Mr. Blow, why is Georgia not on your list of deep south states?
2
Excellent column as always. Here are my thoughts:
• Racism is clearly defined – but it has many shades and hues. It also has many depths (I am Puerto Rican – white Latino – what do you see?) I urge readers to take the Race IAT - Project Implicit and you will understand what I mean. Be prepared for surprises.
• IMHO, racism is still widespread in USA. Trumpism is only a manifestation of such belief/behavior peppered with Mafia mannerism.
• Democrats will lose if they replay the Hillary/ Sanders chapter of 2016.
• This quote speaks volumes: “Of all Americans, Negroes distrust politicians most, or, more accurately, they have been best trained to expect nothing from them; more than other Americans, they are always aware of the enormous gap between election promises and their daily lives.” Warren et al should take note of it - in essence –IMHO- don’t smear Obamacare.
• Any Democratic candidate will be much better for USA and the world than Trump. Got it?
2
James Baldwin,
"Of all Americans, Negroes distrust politicians most, or, more accurately, they have been best trained to expect nothing from them; more than other Americans, they are always aware of the enormous gap between election promises and their daily lives"
John Kennedy,
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
Isn’t racist to assume that people with the same skin color will vote alike?
@FNL
History shows that the majority of whites vote Republican and nearly all blacks vote Democratic. There are exceptions but the assumptions are based in reality.
2
Have fun with Trump 2020
2
If Blacks are looking for results rather than words the current President is delivering big time.
Black unemployment at lowest ever in peacetime in the history of the USA.
2
What Mr Blow doesn’t mention is that most black people (not all) are conservative. I have always told my Republican white father-in-law that if they -the GOP actually did what they said they would they could capture 25-30 percent of the black vote.
These people are 20 years out of college, started a business or are in corporate America and see who the shot callers are.
Most blacks “can’t” be Republican because some yahoo or the President does something racist.
Believe me most blacks don’t have any attachment with the Democratic Party.
3
Any black person would be a fool not to vote for ANY Democrat against the man who hates them and even more of one for not voting at all.
That, Mr. blow, is the message you should put on your sandwich sign ,for it is the only one that matters.
1
One facet that Blow ignores was how many blacks oppose gay marriage. Let’s unite to fight bigotry!
2
Mr. Blow touches the crux of the solution for both the voters and the Democratic Party here: “For these voters, many of the candidates are simply offering promises far beyond their ability to deliver, no matter how good the promises sound or how good they would be if kept.”
Sounds like a credibility issue to me. African American voters are no different from any other voter in the world, they need and want their voices heard AND acted upon. This isn’t exactly revelatory, but in these days of alternate facts and revised realities, the core issue is candidate integrity — trust if you will — and sadly for African Americans, this has been a long, disappointing journey sprinkled with some victories, no scratch “victories” and let’s call them “improvements,” along the way. Not exactly trust-inspiring.
So the solution? A successful Democratic Party will have African Americans actively participating in the Party at every level, including as key advisors and candidates themselves. Only then will Black Americans have the kind of skin in the game they need to understand that, yeah sometimes candidates will over-promise, but because he/she is of us, there naturally is a higher degree of trust and legitimacy, and now we’re quite interested and motivated to vote.
This really isn’t outlandish, it’s what’s known as democratic representation; maybe it’s worth a try. If the DNC demonstrates this trust, it might be able to pivot to America’s multi-cultural (non-white) future.
1
I have often wondered about the polling of African-Americans because the polling never includes 'college-educated' African-Americans. It is always just one lump of African-Americans and that is unfortunate. We are not a monolith and should not be considered as such. But this speaks to how this demographic is ignored until election time. When white people are polled they are broken down into college-educated, working-class, college-educated women, soccer moms, etc. Guess what? These categories exist in the black community as well and we need to hear from them too.
63
@Kathy F
Pollsters understand that these categories exist in other racial groups than whites. The issue is that once you are looking at a group that is only about 13% of the population, further dividing that group into subgroups results in large margins of error.
2
Please put this comment on repeat for the pollsters and future candidates in the back. Thank you!
