Is This the New Clinton Political Base?

Curator · 05-12-2008, 06:35 AM

I read an article on why Obama is about to be trounced in Kentucky and West Virginia. Hillary Clinton could win West Virginia by about 40 points. Polls in Kentucky point to a Clinton victory in the 35-point range.

Why is Obama going to get his hat handed to him in these two states?

Many allude to the “obvious” reasons, but don't want to come right out and say them.

The LA Times tries to explain why Obama is struggling.

Quote:

“My worry is there’s just too many people in this country who aren’t ready to elect a black president,” said Charles L. Silliman, a retired Air Force officer who is Hardy County’s Democratic Party co-chairman. “There’s a lot to like about him. But I’m just afraid that too many people will vote against him based on their fears and prejudice.”

Silliman and his wife, Carmen, are Clinton supporters, drawn by her healthcare plan and her endurance on the campaign trail. Still, the couple repeatedly have found themselves defending Obama, correcting acquaintances who relay baseless rumors about his name and religion.

Carmen Silliman has collected a sheaf of poisonous e-mails that have flowed into her in-box. “We do not need a Muslim to lead the good ole USA,” reads one. Obama is, in fact, a Christian.

Neil Gillies, an Obama supporter who runs a local environmental nonprofit group, glumly recounted the gibes that his wife, a schoolteacher, hears regularly from her students. “They’re convinced [Obama] is a Muslim, a terrorist, a guy who’s coming to take away their guns,” Gillies said. “It’s just sad.”

A local farmer lays out the bigotry for all to see.

Quote:

"I've got 50-some guns, and I wasn't crazy about Obama's talk about small towns," said Sam Vetter, 64, a farmer and lifelong Democrat who regrets voting for Bush in 2000. "Besides," he added, "Obama just doesn't sound right for an American president." Vetter is the president of the West Virginia Coon Hunters Assn, and added that he would not vote for Obama “because of, you know, who he is.”

George Packer from The New Yorker continues this line of reasoning.

Quote:

J. K. Patrick, a retired Kentucky state employee from a neighboring county, wore a button on his shirt that said “Hillary: Smart Choice.”

“East of Lexington she’ll carry seventy per cent of the primary vote,” he said. Kentucky votes on May 20. “She could win the general election in Kentucky.” I asked about Obama. “Obama couldn’t win.”

Why not?

“Race,” Patrick said matter-of-factly. “I’ve talked to people—a woman who was chair of county elections last year, she said she wouldn’t vote for a black man.” Patrick said he wouldn’t vote for Obama either.

Why not?

“Race. I really don’t want an African-American as President. Race.”

What about race?

“I thought about it. I think he would put too many minorities in positions over the white race. That’s my opinion. After 1964, you saw what the South did.” He meant that it went Republican. “Now what caused that? Race. There’s a lot of white people that just wouldn’t vote for a colored person. Especially older people. They know what happened in the sixties.

Funny, for the people of Kentucky and West Virginia who don’t like being labled inbred, ignorant racist bigots, appalachia folk sure like to talk and act that way. We do not need to pander to the most ignorant, racist people in America. If Shillary ran a respectful campaign that didn’t play on race, perhaps more in these states wouldn’t worry about the color of Obama’s skin.

Jonesy · 05-12-2008, 06:54 AM

It is true (declares the Truth Lion). White racist Americans want to retain their racial privileges at the expense of all other Americans (possibly all other people). It is the tragic result of slavery. One thing leads to another: slavery to racism, racism to false notions of racial superiority. While part of the country is trying to cure this mental disease, others are trying to spread it and exploit it.

Mithrall · 05-12-2008, 07:03 AM

There is talk about Hillary Clinton wanting to go out on a "high note" and is going to withdraw after the Kentucky and West Virginia primaries.(She is expected to win by huge margins in those two states) Guess they are chock full of Hard Working Americans, you know, white. Seriously, is this how Hillary wants to go out or is she just going to somehow try to turn these wins into proof to the superdelegates that Obama can't win?

