I dunno whether April Reign of Ebony is raising a warning flag here, or just spitting into the wind.
Some potential Black Democratic voters have indicated that, while they will support Hillary Clinton should she become the eventual nominee in 2016, it will not be with the same fervor as they did for President Obama, in part because of a sense of bad blood experienced during the 2008 campaign. Indeed, many Blacks are saying that Hillary Clinton is not their first choice to receive the Democratic nomination in 2016 and that they will be anxiously waiting to see whom else enters the race. These sentiments must not go unchecked by Hillary for America because Black voters, while not a monolith, are a large constituency that must be courted by Democrats to win the presidency. There is a sense of entitlement that Hillary Clinton has not earned within the Black community, allowing her supporters to mistakenly take Black votes for granted. Hillary Clinton will have to earn our support and our votes just as any other candidate does.
I mean, how would Ms. Reign respond if Hillary Clinton just shrugged and said What are you going to do? Vote Republican? – Which is likely to be the Democrats’ default rejoinder. Not only are Black voters expected – to the point of almost being required – to duplicate their 2008/2012 turnout and voting percentages; Black voters will be blamed by the Democratic party when the Republican candidate wins. True, it’ll be in that special passive-aggressive way that certain white progressives like to default to*, so we’ll all be ready to bear up under the strain – but expect a lot of guilt-tripping attempts in 2017.
Which I won’t care about, but maybe Black voters should.
Via @TheRickWilson.
Moe Lane (crosspost)
*Look, o Democratic lurker. You don’t have to admit out loud that that the way that some white progressives whine drives you up the wall, too. I get that it’s awkward for you to admit that in public. It’s all right: you can just quietly nod to yourself in agreement. Feels good, doesn’t it?
I get to do that all the time. Just saying, that’s all.
The ballot is still secret so .. if you want to vote for a candidate *other than* Hillary .. no, not the GOP nom, but maybe vote for someone else .. that’s cool… and hard to trace.
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Mew
I was a meeting with a civil rights activist from days of MLK, and he defended the black vote as being monolithic, because as he said it–black America does not have a lot of money, but they have power in numbers. Basically I got the impression that he felt they had to vote as a group to maintain their power. I am not going to comment on how much power that really is and who benefits from that power. IT was just surprising that this many years later this is something that some black leaders really believe they must have.
Then they have committed the same error that the unions have done. They have tied themselves to one political party as everything about them changes.
The Republicans should make note of this; their own factions may be tempted elsewhere as conditions change. Actually, any faction within a ‘big tent’ party should – if that faction wants to be respected – always make it clear that they are willing to consider other options. And, of course, any party leadership should never take a faction’s loyalty for granted.*
*Provide the tasty treats and the belly-rubs; those are needed and go far to making everyone happy.
The GOP appeals to conservative voters by simply telling them that democrats are worse. What are you going to do . . . Vote democrat?”. There are some GOP people that I will not vote for, but where I live the districts are drawn to have high GOP turnout. My vote isn’t important. I won’t vote democrat, but I am voting in every primary and I’ll vote 3rd party if there is a good candidate. Yes there may be races where I hold my nose, but that is no longer my default setting.
Ah, the GOP doesn’t appeal to conservative voters, they listen and provide what the conservatives want. They just get no credit for it. “Gun Rights”? Twenty years of rolling back gun control. “Right to Life”? Decades fighting for it,while the Democrats fight for Infanticide. “Budget control”? Any complaints on that side should have gone out the window when Obama increased the Deficit Ten-Fold, and we didn’t implode. Alas, the “Real Conservatives(TM)” seem to glory in dancing on the other side of that equation. Instead of being “Too Loyal”, they aren’t loyal at all (witness the half dozen or so “Third Parties” the “Real Conservatives(TM)” have spun off….). So it goes……
Look at the simple issue of Ex-Im bank. It is classic crony capitalism, picking winners and losers. The GOP can sit back and let the bank expire and will have made a small, but meaningful move for smaller govt. But they (GOP) is pushing to reauthorize it including my representative , who has previously spoken against it. Elizabeth Warren also supports ExIm bank.