2
Joe Biden entered the US Senate in the early 70s, barely 10 years after the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were passed into law. Biden had to suck it up and work with anti-integration Senators such as James Eastland and Herman Talmadge.
It's quite possible that Black Americans respect Mr. Biden for doing so.
1
An excellent column, as usual, Mr. Blow. I worry that association with President Obama is giving Joe Biden a legitimacy that what he actually says and seems to believe, and his longterm record, don't support.
8
I live in the Panhandle of Florida. I'm not making the case for Florida. But, I am scratching my head with excluding Georgia from the Deep South. Come on. How do you include North Carolina and exclude Georgia?
3
Dear Mr. Blow. I could be wrong, but from my home in Ohio, Amy Klobuchar is the candidate who seems most like Joe Biden, but one of the least supported in the Deep South. Has her work as a Senator failed to recognise the needs of Black citizens, or is there simply a lack of human connection, forged by visiting and talking and sharing ideas and hopes and dreams?
I wish you and Senator Klobuchar could sit down for coffee some afternoon and just talk. For her to tell you her dreams, for you to share all of your wisdom.
2
Your last sentence sums it up perfectly, Charles M. Blow.
But what you write before that is a bit disconcerting. Are you saying Blacks in the Deep S. do not vote in Presidential elections because it does not make a difference? Like Republicans in California?
This would mean a push for the removing of the Electoral College is even more necessary for our future.
3
All I know is that the failure of blacks to vote (and others) in 2016 contributed to Trump's win, and we now have dozens of GOP racist judges infesting our legal system. Two on the Supreme Court!
How does this help blacks? Sorry, but my empathy left the building on election night, and so far hasn't returned.
“strong and pushing, not weak and begging”: this is my favorite Charles Blow line ever. It really does sum up part of the mindset of Black America.
Strong people can’t be bought by empty promises. If you want their vote, show them that you can fill potholes, both national potholes and international ones. That’s why so many support Biden.
Sure he trips over his own tongue now and then. But he has filled a lot of potholes in his day.
I know back looking at these hearings on impeachment on Pres. Donald Trump, on Ukraine Democrats have misuse of his power in the White House.
They should focus on other things that this president unlawfully committed crimes against the American people here's a list of things to think about as a hearing closed today to the public.
1. Use his power to influence his election from Russia, Hillary Clinton with love and to Ukraine on the Bidens.
2. Witness tampering.
3. Leaving our allies toRussia run from the Kurds to the Ukrainians
4. Having FBI HELP ,.Win election in 2016 3 day befoe electrion.
5. Having adversary to turn the election in 2016 it's been proven in two districts in Florida and probably more if the FBI decides to spill the beans on their dirty operations.
6. Giving tax breaks for billionaires and himself $230 million. Off the backs of the middle class.
7. Child abuse against immigrant children. Causing their deaths.
8. Hiding his taxes from money laundering with the Russians help.
Where do you stand as Americans in disbelief beliefs, the since he been in office for three years and the 10,000 lies a poker face a degenerate president.
Democrats have taken the Black vote for granted. Their lackluster turnout for Hillary Clinton probably cost her the election, and she didn't even campaign in Wisconsin.
Democrats have recently achieved surprising victories in deep red states. Whoever the presidential standard bearer turns out to be, they should take nothing for granted and campaign in all 50 states.
13
@Mark McIntyre
6% of people in Wisconsin are Black. Please put the blame on HRC AND on White women.
2
Instead of white politicians and their staffs trying to come up with programs to appeal to blacks, they should have blacks coming up with programs. AND they should have more than a token number of blacks on staff who regular input into campaigns.
2
Insightful...some new concepts
everything you say is true Charles, but you also seem to be, perhaps unknowingly, muddling the number one undeniable reason for which Buttigieg is hitting a wall with African American voters: the fact that he is gay.
4
Why aren’t black voters supportive of Corey Booker?
2
The more I think about the arguments in this piece, the angrier I become.
