Democrats, it’s time to have a heart to heart. Some underlying tensions are beginning to bubble up to the surface. Naw, i’m not talking about beef just between moderates and progressives. The beef between People of color in our party and The progressive left need to be addressed.
We’re a team…. We feed off each other.
I’m keeping it 100…. Without the help of Caucasians with good morals and hearts, Blacks will still be rowing back to the motherland right now. We saw all the hate and fear Trump used to ride into to the wh this year. If white people didn’t help African Americans and Hispanics, we couldn’t be a thriving part of this republic.
The future Mrs. Clinton, then a 24-year-old law student, was working for Marian Wright Edelman, the civil rights activist and prominent advocate for children. Mrs. Edelman had sent her to Alabama to help prove that the Nixon administration was not enforcing the legal ban on granting tax-exempt status to so-called segregation academies, the estimated 200 private academies that sprang up in the South to cater to white families after a 1969 Supreme Court decision forced public schools to integrate.
Her mission was simple: Establish whether the Dothan school was discriminating based on race.www.dailykos.com/… Outstanding diary by CassandraX!
The next couple of decades would bring the same kind of cooperation between the progressive left African Americans. Jesse Jackson softened that glass ceiling up for barack with runs in 84 and 88… The progressive left embraced him….. African Americans noticed.
POC economic situation improved substantially over the next 8 years.
I challenge anyone to find a better eight year economic stretch for African Americans in the last 40 plus years than 93-01… gonna be hard. Here's some of the numbers:
- African American Unemployment dropped from 14percent in 1993 to 7.0 flat by apr 2000
- Our incomes rose by 583 bucks a month on average
- A.a. median incomes neared the 40 k mark by the end of Clinton’s run
- Folks who could never own a home were buying them for the first time.
- Hispanics had the same success as well in those eight years
- A minority group that eluded Democrats, Asian Americans Crossed over and voted Dem in the 2000 election.
Not everything we wanted as dems were accomplished…. universal healthcare never made it out of committee and more centrist/conservative policies such as welfare reform were shunned by the left. African Americans ALWAYS preferred work to welfare, hated the Reagan Welfare queen slur and even I couldn’t believe that December 94 ended a 20 year streak of Black unemployment above 10 percent. 1998 brought another milestone: That year became the first in a quarter century where A.A. unemployment failed to reach double figures in a calendar year (2001 would be the next time bls had a.a. above 10) That’s progress… which was lost by the start of Barack’s first term. The 2000 election was one of the first signs of strain between the coalitions… African Americans turned out for Al as only he, Lbj and Obama are the Only democrats to break 90 with our race. However….
by December 2007, the country was in a recession (had no idea what it was in store a year later) And African Americans are usually the one to suffer first. After Reagan got our unemployment down to 11.8 in 88, papa bush had it back up to 14. 8.2 In January 2001 spiraled to 12.7 by January 2009…. as usual, we were playing the two steps forward three steps back game. There was hope on the Horizion, and on January 3rd 2008, An upstart Junior Senator from illinois shocked the political world.
People of color always knew we had clout politically… 2008 African-Americans WILL Drove Barack Obama to the nomination
Barack and Hillary battled and clashed and going into South Carolina Hillary had the win edge 2-1 But Obama had the pledged delegate edge and S.C. was critical. Obama overtook Clinton in the polling there by December 07 as South Carolinian Blacks were Fired up and ready to go! for Barack. Talks of Fairy tales, and and unrealistic Obama were already floating around. Obama….Crushed in south Carolina, and bubba went bunkers.
black folks heard that as “Jesse Jackson won south Carolina twice…. SO WHAT?”
Hillary lost nine out of ten black voters the rest of the way from that point on . She went from 20 up with a.a. to eighty down by June 2008.. Why? blacks felt betrayed.
Hispanics like african Americans liked the Clintons alot and were extremely loyal. when the mad dash to Barack happened, Hispanics stayed put. Barack end up losing hispanics by 26, whites by 16 and the nomination? 82-15…… African Americans imposed our will…. we wanted it so bad we could taste it… And to send a message to allies who were in unfamiliar territory: Fighting like hell for our vote. Knowing what we did, along with progressive whites, We Were past due to take the lead In a party the most diverse ever in a country the most diverse we’ve ever seen.
2016 beef started in 2010
Barack Obama faced opposition from minute one. with Kennedy falling ill, he no longer had the filibuster proof senate and had to compromise on the affordable care act. The change promised were slow to come and as the economy turned the corner the top got the gains, college kids drowned in student debt the GOP labeled him a communist, and November was alot like 94 as the country made a dem president pay for his ambitious plans. Sadly, the whispers of a primary challenge to the progressive champion started. The progressive left were not happy… And blacks were FURIOUS at the right and left for asking a man to drive 100mph on four flat tires… except these guys.