Jonesy · 05-12-2008, 07:27 AM

Everyone gets screwed by racism, they just don't know it. Imagine a business hiring the worst workers possible, only because all the other workers aren't white.

HarperLee · 05-12-2008, 07:48 AM

Back as late as January, all I really had against Hillary Clinton were
her October 2002 Iraqi war vote, my sense that she is no way
a feminist, and the fact that I found her to be unauthentic,
phony, annoying. I bought the hype that she was the presumptive
nominee. I bought the hype that she was brilliant -- until I
listened to her in the early debates.

What I think is fascinating about this primary is the fact that we
will never know if Hillary might not have won the nomination had
she and her husband not so blatantly played the race card.

When I see this Wellesley/Yale educated woman boast that non-
college voters and hard working white Americans are her
base, I feel like I am in some alternative reality. In my long
lifetime the only national politicians who have embraced such
mantras are the likes of David Duke and George Wallace and
Lester Maddox.

Quoting Curator: "We do not need to pander to the most ignorant, racist people in America." Indeed!

itsmeeeeeee · 05-12-2008, 07:57 AM

a poll today from real clear politics says it all:

Kentucky: McCain vs. Clinton Research 2000 McCain 53, Clinton 41, Und. 6 McCain +12.0

anyone who tries to tell you that dems would have a snow ball's chance at winning kentucky with hillary is insane. period. no, exclamation point!

obama could be the second coming of jesus christ and people in certain pockets of the country wouldn't vote for him. it's that simple. but what's also true is those pockets won't vote for hillary either in the GE. a lot of states are like that - and naturally, hillary, who's playing the race card, is going to do better in these throw back states.

the fact that the MSM likes to pretend that her lead these states makes ANY difference in the nomination of a candidate is pathetic and completely discounts the majority of the country.

so, do we want to keep catering to the racist pockets of this country? do we want to allow them to continue their back woods ways holding the country down?

the post-racial majority clearly wants obama,
he's won the nomination by EVERY conceivable marker.

itsmeeeeeee · 05-12-2008, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarperLee

Back as late as January, all I really had against Hillary Clinton were
her October 2002 Iraqi war vote, my sense that she is no way
a feminist, and the fact that I found her to be unauthentic,
phony, annoying. I bought the hype that she was the presumptive
nominee. I bought the hype that she was brilliant -- until I
listened to her in the early debates.

What I think is fascinating about this primary is the fact that we
will never know if Hillary might not have won the nomination had
she and her husband not so blatantly played the race card.

When I see this Wellesley/Yale educated woman boast that non-
college voters and hard working white Americans are her
base, I feel like I am in some alternative reality. In my long
lifetime the only national politicians who have embraced such
mantras are the likes of David Duke and George Wallace and
Lester Maddox.

Quoting Curator: "We do not need to pander to the most ignorant, racist people in America." Indeed!

you didn't mind her corporate connections?

i'd give the same list, but add those.

itsmeeeeeee · 05-12-2008, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mithrall

There is talk about Hillary Clinton wanting to go out on a "high note" and is going to withdraw after the Kentucky and West Virginia primaries.(She is expected to win by huge margins in those two states) Guess they are chock full of Hard Working Americans, you know, white. Seriously, is this how Hillary wants to go out or is she just going to somehow try to turn these wins into proof to the superdelegates that Obama can't win?

going out on a high note by going as low as low gets.
nothing to brag about in my book.

Jonesy · 05-12-2008, 08:01 AM

Need proof racism is bullshit? Look at George Bush. Look at your golden retriever who has chronic diseases, or his/her siblings half of whom died within the first year.

Need proof mixing is da bomb? Look at Tiger Woods. Look at your mutt who is healthier than a whorze, or his/her siblings who are as strong as an ox mixed with a rhinoceros.