Instead of focusing their blame on the politicians at the state level for failing to do much for the African American community, and in the case of Obama, doing everything they could to thwart his initiatives, they direct their cynicism towards the Democratic presidential candidates and, as of now, choosing to go with the candidate who embodies the ghost of Democrats past, not because they think he can deliver, but simply because he is familiar to them and reminds them of the Obama Presidency.
I cannot think of a more self-defeating and selfish rationale.
1
North Carolina is not part of the Deep South. I have lived in North Carolina for the majority of my life. During the 1960s through the 1980s it was a very progressive state. The Republican rise was an anomaly. Even now, when elections are statewide Democrats can and have won. We have a Democratic Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State. North Carolina also has a majority Democratic Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Unfortunately, our state is gerrymandered but we did have some success in the last election, overcoming an absolute majority in our legislature. Our new electoral map is now going to state courts for a decision. North Carolina did go for Trump but I can easily see it going for. a Democrat in 2020.
3
[For these voters, many of the candidates are simply offering promises far beyond their ability to deliver, no matter how good the promises sound or how good they would be if kept.]
Thank you, Charles, for saying those words.
That is one big reason that I support Joe Biden
And I don't care about the gaffes, or whether his thoughts drift off into another speaking point before he finishes the first one.
I know where he is going.
He might not be as elegant as Pete or as loud as demonstrative as Mr. Sanders and have as much clarity as Warren seems to be, but I get it.
If Biden is not the nominee, then I hope Buttigieg or Klobuchar is.
I personally have a big problem with folks who promise the moon.
I am puzzled by the subtext in the piece as well as so many comments, questioning what, if anything, any particular candidate has to "offer" the Black vote. This is not how government works -- especially at the federal level. Excuse my ignorance but what specifically did Obama "offer" to Black voters? Did those Black voters who voted for Obama did so based on a clearly elaborated set of "offers" or very specific programs or policies. I don't think so. Presidents are important but still mainly set a tone (think "Hope") from which policies might arise. (Trump sure knows this). To date the only tone this group of candidates has set is noise.
2
I understand Mr. Blow's thesis, but am a bit confused. Does this mean that black voters will vote for Trump or won't vote at all if they don't like the Democratic nominee? Surely not, I hope.
“Black voters” is one of the many generalizations we use to fool ourselves into thinking that widely disparate groups of individuals can be defined by demographics.
3
Do black Americans have different issues than white Americans? At least any that are within the power of the federal govt to fix? Health care, education, environment, rule of law, etc etc are neither black nor white issues.
2
Mr. Blow, this was an insightful essay that others could write if they actually observed African Americans instead of seeing African Americans as abstractions. I grew up in the Deep South and if I still lived there I would not be fired up about the national election because my home state would be red as blood even if every single eligible African American voted Democratic. As you said, local politics is another matter entirely. Since I now live in Illinois, I would never miss a national election since Chicago will drag my state into the blue column even if most of Central and Southern Illinois is as red as Kentucky or Arkansas.
It also insightful to read the responses of so many Non-African American Democrats to your column. So many can barely veil their contempt for Black voters who they clearly see as stupid and easily led. No wonder so many big city liberals seem to be so comfortable with policies like stop and frisk.
1
Of all the candidates in Atlanta, only one thought it right and proper to give a public shout-out to Mayor Maynard Jackson, who embodies precisely the phenomenon of rising black municipal power in a Republican, white-dominated state. That person was Pete Buttigieg, who -- we are told -- is too clumsy and clueless with black voters to stand a chance of winning them over. People might care to remember that manners and decency count for a lot in the South, black or white.
3
Someone has to stop BIden running pronto.
He searches for words all the time.
My father who is elderly searches for words....it started that way.....nowhe does not know what he said ten minutes ago. Joe is displaying all the signs of going in that direction.
And it is really hard for a mentally challenged elderly person to accept what is happening.
3
It should be obvious to all that Joe is mentally unfit for office. It's clear that he is in the early stages of dementia and the pressures of the job will only cripple his thinking skills. Time for him to retire permanently.
3
I don't know where the black vote will eventually end up but when the Democratic primaries roll to the large northern states and the deep South, African Americans will have their say. And if history is any guide, their collective vote will be a wise one.
