Talk Elections

I don't know why I didn't post this last week, but I am posting it now:

Report: Southern black Democrats lose clout with rise of GOP-controlled state legislatures (http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/report-southern-black-democrats-lose-clout-with-rise-of-gop-controlled-state-legislatures/2011/11/18/gIQAELhyYN_story.html)

By Associated Press, Published: November 18

ATLANTA — Black lawmakers have lost clout in Southern state capitols as their overwhelming allegiance to the Democratic Party has left them without power in increasingly GOP-controlled state legislatures.

The nonpartisan Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies says in a report issued Friday that despite Barack Obama’s election as president, black voters and elected officials in the South have less influence now than at any time since the civil rights era.
 
“Since conservative whites control all the power in the region, they are enacting legislation both neglectful of the needs of African Americans and other communities of color ...” writes senior research associate David Bositis in a paper titled “Resegregation in Southern Politics? (http://www.jointcenter.org/sites/default/files/upload/research/files/Resegregation%20in%20Southern%20Politics.pdf)” The Washington-based think tank conducts research and policy analysis, particularly on issues that affect blacks and people of color.

Bositis points out state legislatures are increasingly divided along racial lines — making Republican synonymous with whites and Democrat and black interchangeable. According to the report, a majority of Democrats in both chambers in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi are black. In half of the southern state legislative chambers, blacks are a majority or near-majority of Democratic members.

“This begs the question, ‘what is the purpose of having a legislative black caucus when the majority of members in your legislative body are black?’” the report says.

My hope is that all the blacks in the deep south can move to CA where their votes will count.

Legislative white Democrat caucus coming up soon?

Well, in Mississippi people literally vote along racial lines, so this shouldn't be a surprise. There are still a few white liberals who vote Democratic, but most Democrats vote Republican without changing registration. Just saw that in LA and MS gubernatorials. Hell, LA is still plurality-Democratic in registration.

What is it with all the robotic posters here these days?

Uh, nobody's vote counts in CA.

Aren't there still any old time Zell Miler and Bob Graham Dems still around?

And from what I recall LA, AL, and NC among others still have a number of white moderate to conservative Democrats still around, both in the legislature and statewide offices.

lol

They have been pretty much wiped out at the statewide level.  There are a few left in Louisiana, but in Alabama and North Carolina, they were wiped out in 2010. 

A lot of white Democrats in Louisiana's state legislature switched parties to be treated favorably during last year's redistricting. Many of those who didn't switch lost reelection because of the new districts. Most of the ones who held on did so because they were placed in a majority-black district that will elect a black Democrat whenever the current white incumbent retires.

So I think you could say that they're mostly wiped out in Louisiana, as well.

And that's all Obama's fault, right?

As far as i know - that's not true. I can remember exatly 2 Democrats defeated in the last legislative  elections of 2011 in Louisiana, and both (Jackson in SD-39 and Hardee in HD-44) were black, who lost to another blacks. A couple of white Democrats (Reynolds and Ortego) even won republican-leaning seats in House. According to my preliminary count - of 15 Democrats in state Senate 9 are black and 6 are white (2 of which are relatively conservative whites from black-majority districts, but both serve only second terms, so term limits will not get them until 2019), in House - 23 black and 22 white with 4-5 whites being elected from black-majority districts. So, while percentage of blacks in legislative Democratic caucus will, undoubtely, increase, it's still too early to say that "whites are wiped out" there. After elections of 2015 and, 2019 - may be... A substantial number of "white old guard" will be term-limited then.

Considering how they're an overwhelming majority of Democratic voters in the South, that's a surprisingly small number of blacks.

Blacks are extremely concentrated in their black-majority districts, and, with some relatively rare exceptions, don't win in other districts. On the contrary - at least 2 out of 6 white Democratic state Senators in Louisiana win in black-majority districts (and at least 4-5 in House too). Add to this conservative white Democrats still able to win in at least some very Republicn (in essence) districts - and no surprises here. Though black's percentage of Democratic caucus will, undobtely, rise in the future...

In a time when black people no longer have rights.
In a time when white power reigns supreme.
In a time when the rule of the lynch mob is returned.
In a time when Republican rule is a way of life and voting rights are for the ultra rich and the white.
In a time..........called 2018!

Rated R for Racist!

Coming soon to a theater near you!

They're not an overwhelming majority of Democratic votes. Ok, maybe in MS in Presidential contests. Other than that, your statement is not true at all.