White men can vote. And there are a lot of them, even if they can’t dance
- added July 6, 2008
- 51 responses
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- bishopobispo
- added this
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According to the polls, Mr Obama beats Mr McCain in nearly every group except white men. Unfortunately for Mr Obama, there are a lot of white men. In 2004 they were roughly 36% of the electorate, and they preferred George Bush to John Kerry by about 25 points. This year, Mr McCain leads Mr Obama by about 20 points among them.
Democrats have various theories about why white men do not like them. One is that the problem is only with southerners, who abandoned the Democrats in the 1960s because President Lyndon Johnson signed laws demanding equal rights for blacks. Clearly, there is some truth to this. But it is not the whole story. For one thing, the Democrats lost many non-southern white men, too. Between the presidential elections of 1960 and 2004, their share of the southern white male vote shrank by 17 points, but among non-southern whites it still shrank by 12 points. And racial attitudes have changed dramatically since the 1960s, especially among the young. There must be something besides bigotry making white men spurn the Democrats.
Thomas Frank, the author of “What’s the Matter with Kansas?”, thinks the white working class has been hoodwinked. It is in their economic interest to vote Democratic, but they don’t because those crafty Republicans have got them all worked up about silly moral and cultural issues such as abortion, guns and gay marriage.
Both theories are popular among Democrats, not least because they imply that Democrats have done nothing wrong; it is just that poor white trash are too bigoted or stupid to support them. But Democrats will not get very far by blaming the voter. David Paul Kuhn, author of “The Neglected Voter: White Men and the Democratic Dilemma” points out that moral issues cannot easily be separated from economic ones. Poor people fret more about family breakdown because they see more of it than rich people do and its consequences, for them, are worse.
In a time of economic insecurity, it is rational for people to turn to things they can rely on, such as faith and patriotism, and unwise for Democrats to scorn them for it. That is why Mr Obama’s comment that people in small towns “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them” because they are “bitter” will be the keystone of Republican attacks, predicts Mr Kuhn.
Democrats have various theories about why white men do not like them. One is that the problem is only with southerners, who abandoned the Democrats in the 1960s because President Lyndon Johnson signed laws demanding equal rights for blacks. Clearly, there is some truth to this. But it is not the whole story. For one thing, the Democrats lost many non-southern white men, too. Between the presidential elections of 1960 and 2004, their share of the southern white male vote shrank by 17 points, but among non-southern whites it still shrank by 12 points. And racial attitudes have changed dramatically since the 1960s, especially among the young. There must be something besides bigotry making white men spurn the Democrats.
Thomas Frank, the author of “What’s the Matter with Kansas?”, thinks the white working class has been hoodwinked. It is in their economic interest to vote Democratic, but they don’t because those crafty Republicans have got them all worked up about silly moral and cultural issues such as abortion, guns and gay marriage.
Both theories are popular among Democrats, not least because they imply that Democrats have done nothing wrong; it is just that poor white trash are too bigoted or stupid to support them. But Democrats will not get very far by blaming the voter. David Paul Kuhn, author of “The Neglected Voter: White Men and the Democratic Dilemma” points out that moral issues cannot easily be separated from economic ones. Poor people fret more about family breakdown because they see more of it than rich people do and its consequences, for them, are worse.
In a time of economic insecurity, it is rational for people to turn to things they can rely on, such as faith and patriotism, and unwise for Democrats to scorn them for it. That is why Mr Obama’s comment that people in small towns “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them” because they are “bitter” will be the keystone of Republican attacks, predicts Mr Kuhn.
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- bishopobispo
- 1 month ago
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Cause if we learned anything from Ellen Degeneres, it is that Obama can dance.
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- bishopobispo
- 1 month ago
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I still remember seeing a viral video on current from 2007. The producer was interviewing blue collar whites in the midwest and asking them what they knew about obama. most only knew him as "the muslim" candidate.
yea...don't tell me it isn't because they're stupid and being hoodwinked. they voted for bush twice didn't they?
"In a time of economic insecurity, it is rational for people to turn to things they can rely on, such as faith and patriotism"
how in the hell do you rely on patriotism. do you mean obedience to current authority?
"give me liberty or give me death" that's patriotism, not the fear-mongering swill they currently label as being patriotic -
I'll tell you the reason. Because Democrats, more and more every election, pander to every imaginable minority group possible, African Americans, Hispanics, women, gays, Jewish Americans, Asian Americans, native Americans, the disabled, seniors, young adults, etc., etc., etc., and on and on and on, and nobody ever thinks, hey, you know white males are a huge fucking voting block, it would be good if we could get them in our corner. It's not cool to pander to white male votes, nobody wants to be seen as courting to us, it's not hip, it's not in style. Well, you know what, there is a reason all those other groups are known as "minority" votes, because there are still more of us than there are of you. If you're not going to ask me to vote for you, guess what, I'm probably not going to vote for you. It's not rocket science.
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JohnA really hits the nail on the head with his comments. The democratic party for whatever reason has positioned themselves as the anti-white male party. They have adopted what the hip media did about 15 years ago. Every commercial, every sitcom today, it seems pokes fun at the middle aged white guy. He's usually overweight, watching TV, drinking a beer and has a very low IQ. The women and minorities are portrayed as thin, smart, and attractive. The democrats have decided to pander to this same stupid profiling when it comes to recent elections.
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The democrats are the feminine party.The republicans are the masculine party
That is a s simple as that.
Beside during the 2 weeks after 911, fathers have been ridiculed on TV during the last 40 years of feminism.
Men cannot be manipulated just by emotions without reasons
Both B. Clinton and B. Obama did not have a real father to raise them. They have something missing but do not know it. -
These "White-Male-American" voters scare me!
Sometimes I ------ Oh no! I just found a mirror! -
soleil, response to "Men cannot be manipulated just by emotions without reasons", reason not based on fact is no more reliable than emotions. the great greek philosophers reasoned that the planet was flat (and, well, all kinds of craziness, it's kind of neat what they came up with). it wasn't until they used science that they concluded that the earth was a sphere (which it isn't but you see where I'm going). the problem is ... american's are by and large stupid.
great article from motherjones I just found so I had to do a second post
http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/tomdispatch/citiz... -
What I meant is that some people go just by their feelings
without thinking.
To bring Galileo into this and make a statment that Americans are stupid....wow what a stretch.
You do have a problem to stay on the subject being discussed.and go into those meaningless generalizations -
I will rip the American Visa out of my passport if Voters go for McCain.
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White men aren't stupid. I can't find any that plan to vote McCain.
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- Marilynn_Murray
- 1 month ago
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Have we completely forgotten recent history? Pandering to a particular crowd is how Bush won twice. His 'called by god' sensibilities is one of the main points that made him such a lightning rod for wide spread evangelical support, particularly in the mid-west. True, it could be argued that the Democrats do court minorities, but it could also be argued that it is a response to the campaign strategies that we have seen tried and work before, which happen to be, you guessed it, a white majority. To propose that white people, males in-particular, are not being courted specifically is fallacy. Recent history has shown us this truth.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2921345.stm -
Amen Petarro, Marilynn M, and especially AreOh. I posted the link to shine some light on what the article said was the 'poor white trash are too bigoted or stupid to support [democrats]'. Thus far, looks like this article's comment section has been a lighting rod for that type.
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this presidential election will be the one which truly challenges whether democrats can turn contention with the republicans into a new majority. white men will undoubtedly prove to be forerunners at the polls come november, ultimately having a critical influence on deciding who becomes our next president.
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- orangeseverywhere
- 1 month ago
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I think it has a lot more to do with social class and level of education than gender and color-of-skin. Those who are less educated and less aware about the world outside their neighborhoods are more likely to vote for McCain-aka-Bush's-Failed-Policies,Con't.
We must reach out to voters who get all their information from Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly. Gently and respectfully, we can encourage them to take a look around at the state of the country, and world. Get them to question their choice for candidate.
White males or not. -
In my opinion, stuff like this is the culmination of total bullshit campaign practices that have been going on since Clinton was first elected.
They treat voters like consumers, like we're people that need to be appeased and pleased. They run focus groups and try to get inside our heads to figure out what we want.