2
Mr. Blow, as a child of the Deep South, who do you support in the Democratic primary? The guy (or girl, as in Kamala Harris) who wants to see inequality and various kinds of disenfranchisement persist? Or the guy who is part of a movement, to make the government more activist - as in the New Deal, but a better new Deal for black people than FDR's in the 1930s?
1
Many of our best are the subject of Charles M. Blow's OpEd. Blacks are rising... much as those misused by others rise as they gain confidence.
Mamie Phiipps Clark and Kenneth Bancroft Clark were best friends of my parents. They understood prejudice... and taught me. We met when I was nearing 20.
Bruno Bettelheim understood prejudice and wrote a book about it. He raised me from 10.
Our nation will not be at peace until the color thing is ancient history. And that goes for antisemitism.
Our politicians will not solve prejudice. Our children and theirs must solve prejudice as women rise and minorities rise.
Obama was the first. There will be more and more.
The most deserving are those we have trashed.
I guess I'm optimistic. I think our kids will bring tolerance to the front burner....
So much has to be done. We will make no progress with Trump.
Time for a change...
1
DEBATE SUMMARY:
Mayor Pete: Howdy Doody goes to graduate school.
Elizabeth Warren: Quivering indignation as the guise of ruthless ambition.
Amy Klobuchar: Woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Kamala Harris: Another woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Joe Biden: Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?
Andrew Yang: Money can't buy everything it's true, but what it can't buy, I can't use, I want MONEY.
Tom Steyer: I'm appalled at the inequalities of which I am one of the worst examples.
Cory Booker: Are you looking at me? I don't see anyone else here, so you must be looking at me.
Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard: The only two nonsociopaths/ nonliars on the stage.
You're welcome for my having saved you two-plus hours of your mortal earthly span.
1
Nowhere does Mr. Blow explicitly mention poverty. (SURELY, African-Americans realize that who is President has everything to do with how many generations it will take for the black-white gulf to narrow.) There's more than a little optimism here, and if it's real, this white guy applauds the change -while staying skeptical as to its heft. What good is a Mayorship if you're uninsured?
You would think, however, that the realization that in Presidential elections, their [African-Americans'] votes are more symbolic than meaningful would give them a laser focus on electability.
And STILL - hopefully, not "all the way to the disaster that Trump thumping Biden would be" - they support the former Vice President. I *get it* that they prize loyalty - somehow, they can look past some of Joe's horrid racist baggage to giving him credit for... Obama's Presidency... Does that make ANY sense at all? Understudies don't get Tonies - for Pete's sake.
The article is a fine explanation why Bernie and EW haven't caught fire "down there" - and probably never will.
But Mr. Blow can't be bothered - maybe, it's simply unfathomable - to explain why the less-pie-in-the-sky 5-8 other candidates - NONE OF THEM - get more than a few percent in terms of support.
The article is deficient, too, in not even giving a line to the VERY REAL impact African-Americans WILL have as to who's President in 2020-2024 by virtue of their votes in the November election in Pennsylvania, Michigan, NC, etc.
An interesting article and one that made me think about the issue. To assume any group votes in the same way, outside evangelical Christians or Ultra Orthodox Jews (the stats back this out, folks), is a mistake, and it also highlights the problem with Clinton's campaign in the last election, that they didn't get 'down on the ground' and listen to people. If I read Mr. Blow's analysis of Southern blacks correctly, then a big issue for them is how to be able to use their power, given that black power in the south is resisted by white, rural political power at the state level. Talking points and the like don't do much, but if for example candidates talked to black power and said that if elected, they would work to get gerrymandered districts in their states that allowed whites to control the legislature and governor spots and to allow better representation in Washington would be a major point. Federal aid to the cities involved for education, often starved by white, conservative legislatures and governors, would be another one. Voter suppression would be another thing.
If he is right, then the real swing votes are outside the south, in places like Pennsylvania and Michigan and Florida where Trump had narrow wins and black voters stayed home, like with whites the South is very different and should be treated as such.
