Most kossacks would probably agree with the suggestion that 2016 is going to be a pivotal election - one that pits big money against the little guy - the billionaires against the middle class.
In the democratic primaries as well, this is becoming something of an issue. Who is best suited to carrying the standard of the Democratic party? Bernie Sanders? Hillary Clinton? Other? There are plenty of arguments in favor of each - Bernie argues that he represents the people, Bernie supporters argue that Clinton represents Wall Street.
Yet, there is another issue that is often lost in the shuffle - one that deserves as much attention, if not more, than the question of who's lining up donors from which side of the party. Interested in what that might be? Follow below the squiggle for more.
It's perhaps of no real surprise that racism - implicit or explicit - is once more becoming the hot commodity of the day. Just yesterday, another African-American church burned in the south, bringing the total to seven since Dylan Roof decided he wanted to start a race war.
Decades of civil rights progress have been undone in the last eight years, with the termination of a good chunk of the Voting Rights Act and increasing impediments to the right to vote. These range from overly burdensome ID requirements to literal, physical impediments to the franchise - putting a single polling station in urban areas, long lines and other physical difficulties.
These are real issues that animate the Democratic base. Primarily made up of African-American women and men, the Democratic party's main constituents aren't only facing hurdles to voting, they're also facing hurdles to basic rights. I could not finish the McKinney video of the white cop sitting on that pool-party goer, it was too disturbing. Then just days later, after Roof went on his rampage, Obama seemed utterly defeated at the podium. In the face of another gun violence tragedy, his eulogy for Mr. Pinckney was touching and emotional, and if you haven't seen it yet, watch it and bring Kleenex. I'll wait.
Through it all only one candidate has made it a point to take up the issues of the democratic base - of African American voters - in any meaningful way. I know this is very much in the minority of opinions here at DailyKos, but that candidate is assuredly not Bernie Sanders. Look at his website. His statements on race and demographics, his insistence on courting white, lower income voters. Bernie has a blindness with regards to how the American experience differences fundamentally based on the color of your skin. One particular quote jumps out at me, and is I think, indicative of the many problems people of color seem to be having with Bernie. This was on full display on ABC's This Week.
When host George Stephanopoulos asked why he performed so anemically with non-white voters in a recent poll (Sanders received just 3% support, versus Hillary Clinton’s 91%), Sanders chalked it up to a lack of “understanding” from black voters
I have a long history in fighting for civil rights. I understand that many people in the African-American community may not understand that. But I think the issues that we are dealing with, combating 51 percent African-American youth unemployment, talking about the need that public colleges and universities should be tuition free, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, creating millions of jobs by rebuilding our infrastructure. These are issues that should apply to every American.
Bernie's not wrong on these issues - but he's not addressing what's animating these communities. He's not addressing police violence; disenfranchisement. It's not #BlacksDeserve$15, it's #BlackLivesMatter. Instead, he seems to believe that African Americans simply haven't heard his message, and that once they do, they'll 'come around.' I've spent my life organizing on a variety of different issues, and I know that one thing people never do is 'come around' to your point of view if you don't make an effort to understand theirs.
Only one candidate has been addressing that directly, day in and day out. Only Hillary Clinton has been directly addressing those disparate impacts, and does not seem particularly interested in treating African-Americans as if they will automatically vote for democrats.
I believe she will address these issues, for a variety of reasons - but most importantly, because politicians who make campaign promises, who outline their goals, have a tendency to keep them. This is not to say that I don't have my own misgivings about Ms. Clinton - I do. But I am prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt. With over two decades of being in the public eye, you will of course come to regret a choice or two - but what's key for me is that you learn from them, address what you did wrong, and move on. I believe she has, and when she says that she'll do something about DKos' primary bugbear of money in politics, I believe she will.
Ultimately, this exercise was prompted by a recent diary that mentioned how few Hillary diaries there were out there on DKos. Well, here's one. I know I've painted a target on my back, I wish that weren't the case. But I've laid out why I'm voting for Hillary, and I hope the reader respects that decision.