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Race vs. gender
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How the Democrats are fixin’ to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory
People here have been getting very excited about the amount of money raised by Obama and Clinton in the last 24-36-72-whatever hours. "We have candidates we really like and are excited by, and this bodes well for the general election" is my paraphrase of a goodly number of the (more responsible) posts on these recent fundraising successes.
But not so fast.
Why do I regret my donation? Because I feel like I’m contributing to an arms race that will destroy our chances in November. For what will this money be used? A primary battle. A primary battle that, with all this money on the table and such high stakes, will become increasingly bitter over the next several months. And where will we be at the end? Either African-Americans or 40+ white women are going to be really, really pissed off.
I’m not saying that these categories define BO’s and HRC’s constituencies – I’m saying that these are the demographic constituencies that will get most pissed off – pissed off enough to stay home -- when things get ugly. A large number of women identify with Hillary – they share her experiences, setbacks, and struggles, and see her fight as their own. Obama as well has made a profoundly personal connection with the African-American community (note the vote shift of African-Americans over the last month). Now, let me stress that other supporters – non AA’s and non-40+WW -- of each candidate have also been strongly moved, and have attached passionate hopes to one or the other of the candidates. But –and I speak for myself, as a non AA and non-WW – I’m not nursing a well-earned historical grudge, and guess that my identification as a democrat will probably – probably – trump whatever personal identification I have. So, again, I am not arguing that this identification is the only factor in AA or WW support, or that white men are immune from a personal notion of politics – I mean, c’mon, white men have been electing white men for a long, long time on the basis of identification whether acknowledged or not – I just mean that sometimes candidates come along who ratchet up that personal aspect for a core constituency, and we have two now who are doing precisely that in tremendously exciting ways.
And thus the ominous truth is that the more one candidate attacks (err, draws contrasts with) the other, the stronger the other will grow with the "identified" part of their core constituency. For HRC’s white women, it’s the Rick Lazio podium encroachment all over again; for BO’s African-American supporters, it’s resentment of the sense of entitlement that comes with being white. Just look at two huge momentum moments – Hillary’s tears, the LBJ imbroglio and Bill Clinton’s "Jesse Jackson" – and how they played out in the context of gender and race respectively. Polls showed supporters rallying around each candidate at precisely the moment when their "identity" was most prominent in the discourse. This is a race where the normal aims of candidates’ discourse – to put the opponent on the defensive, to "beat" the other down – will only strengthen the supporters of the "victim" of such tactics. These attacks – whether real, perceived, or reported on -- resonate with a much longer history of oppression. Both groups are sensitized to how sexism and/or racism have functioned to underwrite and authorize inequality, and it is hard for me to imagine that such sensitivities will suddenly disappear because we like our candidates'positions a lot.
So, we can talk about this being about the candidates’ positions rather than their race or gender, and we can be right; but if we lose even 1 out of 50 Democratic voters to a grudge, that’s, ohh, what, let’s say about 1 million votes. The Democrats cannot afford to lose anyone from either group (and forget about a unity ticket – neither candidate can provide what the other most needs – Hillary needs Ohio, Obama needs a white southern male with experience and cred on military issues).
This is what makes the coming primary fight so problematic and such a dream for Republicans. Divide and conquer by sowing resentment and suspicion has always been an effective strategy of those with power against those with less. As long as Blacks, Latinos, Women, Jews, etc. all spend their time and money beating on each other, the forces of progressive and fundamental change have little chance. And hence the wages of the zero-sum game of identity politics. And we don’t even need HRC or BO to play these cards – the media will do it for them, like kids on the schoolyard chanting "Fight! Fight!"
So, this is all I can say/beg for: we all better get with the reconciliation program now. These two candidates better start showing some serious respect to the other, and their supporters better cut the gloating crap and understand that this is not (hallelujah!) politics as usual. I wish I had attached conditions to my money -- this money shall not be used for any attacks, innuendo, triumphalism...and so on...
We better see a different kind of campaign for real rather than as rhetorical gesture or we’ve all – Hillary and Obama supporters alike – just enthusiastically financed our own destruction.