Not a huge fan of the author. However, this is one of the best political analyses I've read in a long time. Thank you!
In the towns and cities of the Old South that Mr. Blow describes as places of Black Political success, one must celebrate and acknowledge that progress. And at the same time, examine the results of that success. That is the problem. Who is control of the state legislature, sits on the county or parish board, runs the school system, owns most of the land, and businesses? Beyond the influence of these institutions politically upon the populace (white, black, and others), it is the Church and inertia that Democrats must greet and embrace to counter those that would keep Blacks in their place. The GOP offers nothing but the same. The time to immerse itself in the Old South for DEMS is not in the year leading up to an important election. It isn't what have you done recently, it is what have you been doing all along? It appears that if one group is working against a people, and another group says and does little to correct this wrong, those people will conclude that the two groups are the same.
1
Mr. Blow,
I realize that not all African Americans vote and think alike, and that the issues in South, North, and West that affect and afflict them are different.
However, some basics apply. Voting rights, educational and economic opportunity,government assistance programs like Medicaid and food stamps, police abuse, systemic racism especially in the criminal justice system, etc. Many of these issues pertain to poor and working class too, especially in all the Southern states plus Missouri and Kentucky. Yet, these white people have bought into the Republican propaganda.
Would the Democrats and African Americans in the South benefit more from a political program based on economic class rather than race? Wouldn't that work better at forging the broad based coalition to capture Southern governorships and legislatures, and federal offices?
Many thanks to Mr. Blow for this thoughtful perspective. This is one of the smartest juxtapositions I've read in contrasting white working-class votes in the Rust Belt with Southern black voters. I might add that the rise in control of local power structures for Southern black voters also combines with a traditional religious faith. These two may trends make them more centrist/conservative and resistant to the promises of progressive left candidates.
While what Mr. Blow has written is no doubt true, I don't see it as an analysis in any way. The problem for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, as I see it, is that the overwhelming majority of eligible black voters (a majority of whom are women) are firmly tied to the corporatist wind (the Clinton wing) of the party. That has been reinforced through the black churches throughout the South. And that's where Biden draws his support. This sector of the voting electorate is not particularly progressive. Younger black eligible voters are now attempting to draw a distinction between the centrist and progressive wings of the Democratic Party -- and they appear to overwhelmingly support Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. These younger voters see the future I think in starkly different terms than their elders. And this is where the battle is raging in black communities. Black voters have simply not been rewarded for their unending support to the centrist wing of the Democratic Party. Why should things be different this time? It won't if Biden or any of the other centrists win the nomination.
1
Great insights in this column, Charles, but it feels like you left us hanging a bit. What are the implications for the candidates and for the race in general? What appeals might work best in the primaries with this multifaceted group of voters? In the general? I hope this is a series and not just an insightful one-off.
3
Charles Blow touches on a vital issue that requires far more discussion. I hope he will return to this topic again to explore other aspects. For example, in addition to the differences due to geography, we need to understand the differences between black voters in different age, gender, and income groups. Younger black voters certainly are far more supportive of candidates like Bernie than Biden. Yet, they historically don’t turn out to vote nearly as much. Older Black voters raised in the civil rights era are more dedicated voters, but tend to be more conservative on issues such as LBGTQ rights and abortion rights. And voters who are poor, regardless of race, tend to vote far less than those who are better off. More over, many potential Black voters feel like nothing ever changes and their votes don’t matter so why bother? Apathetic, they practice self suppression. Black women voters are the most reliable; yet the least empowered. Black voters are surely not monolithic. Understanding, organizing, motivating, and ultimately empowering them is critical to overcoming Trumps divisiveness, racism and fear mongering and moving America forward again. The current state of American politics suggest that much work remains to be done.
2
Watching the impeachment hearings, I am certain that the Republicans’ next move will be to drag Biden and his son through the mud to the absolute limits of their ability. It will be Hillary 2.0. People are human and propaganda affects us. This will certainly diminish his standing, unless Biden is more nimble than he seems to be.
I wish we could agree on a candidate from a newer generation. There are good people on that stage who are woke and well intentioned. Please give them a chance to serve.