Occupy wall street blew up in 2011, We had the great debt ceiling fight, talks of a grand Bargain and more whispers of a challenge from the left… One person in particular became VERY VOCAL…. too vocal.
• March 16, 2011 WNYC: "If a progressive Democrat wants to run, I think it would enliven the debate, raise some issues, and people have a right to do that. I've been asked whether I am going to do that. I'm not. I don't know who is, but in a democracy, it's not a bad idea to have different voices out there."
• July 22, 2011 Thom Hartmann Radio Program: "I think one of the reasons that the president has been able to move so far to the right is that there is no primary opposition to him, and I think it would do this country a good deal of service if people started thinking about candidates out there to begin contrasting what is a progressive agenda as opposed to what Obama is doing. … At this point, I have not (encouraged anyone), but I am now giving thought to it. There are a lot of smart, honest, progressive people who I think can be good presidents."
• Aug. 12, 2011 C-SPAN: "If you’re asking me, do I think at the end of the day that Barack Obama is going to be the Democratic nominee for president in 2012? I do. But do I believe that it is a good idea for our democracy, and for the Democratic Party — and I speak, by the way, as an independent — that people start asking the president some hard questions about why he said one thing during his previous campaign and then is doing another thing today on Social Security, on Medicare? I think it is important that that discussion take place."
• Nov. 13, 2011 Politico: Sanders refused to say whether he would back the president in 2012, but said he hopes "the president never forgets who elected him to the White House. It was not Wall Street, although they contributed. It was not the big money interests. It was working families, lower-income people and the middle class." He also urged Obama to "stop reaching negotiated agreements with Republicans that are extremely weak and disadvantageous to ordinary people. ... I certainly hope and expect to be supporting the president, but it’s a little bit early in the process." Bernie Sanders. He didn't encourage anyone..... so he played the "I'm not saying..... but just saying" innuendo game.
"Don't call Black Folk Dumb!"
When I signed up to daily kos in January, this was not the title I thought I would see In a blog that wasn't directed at republicans.....sigh. the simmering pot boiled over and we had a true tug of war for the soul of the party.... truly nasty folks. www.dailykos.com/... The author of this diary Voted for Bernie but had ZERO tolerance for the dumb stuff that hit the internet this cycle.
Certain lines you don't cross.... I don't give a shit how passionate you are.. House Negro and Uncle Tom innuendo will not fly.... said to the wrong brother or sister In person, well.....…
Remember who’s on the board of the CBC-PAC? 11 lobbyists (outvoting the 7 CBC members), one of whom represents a leading purveyor of student loans.
( a video with Malcolm x explaining differences between house negros and field negroes was posted... and flagged. NOT COOL.
reesetheone, your recent comments today on KOS have shown me you must be that one “Black friend” aka Stacey Dash/Raven Symone/Don Lemon type.
I did not expect or WILL TOLERATE members of our democratic family insinuating Uncle Tomness about anyone... and NO if you're black, your black ass don't get a pass on it either. Good Bernie supporters reprimanded that poster.
How about respecting our choice without pie fights?
Moving Forward, we might choose Harris over Warren..... are we gonna have the same reaction when sisters post diaires here? www.dailykos.com/…
How about these questions? From Michelle Alexander, the premiere academic scholar on the issue, and author of The New Jim Crow:...... (we can read...we heard other folks opinions.. a liberal African-American won't change our minds.)
Ya know, I really hate when white progressives go into overdrive in posting on their self-approved negro of the month…
Meaning this is about the 9,445,287,347,260th time that someone has posted that Michelle Alexander does not think that Hillary Clinton deserves black votes.
It’s tiring, browbeating, and on the verge of being rather offensive.
Not as offensive as this......In the future, this CANNOT HAPPEN:
Strange that you would ignore all of the previous positions taken by Clinton detrimental to POC. I guess we are puzzled because we view Clinton as having no principled positions. She has proven to change all her positions and her original instants have been wrong consistently. I believe in how someone acts not talks. DOMA, The War, Henry Kissinger, Welfare reform,The Crime bill, Fracking, and 100’s of millions in dirty money is just the start of a list of positions I could never tolerate. Anyone can vote they way they want but I am curious if most POC are AWARE (like we can't do homework on candidates)of what they are voting for. If they are and are in love with her than congratulate the establishment for getting their way.
www.dailykos.com/...
No matter how passionate or heated the rhetoric, it shouldn't go down like this..... on Both sides. The author of that diary spits fire, and steps on toes... and crossed the line in another piefight in her diary and paid a price.she wasnt right either.... but she shouldn't have to fight in her own diary. Also,The media's thirst for a horse race exacerbated a problem that was years in the making.