Screw this pandering shit, candidates are supposed to be LEADERS. If the "white male" population is full of shit, YOU DON'T PANDER TO THEM. The reason our leadership has been so terrible and our discourse so useless in the past 20 years is because leaders aren't trying to be leaders. -
I just want to say I'm not mad and I don't feel "oppressed". As I said a half a dozen times, I think it's funny. I don't know who white men will vote for, but I do know one thing, whoever they do vote for is going to be President. But you can't say that. You can say who black men or white women will vote for. But Wolf Blitzer can't say that, Chris Matthews can't say it, Jim Webb can't say it. And it's hilarious to see them skip around it. Because anyone who does happen to infer that may be the case, like a Joe Scarborogh or a Pat Buchanan, well they are racists and bigots and bad people, when we all know it's the truth. That's the way the social discourse in this country has become, political correctness run wild.
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bishop dont forget we cant jump either , I seen the quote"silly moral issues about guns and arbortion" i skipped gay marriage b/c if two homosexuals want to get married it isnt my business.But guns , abortion , illegal immigration and higher taxes.Mr. Frank is wrong and i see that we may never vote democrat again if you guys think abortion and guns are silly issues
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Mr Kurn hit the nail on the head , once obama said that phrase he lost any chance of getting the poor white trash vote.
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Two party politics diminishes the ability of the government to change and progress in tow with the people. Americans are not necessarily uneducated or stupid. I believe that is a fabricated talking point to undermine this democratic process by invoking the ego. When you openly demonize a person for not agreeing with you the chance for a healthy debate is lost.
In this day and age politics is rapidly going stale. Political debates are about as stupid and irrelevant as those “dumb white hicks” who always vote Republican. This is because Republicans and Democrats support one another in the house and senate by suppressing radical or progressive thinking. Politicians do not live by the same guidelines as normal people; they play it safe and pander to their base.
The media also works in junction with the Rep’s and Dem’s. They turn campaigns into sound bites, disinformation, idealistic rhetoric, photo ops, speculation or just plain bullshit. They’re basically a buffer between the two candidates and as a result a truthful, meaningful and undiluted or unbiased discussion is diminished to almost nothingness.
Saladin hit the nail on the head. In this country politics operates just like the major music industry. That’s why progressive ideas always come from the third party (or indie scene) and eventually migrate to the big two. Yet you will NEVER hear a big time Democrat or Republican acknowledge the truth because that would undermine the divine status we pay to them.
Its just like that south park episode where the town was split between those who were a little bit country and those who were a little bit rock and roll. The truth of the matter is that each genre is a fragment of the blues and the only people who don’t like the blues are Fing communists. -
My whole point on this thread has been validated when Ricky84 uses the following line in her post....
"Political debates are about as stupid and irrelevant as those “dumb white hicks” who always vote Republican."
OK...
As a white man could I ever use the words "dumb black N-words " and get away with it. Of course not.
But of course Ricky84 is not racist she's just intelligent. Race is this country is one big double standard -
Ha, whoa. Curly hair is only reserved for the lady folk? hahaha! As with JohnA, you just sound like your whining, Dabne. There is no proof or logical reasoning behind what you are saying. I will agree there is a double standard, but the data shows unequivocally that white males, by far, benefit from it. I would suggest you read a few articles by Tim Wise to get some perspective. Your perception that minorities are receiving some type of special treatment only exists in your mind.
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Actually, I agree with the double standard dabne brought up. If we're suppose to progress in racial equality, we can't let our discourse make certain terms taboos and not others.
Obviously, the plight of white people is not equal to the plight of black people or other races, but that doesn't mean that it's acceptable to hear other slurs and not react in a similar manner. Now clearly the issue isn't as simple as that, but logically, it is the correct thing to do.
The real enemy is prejudice here, and making prejudices about the south and treating them as acceptable is logically the same as doing it with blacks.
However
While you may feel victimized dabne, understand that even though it is a double standard, you DO possess many (MANY) advantages for being white and you must tolerate some bullshit on that front for the sake of having a racial dialogue. If the most important thing to you is making sure that racially disadvantaged people are not prejudiced themselves (and we all are, ALL of us) then you're kind of missing the point. That is an important part of racial discourse, but it's more important to work for equal social status. I find that people who get caught up in the broken discourse between races (double standards etc.) frequently tend to ignore that basic fact. Not that you aren't right to bring it up, but don't forget what this whole thing is really about.
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