In Arkansas, racism cuts against Obama

[Miles]

This is probably stuff we already know, but I found this to be a well-written article.

I'd extend the major themes of the piece to most of the deep south and Appalachia as well. For example:

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The entire article:

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[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Probably some of them wish that the Little Rock schools had remained closed after integration was forced upon them.

[memphis]

Obama lost Bill Clinton’s home state to Senator John McCain by 20 points in 2008 – more than in any other state.

lolwut?

[NVGonzalez]

Yeah... the primary result pretty much confirmed this. WV and KY also have this problem.

[Joe Republic]

Obama lost Bill Clinton’s home state to Senator John McCain by 20 points in 2008 – more than in any other state.

lolwut?

On another forum I lurk at, somebody said that Obama's recent weak showing in the AR primary was a sign of his impending doom, given that he had apparently defeated Hillary here in 2008.  I facepalmed, of course.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Obama lost Bill Clinton’s home state to Senator John McCain by 20 points in 2008 – more than in any other state.

lolwut?

On another forum I lurk at, somebody said that Obama's recent weak showing in the AR primary was a sign of his impending doom, given that he had apparently defeated Hillary here in 2008.  I facepalmed, of course.

In 2004, Kerry won Indiana in the primary, and then lost it by 20 points in the general.
In 2008, Obama lost Indiana in the primary, and then won it in the general.
By the conventional wisdom, Obama should have gone down in flames in Indiana in the general.

[old timey villain]

I think I'm finally beginning to understand the concept of symbolic racism. I always sensed it, living in the south, but couldn't put my finger on it. I rarely hear people down here, or anywhere say, "I don't like Obama because he's black/ethnic." But other comments can draw someone to the same conclusion if you can read between the lines.

Here are some things I've heard

1) "Obama wasn't all that impressive to begin with- he got a leg up his entire life because of affirmative action"

-Umm, no.  Whether or not you think Obama is a good president, you can't deny that he's brilliant and ambitious. But the suggestion that he got where he is because of affirmative action implies that black people aren't able to compete with whites without special treatment. Pretty racist.

2) "Obama only won because the blacks voted for him. And they think we're racist??"

-I guess no one told them about Obama winning 44% of the white vote. This outlook undermines African American solidarity as a minority group, which southern whites will never understand, and reaffirms the racial voting patterns in the deep south which are a carry over from the days of segregation.

3) "He's spending too much money on entitlements and defunding social security and medicare!"

- I hear this one a lot from older white southerners. Never mind that this is basically an oxymoron. But in the south, and really across America, many believe that programs like food stamps and welfare are subsidized exclusively for black people, while medicare and social security are seen more as white entitlements. This is a way to imply that Obama is only looking out for black people. So basically, he's not one of us nor does he care about us.

4) "I don't care if he's black. But I don't think he's a true Christian and probably a closet Muslim."

-Hmm, I didn't think there was a process for Muslims to come out of the closet. But this is how many people reaffirm the "otherness" of Obama without mentioning his race and the subsequent criticism that might come along with it. White southerners, understandably, are very very sensitive about being called racist, despite some of us still holding racist views. Calling him a socialist/marxist/communist achieves the same effect of making him seem foreign.

5) "People need to stop making a big deal about Obama being black! Racism isn't a big deal anymore."

-I think many people who claim this sincerely believe they're being really progressive and should obviously receive a plaque from the NAACP . But to me it's one of the most racist statements. It totally ignores the gaps in income, education and social status that still exist between whites and minorities. I guess in their eyes, the simple fact that "whites only" water fountains don't exist anymore means racism and segregation are officially over. If only it were that easy! But they know that implementing more equality laws and programs would continue to chip away at the white establishment. So instead of standing firm on the basis of white privilege, which smacks of the Klan, many of us decide to cover our eyes and pretend that we're all equal and nothing more needs to be done.


I think ALL white people are guilty of these attitudes sometimes. But some of us are willing to admit that Racism still exists and Obama unfairly bears the brunt of white racial resentment. On the other hand, the modern Republican party picked up on these attitudes decades ago and went on to great success by peddling this brand of racism in the south.

I think that's one of the reasons I'm so vehemently opposed to the attitude of the southern GOP. It really doesn't have that much to do with pure policy to be honest. It's just that I can really easily see through the tactics they use to get votes. They're not explicitly racist but the way they stir up racial resentment among whites is just really upsetting to me. And then they can claim that racism has nothing to do with their agenda that includes immigration laws based on profiling, drug testing for welfare recipients, defunding of birth control programs that help a disproportionate amount of black women, while funneling more money and subsidies to white suburbs. We should be better than that by now but apparently we're not.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

you can interpret any attitude as symbolically racist if you think through it hard enough.

[greenforest32]

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/ar/arkansas_mccain_vs_obama-592.html

vs

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/ar/arkansas_mccain_vs_clinton-591.html

[Donerail]

Really? The reason people are voting against him isn't some kind of "secret racism". It's because he's done an absolutely awful job as President. They've been hit hard by the recession, and blame the incumbent for it.