Bernie exposed the rift.
Families will disagree and fight.... its inconceivable for that not to happen. Our reality now is Donald John Trump is president, and this is a CRITICAL four year stretch as a power. We have to get the issues ironed out and accept our differences as far as PACE AND APPROACH. These two issues can't remain a sticking point as the GOP are playing for keeps folks. The democratic party could be reduced as the party of angry white progressives and disinterested minorities by 2020..... if we fuck up in the next 48 months.
www.politico.com/...
But it’s also a fault line. Sanders coming from seemingly nowhere to seriously challenge Clinton while drawing historically large and enthusiastic crowds has soaked up much of the attention in the Democratic race, making it feel as though he’s hit a chord that resonates throughout the party. But his brand of idealism has been rejected by the majority of minority voters—Clinton won every contest with at least a 10 percent black population, except Michigan, and each state where Latinos make up at least 10 percent of eligible voters, except Colorado, according to Harry Enten of FiveThirtyEight.com. On top of that, they have been mocked by some Sanders supporters for supposedly “voting against their self-interest” because they refuse to believe a political revolution is at hand. That has been particularly galling to black voters who had to endure claims from conservatives in 2008 that they were voting for Barack Obama onlybecause of race—even though they had spent their entire adult lives voting mostly for white presidential candidates. Now their preference for Clinton’s brand of pragmatism, something they’ve seen result in real progress time and again, is being questioned as well, this time by fellow Democrats.
Pragmatism somehow became poison around these parts.. History proves incremental policies produced concrete tangible results for minorities.
People of color, like their white Democratic counterparts, may also want a revolution and more rapid progress than the halting kind that comes with pragmatism, but they’ve time and again seen incremental change improve their lives. That’s why they embrace Martin Luther King Jr. without question while revering Malcolm X from a distance. That’s why they are much more enthusiastic about the Affordable Care Act—which has helped minority Americans the most— than white progressives who have either been lukewarm or, in some cases, even hostile to health reform because they don’t believe it was radical enough.
Minority voters are more likely than white Democratic voters to giddily give Obama credit for an economic recovery that has shaved the unemployment rate in half, produced the lowest level of jobless claims since the ‘70s, and an unprecedented monthly job creation streak that has lasted more than six years, all coming on the heels of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. And he got Osama bin Laden, saved the domestic auto industry, ushered through the largest economic stimulus in history—one derisively dismissed as too small by many liberals......
Why? Because many white Democratic voters missed the sentiment shared among black Obama voters in 2008 that, once again, the “first black” was being handed a seemingly impossible task—two ground wars, a collapsing economy, a record deficit—and if he wasn’t able to perform a miracle, it would not only be his failure, but that of black people in general. To downplay what he has been able to achieve despite the obstacles, which also included an unprecedented level of obstruction from the GOP, confirms a fear shared by many people of color—Democratic or otherwise—that no matter what they achieve, it will never be enough. Sanders and Susan Sarandon may sincerely believe things are so awful only a revolution can heal the country’s ills. But their overwrought rhetoric, and no more than lukewarm support of Obama’s accomplishments, taps into that deeply-held frustration among minorities.
The mantra from the progressive left and from Bernie Sanders about the last eight years and Barack and his progress: IT DIDN'T GO FAR ENOUGH .
I don't understand how a politician can claim we as a party Aren't doing enough and vote near lock step for 20 years with other pragmatic incremental democrats... defies logic. The election played itself out and we failed to match the 39/71/93 percentage amount of whites Hispanics and blacks that Obama got. In Fact Clinton got the lowest share of the white vote since Mondale.... for two reasons:
- Those white voters who DIDN'T vote for him in the primary didn't stay home... they gave him a shot in 08..... they soured on him, along with some progressive Caucasians, and stayed home in 2012.. (his white vote went from 43-39 in that span) they stayed home again... while some flipped to Trump.
- Stein and Johnson got more airtime, and with two historically disliked candidates, a protest vote AGAINST the establishment seemed Chic this year.... particularly with younger voters. Millennial voters were her strongest group, but she was four pct pts DOWN from Obama's margin of victory four years ago. That drop was the biggest besides her drop off with 45-64 year olds.
I can imagine folks screaming at their device when they read this. this but 65.7million votes mean our message was accepted. For a black man and a woman to bank the most votes in U.s. history reveals the ceiling of greatness of this republic. Trump's split decision win reveals old habits die hard, folks are divided more by racial stereotypes (on both sides of the isle) than our differences as Human beings. You don't blow up a formula which got us 16 of the last 24 years in the wh and 200 million votes in the last three cycles. You fine tune that message, and send out a messenger to sell it: