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POPSHas sexism doomed Clinton? People are right to decry boorish anti-Clinton comments, offensive jokes, and the bilge, bile, and billings-gate of the talk-radio blowhards, as well as occasional over-the-top utterances from cable commentators. But let's not mistake the Bruegelian sideshow for the political mainstream. Even allowing for all that stupidity, the notion that sexism is primarily to blame for Clinton's woes doesn't pass logical muster.
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POPSTell the truth about race in America "to talk today requires a different and perhaps deeper courage when confronted with so many mirages of equality. It is tempting to be confused by these oases of opportunity and forget the desert of inequality through which most people are still struggling." "The demand for justice is divisive and culturally closed: it divides those who seek justice from the unjust. It rejects a culture that promotes individual or corporate profit at any cost." "Too many people want to take the short cut. They want African-Americans to reconcile themselves to a government, which does not represent them, actively disenfranchises them, destroys their homes (and whole cities if need be), imprisons their children and ships the rest off to war, and never ask why or who is responsible. This is the reconciliation „on the cheap“ -- cheap for white and corporate America that is." - Brother Bede Vincent
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POPSGingrich warns Republicans of "catastrophic election" Time for a fresh start. May I suggest these sure-fire strategies: TAX CUTS! Blame BIG GUBMINT. Pitch TRICKLE DOWN. How 'bout that WAR ON TARA? How 'bout WE WON'T DO ANYTHING ON HEALTHCARE? Or WE WON'T TALK ABOUT RACE. If those don't bring us to our senses, bring out the deep stuff: WRIGHT! ELITIST! SOCIALIZED MEDICINE! LIBBRUL! Oh my, he's right. All the milk's gone sour.
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POPSArt of the Whopper #2 - Clinton: "Rich people, God bless us ..." [20 sec.] Spokesman Wolfson insists she said "God blessed us." Not a chance. Actual text: "You know what, rich people, God bless us, we deserve all the opportunities to make sure our country and our blessings continue to the next generation." A-men! That's why we have government - to protect God's blessed rich folks from predatory minimum-wage earners.
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POPSIt wasn't Affirmative Action that bumped your kid's college acceptance Yet another way the rich stick it to us while we blame the poor: Twice as many as assisted nonwhite admissions are rich white kids with connections. Only 40% of financial aid goes to students with financial need. ... many get into exclusive colleges the same way people get into trendy night clubs, by knowing the management or flashing cash at the person manning the velvet rope
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POPSWhy primary "popular vote" number robs millions who voted "Concrete example: Minnesota gets credit for 214K votes, and Missouri gets 822K votes, but they each get 72 delegates. Is Missouri's voice 4 times more important than Minnesota's? When the Clintons and their surrogates ... argue for the popular vote, they appear at first glance to be making a simple, moral, populist argument, that all votes are equal. Right? That's the implication, and why it rolls off their tongues so easily. But where is the inherent morality in open versus closed primaries that arbitrarily limit turnout and whether Republicans and independents get to pick the Democratic nominee in some states but not others?"
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POPSHistory to remember: The Orangeburg Massacre Murder by the S. Carolina State Patrol of Samuel Hammond, Delano Middleton and Henry Smith, martyrs in the battle for desegregation. The incident received little coverage, compared to Kent State. The only person jailed was one of the black demonstrators; all the troopers were acquitted.
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POPSBill Clinton, '91: Blasts Bush for scaring poor whites How the tables are turned! Blasted Bush for "scaring the daylights out of" "economically insecure white people" "when the country's coming apart rather than coming together"; they "keep us looking at each other across a racial divide". So that's where he learned it!
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POPSRacially blind or racially just? Is the anger of whites and blacks really comparable? Read this in a comment on a post critical of the Obama race speech, and have heard no one say it better.
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POPSRace Chasm: Where race matters in politics Click to see the whole graph! Excellent demographic analysis traces Obama wins in states that are mostly white and states that are mostly black. But in the middle - the "race chasm" are the states that are 6 to 17% black, with a long history of racial tension, but not enough black votes to overcome subtle campaigning aimed at racial fear and anger (eg, Ferraro's tweaking of the affirmative action animus, Bill's likening to Jesse Jackson, Hillary's spotlight on Jeremiah Wright. The "firewall" ? Attempting to build on anti-black resentment in states that have histories of racial tension but not enough black votes to overcome it. You don't have to look far to see how effective these strategies have been at raising the fear and anger of working-class white people. Read the whole piece for many more details, and click to see the entire graph.
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POPSBlind to self-evident racism Clinton and McCain should have joined Obama in calling America to racial reconciliation, rather than "savoring political advantage"
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