Democratic party.

    The scenario provides a deja vu moment, a continuation of the prevalent narrative of the 2008 presidential campaign where every issue raised is magically twisted and presented as a potential problem for Barack Obama.

  102. 102.

    Elizabelle

    October 27, 2011 at 7:07 pm

    @ABL:

    Oh I know.

    The flying monkeys were out there early, and they’re claiming to be African Americans.

    It’s like getting lectured by someone who always votes for “the Democrat party.”

    Maybe we can figure out a drinking game for those comments later.

  103. 103.

    Paula

    October 27, 2011 at 7:20 pm

    @Martin:

    Needless to say he doesn’t swing by Martin’s cracker barrel any more. But yeah, I try to keep at least one minority between me and the other old white guys. It’s just safer that way.

    That is a really funny spin on, “One of my best friends is …” There’s a lot of schizoid in the OC. On the one hand, every kind of ethnic food under the sun is produced at most a freeway stop away. On the other hand, I saw a bumper sticker the other day denouncing CNN as Socialist.

    But, yes, a lot of that cohort are inevitably Olds, particularly obvious in the university area where I live/work.

  104. 104.

    Woodrowfan

    October 27, 2011 at 7:27 pm

    @Cain:

    She’s not political enough to let it bother her too much, so she enjoys her friends. And her friends know her politics, so they know to talk about something else.

  105. 105.

    Arclite

    October 27, 2011 at 7:31 pm

    I’d say that it also meant that the GOP’s rancorous stupidity is driving black voters back to the President, but the larger point is we never left him because we knew exactly what to expect when you’re the first black anything in American history.

    THIS.

    Nice insight, Z.

  106. 106.

    ruemara

    October 27, 2011 at 8:06 pm

    I’m not supporting Obama because I don’t think he’s done much for the black pagan female who bake shit and take pictures demographic. Blacks need to get off the plantation and oiled up in the 3rd party circle. With a batch of fine chocolate chip goodies, yo. And I say, “yo”, as I am black and this is how we speechify. Plus, Cornel West is exactly who I go to for politics and hairstyling instructions.

  107. 107.

    The Raven

    October 27, 2011 at 10:46 pm

    Obama’s economic and housing policies have been appallingly hard on blacks. Blacks have been hurt horribly by the New Depression and there has been no help, or even advocacy of help, from the Obama administration. (Look for “Remember this Picture” here and “Another Symptom of the Housing Bubble” here. Sorry–permalinks broken on that site.) Probably Obama’s immigration policies will turn out to have been destructive as well, since they give so much support to racists.

    I am very much reminded of the white working class men who supported Ronald Reagan, who destroyed their jobs and their futures.

    Seriously, has betrayal–not just not doing everything, but doing the opposite of what would be best for supporters–become a norm in US Presidential politics? I fear so. Visualize the future of the Presidency as an unending series of Reagans.

  108. 108.

    WHITNEY

    October 27, 2011 at 11:00 pm

    @Martin: You are the COMMENT KING of the internets. And my stomach hurts very much.

    Thanks for this. I really needed it.

  109. 109.

    WHITNEY

    October 27, 2011 at 11:06 pm

    @ruemara: Martin commenter king: meet Rue…and my stomach pains had just ceased. Damn.

  110. 110.

    Paul in KY

    October 28, 2011 at 8:43 am

    @scav: I like your distinction. Mr. Cain would be a player piano, cranking out Milli Vanilli tunes, as it fell from the sky.

  111. 111.

    Paul in KY

    October 28, 2011 at 8:46 am

    @RareSanity: Glad to hear that.

  112. 112.

    Paul in KY

    October 28, 2011 at 8:48 am

    @Woodrowfan: Sometimes I get that vibe. I’m not going to hold my fire though, if one of them says something stupid/racist.

  113. 113.

    Paul in KY

    October 28, 2011 at 8:51 am

    @Martin: Wish I’d been there to see that. Get down, Martin!

  114. 114.

    Paul in KY

    October 28, 2011 at 8:53 am

    @Linda Featheringill: You gotta do what you gotta do ;-)

    No offense taken.

  115. 115.

    Paul in KY

    October 28, 2011 at 8:55 am

    @Ivan Ivanovich Renko: I thought you were Russian!

  116. 116.

    kay

    October 28, 2011 at 9:25 am

    @The Raven:

    You oversimplify with words like “betrayal”. These issues are complicated. The health care law is a good example.

    While more people in California than anywhere else in the country support the nation’s new health care reform law, that’s largely the result of an overwhelming endorsement from ethnic minorities, according to results released today by the non-partisan The Field Poll. In March, after months and months of wrangling on Capitol Hill, President Obama signed the landmark Health Care Act of 2010 that expands subsidized health care to millions of uninsured Americans and requires all legal residents to have health insurance or pay a fine. A number of state attorneys general — all Republicans — are challenging the law, saying the mandate is unconstitutional. Many of those polled say Obama’s health care bill should only be a first step with more changes needed. This view is strongest among Latinos, blacks, Korean Americans and Chinese Americans.
    Statewide, 52 percent of California voters generally support the new law and 30 percent strongly support it. While non-Hispanics whites in the state are evenly split about the new law, majorities of voters across five of the state’s other major ethnic populations are in favor of it. Among California voters, the new law is supported by 59 percent of Latinos, 72 percent of African Americans, 59 percent of Chinese Americans, 63 percent of Korean Americans. Even Vietnamese Americans, who vote heavily Republican, give the law 68 percent support.

    Did you know that at the height of support for health care reform, 2008-2010-only 38% of white voters supported any reform at all?

    The Greenlining Institute, a multiethnic public policy, advocacy and leadership institute, conducted a report to explore whether race is a factor in the health care backlash. Although data from the 2008-2010 American National Election Survey found that 44.3% were in favor of health care while 35.8% did not, the report states that “there was a substantial racial component to support the measure.” There were only 38.4% of whites that supported health care, while 78.6% of blacks, 52.6% of Latinos and 43.6% of people from other racial backgrounds all supported it.

    I think this doesn’t get reported because it makes people really uncomfortable. If it did get reported we’d have to admit there’s a huge disparity in access to any health care at all. If it did get reported we’d have to talk about how college educated white people are (generally) satisfied with the health care system, because, you know, they’re IN IT, getting care.

  117. 117.

    kay

    October 28, 2011 at 9:49 am

    @The Raven:

    Even Vietnamese Americans, who vote heavily Republican, give the law 68 percent support.

    So. Rather than looking with interest at that and wondering, “wow, what the hell is that all about, I wonder why that might be, I wonder what’s different about their experience compared to mine?” the response is going to be “they’re just like ‘white working class people’ who supported Ronald Reagan”?

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