An A worker is an A worker. Only a fool would hire F over A.

ibex · 05-12-2008, 08:06 AM

I expect the race baiting to come from the political right where Obama is concerned. After all, the GOP is the party that gave us the Willie Horton ad twenty years ago. I find this type of shit coming from the Clinton camp especially galling and hypocritical, given Bill's image and popularity in the Black community. While Hillary was the presumptive nominee in 2007 and much earlier this year, I was prepared to hold my nose and vote for her as the lesser of two evils. Now that she's shown her true colors, I can't. If Hillary wins the nomination through some Machiavellian scheme, I will not vote at all. The thought of more Clinton psychodrama at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was not a concept that I relished to begin with. I spent the better part of the 1990s defending the Clintons against their detractors among my friends and relatives. No more.

05-12-2008, 07:03 AM	#3 (permalink)
Mithrall Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 490 Thanks: 57 Thanked 84 Times in 47 Posts	There is talk about Hillary Clinton wanting to go out on a "high note" and is going to withdraw after the Kentucky and West Virginia primaries.(She is expected to win by huge margins in those two states) Guess they are chock full of Hard Working Americans, you know, white. Seriously, is this how Hillary wants to go out or is she just going to somehow try to turn these wins into proof to the superdelegates that Obama can't win?
	Top

05-12-2008, 07:48 AM	#5 (permalink)
HarperLee Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3,182 Thanks: 834 Thanked 271 Times in 170 Posts	Back as late as January, all I really had against Hillary Clinton were her October 2002 Iraqi war vote, my sense that she is no way a feminist, and the fact that I found her to be unauthentic, phony, annoying. I bought the hype that she was the presumptive nominee. I bought the hype that she was brilliant -- until I listened to her in the early debates. What I think is fascinating about this primary is the fact that we will never know if Hillary might not have won the nomination had she and her husband not so blatantly played the race card. When I see this Wellesley/Yale educated woman boast that non- college voters and hard working white Americans are her base, I feel like I am in some alternative reality. In my long lifetime the only national politicians who have embraced such mantras are the likes of David Duke and George Wallace and Lester Maddox. Quoting Curator: "We do not need to pander to the most ignorant, racist people in America." Indeed! __________________ When an intelligent, truthful man appears, he will be easily identified by the confederacy of dunces arrayed against him. Jonathan Swift
	Top

05-12-2008, 07:57 AM	#6 (permalink)
itsmeeeeeee punk nun Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: 53 miles west of venus Posts: 3,353 My Mood: Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 174 Thanked 610 Times in 360 Posts	a poll today from real clear politics says it all: Kentucky: McCain vs. Clinton Research 2000 McCain 53, Clinton 41, Und. 6 McCain +12.0 anyone who tries to tell you that dems would have a snow ball's chance at winning kentucky with hillary is insane. period. no, exclamation point! obama could be the second coming of jesus christ and people in certain pockets of the country wouldn't vote for him. it's that simple. but what's also true is those pockets won't vote for hillary either in the GE. a lot of states are like that - and naturally, hillary, who's playing the race card, is going to do better in these throw back states. the fact that the MSM likes to pretend that her lead these states makes ANY difference in the nomination of a candidate is pathetic and completely discounts the majority of the country. so, do we want to keep catering to the racist pockets of this country? do we want to allow them to continue their back woods ways holding the country down? the post-racial majority clearly wants obama, he's won the nomination by EVERY conceivable marker. __________________ "NEVER underestimate the Democrat's ability to snatch DEFEAT from the jaws of victory."
	Top

05-12-2008, 08:06 AM	#10 (permalink)
ibex Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,260 My Mood: Thanks: 68 Thanked 96 Times in 60 Posts	I expect the race baiting to come from the political right where Obama is concerned. After all, the GOP is the party that gave us the Willie Horton ad twenty years ago. I find this type of shit coming from the Clinton camp especially galling and hypocritical, given Bill's image and popularity in the Black community. While Hillary was the presumptive nominee in 2007 and much earlier this year, I was prepared to hold my nose and vote for her as the lesser of two evils. Now that she's shown her true colors, I can't. If Hillary wins the nomination through some Machiavellian scheme, I will not vote at all. The thought of more Clinton psychodrama at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was not a concept that I relished to begin with. I spent the better part of the 1990s defending the Clintons against their detractors among my friends and relatives. No more.
	Top

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