[mondale84]

Really? The reason people are voting against him isn't some kind of "secret racism". It's because he's done an absolutely awful job as President. They've been hit hard by the recession, and blame the incumbent for it.

Yeah and magically, people in Missouri, New Hampshire, etc have skipped the recession?

[Donerail]

Really? The reason people are voting against him isn't some kind of "secret racism". It's because he's done an absolutely awful job as President. They've been hit hard by the recession, and blame the incumbent for it.

Yeah and magically, people in Missouri, New Hampshire, etc have skipped the recession?

Among the lowest ten states by GDP per capita is Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Mississippi; highest 10 by poverty rate include Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Tennessee, and South Carolina (Kentucky and Georgia barely miss the threshold). These states, among the poorest in the nation, would logically be hit even harder by the recession, and thus bear more enmity towards the current incumbent.

[mondale84]

Really? The reason people are voting against him isn't some kind of "secret racism". It's because he's done an absolutely awful job as President. They've been hit hard by the recession, and blame the incumbent for it.

Yeah and magically, people in Missouri, New Hampshire, etc have skipped the recession?

Among the lowest ten states by GDP per capita is Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Mississippi; highest 10 by poverty rate include Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Tennessee, and South Carolina (Kentucky and Georgia barely miss the threshold). These states, among the poorest in the nation, would logically be hit even harder by the recession, and thus bear more enmity towards the current incumbent.

One wonders why they have the lowest GDP per capita...

[Donerail]

Really? The reason people are voting against him isn't some kind of "secret racism". It's because he's done an absolutely awful job as President. They've been hit hard by the recession, and blame the incumbent for it.

Yeah and magically, people in Missouri, New Hampshire, etc have skipped the recession?

Among the lowest ten states by GDP per capita is Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Mississippi; highest 10 by poverty rate include Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Tennessee, and South Carolina (Kentucky and Georgia barely miss the threshold). These states, among the poorest in the nation, would logically be hit even harder by the recession, and thus bear more enmity towards the current incumbent.

One wonders why they have the lowest GDP per capita...

More rural, less industry, little investment, low wages (particularly in areas like Appalachia and the Ozarks), low education rates, housing costs, farming becoming a tech/capital-based (not labor) business, lack of union influence, and too many Republicans running stuff, plus the long-term effects of Sherman/carpetbaggers and the Great Depression.

[Miles]

Obama lost Bill Clinton’s home state to Senator John McCain by 20 points in 2008 – more than in any other state.

lolwut?

That was the my only nitpick in the article. I think she meant that AR trended 20 points against Obama- which was more than any other state.

[Torie]

Very depressing. It's another world out there to which really, I have never been exposed. I never hear that sort of thing at all, except some Muslim chat from the lady who cuts my hair (and does other things to it ).

[fezzyfestoon]

you can interpret any attitude as symbolically racist if you think through it hard enough.

And yet still some seem to jump out at you.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I'm sure it does, but it's really not the only issue. He doesn't speak to them, doesn't know how and wouldn't be comfortable trying even if he did. That's just the way things are now.

[Donerail]

I'm sure it does, but it's really not the only issue. He doesn't speak to them, doesn't know how and wouldn't be comfortable trying even if he did. That's just the way things are now.

Course, it's not like Cheesy Grits Mitt does much better... Turnout'll be pretty depressed in much of the South this year.

[Devils30]

People forget the current trends began as early as 1996. Dole improved in several appalachian/southern states while Clinton got a big boost in the metro northeast. Obama's candidacy is merely the culmination of the appalachia's move toward the GOP. Too bad for the GOP they need to win NH, IA or PA unless they can reverse trends in the west.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

you can interpret any attitude as symbolically racist if you think through it hard enough.

And yet still some seem to jump out at you.

The only thing that jumps out at me is the absurdity of the entire endeavor.  I mean, the idea that people from Arkansas must be thinking about black people whenever they talk about drugs and poverty?

[Ebowed]

Really? The reason people are voting against him isn't some kind of "secret racism". It's because he's done an absolutely awful job as President. They've been hit hard by the recession, and blame the incumbent for it.

Yeah and magically, people in Missouri, New Hampshire, etc have skipped the recession?

Among the lowest ten states by GDP per capita is Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Mississippi; highest 10 by poverty rate include Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Tennessee, and South Carolina (Kentucky and Georgia barely miss the threshold). These states, among the poorest in the nation, would logically be hit even harder by the recession, and thus bear more enmity towards the current incumbent.

Many of the poorest people in these states are blacks, however, and you should check their voting patterns.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Really? The reason people are voting against him isn't some kind of "secret racism". It's because he's done an absolutely awful job as President. They've been hit hard by the recession, and blame the incumbent for it.

Yeah and magically, people in Missouri, New Hampshire, etc have skipped the recession?

Among the lowest ten states by GDP per capita is Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Mississippi; highest 10 by poverty rate include Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Tennessee, and South Carolina (Kentucky and Georgia barely miss the threshold). These states, among the poorest in the nation, would logically be hit even harder by the recession, and thus bear more enmity towards the current incumbent.

Many of the poorest people in these states are blacks, however, and you should check their voting patterns.

Blacks don't count/are brainwashed.

/troll