On the "Morning Joe" show on MSNBC this morning I caught Joe Scarborough discussing the McCain camps fixation on Pennsylvania. The question that caught my attention was - Are Pennsylvanians more racist?
This question says a lot about the state of the McCain campaign. It clearly shows that everyone knows the group of voters the Republicans are targeting. It also brings to the forefront once again the divisive nature of the McCain-Palin ticket.
But are Pennsylvanians really more racist?
I was born, raised, live and work in Pennsylvania. I live in the eastern part, near Allentown, known as the Lehigh Valley. McCain and Palin have spent more time in this area - and the surrounding area - than any Republican candidate in recent memory. I don't recall Bush II, Dole or Bush I being here as often as McCain and Palin.
Yet this is state where Senator Obama has a clear lead. A lead that would drive other candidates to leave PA and move on to states such as North Carolina or Florida, where the margins are much closer. So why are they still here, campaigning in Hershey and Quakertown today?
Is the strategy to target the so-called "rednecks"? The "bitter" Pennsylvanians? Do they believe there are enough of those "rural" voters to make a difference?
I won't deny there are definitely pockets of racists in this area, however, being situated as close to Philadelphia as we are and with the racial landscape dramatically changing in this area over the last 20 years, this is not the "white bread" area it once was. Not to mention the Lehigh Valley has always been heavily democratic.
Our high schools, churches, communities have rapidly become diverse. In my own town, there is no black area or white area . . . it's just a town where we all live. I'm white, the neighbor to my left is black, the neighbor to my right is Jewish, two doors down to the left is a Hispanic family and a few doors up to the right is a Chinese family. That's just my own block in this town. It's the same throughout the Lehigh Valley. And yet we have no issues in my neighborhood, we've been getting along and working together for years now.
What this shows me is that Pennsylvanians today are not more racist than people in any other state and that McCain is once again sadly behind the times targeting areas that he might have been able to deliver his attacks successfully to 20 years ago.
He can't possibly be more out of touch than he is right now.