5
This is a very important article for all to read, especially those running for office. Big changes are in store for the nation and the increased awareness among people of color is making a difference. There is a long way to go to achieve real equality but the train has left the station and is gaining speed.
3
While Mr. Blow is right about the multifaceted nature of the "Black vote" there are some general themes that politicians need to be aware of.
One is that the Black community tends to be socially conservative. This means that while there is support for rights issues, like gay marriage, there is also pushback from some elements of the Black church. And those Black church members tend to be regular voters.
The Black voter tends to look to local politicians for a direction on national elections. Their local mayors or congressional representatives have a lot of sway with them. This is true even though the CBC has been a huge disappointment.
The Black voters tend to be pragmatic and not terribly involved with international politics. This is unfortunate, but ever since Mandela's election there has been a fall off in Black attention to Africa and the Caribbean.
But there is a change beginning. Younger, educated Black voters have been moved by the Ferguson protests and are beginning to question aspects of our political economy that their parents accepted.
The presidential candidate that can appeal to them, especially if it is linked to some grass roots activism just might get the kind of turn out that could put Virginia, North Carolina and Florida at play.
Pennsylvania and Michigan can be won and if there were a Black Latino alliance, Texas which is already purple could turn blue as well.
2
Mr. Blow clearly describes the current status in todays America: African Americans in the old South are gaining power in their localities, electing African American officials and and starting to gain a sense of electoral power. He also states the fact that despite this fact, they do not have control over their State governments, and their States are not likely vote Democratic.
However, he then avoids dealing with the results of this situation which are, given the structure of electoral politics, a marginalized group, which has minimal effect on Presidential results, has massive influence over the candidate selection of the Democratic Party.
3
@Reality
I think you and Mr. Blow have identified the conundrum for Democrats. The party has an obligation to guarantee the voting rights of blacks and fight against the racism that denies economic and educational opportunities to blacks. That said, candidates are torn between appealing to voters that they need for the nomination (not just in the South but in CA and NY) but do nothing to help them win in November.
Mr. Blow identifies the problem, but where's the prescription?
2
Only the debate dealt extensively with the subject of reparations. Why is that? Is it not focus testing well?
2
Black people will pay the highest price if we do nothing about the climate crisis, yet they seem oblivious to this fact. Joe Biden is clearly having the word finding difficulties that are part of dementia. Biden also seems not to understand that by continuing to run, he is standing in the way of a moderate black candidate like Cory Booker, and of other moderate democrats. I can't understand why democrats — black or white — continue to support a man who is clearly losing it intellectually, and who is so entitled that he thinks it was just fine for his son to make a gigantic salary merely because he was Biden's son. This is the kind of unconscious privilege that makes it seem to many people that Trump is "just doing what everyone does."
11
I don't believe in polling and here is why:
A man isn't a block that remains stationary though the psychologists treat him so--and most take an insane pride in believing it. Consistency! He varies; Hamlet today, Caesar tomorrow, here, there, somewhere--if he is to retain his sanity, and why not?
William Carlos Williams from The Wedge (1944)
3
I really fail to understand why Black people are so behind Joe "I wrote the 1995 Crime Bill and have literally advocated for segregation in the past" Biden above the other candidates. My cynical and condescending side of my brain says it's because of name recognition and the fact that he was Obama's VP. On the one hand, I hate generalizing whole groups of voters as that easy to understand. On the other hand, most people I know, of any race, vote for candidates based on name recognition, regardless if they are the best candidate or not.
1
It should be as obvious to Blow as to anyone else claiming to be astute about national American politics that blacks in general, and Southern blacks in particular, have been used as a voting block since 1992 by Wall St. and other white Dem fat cats to guarantee that neoliberalism for the rich always defeats progressive economic change in the primaries. Obama’s neoliberal economics were identical to that of the Clintons, as he showed in 2009 with his massive bonuses, rather than jail sentences, for the Wall St. who ended up getting even richer for wiping out Main St. Why do you think Harry Reed and Biden licked their chops when they saw Obama instantly as a “clean, nice-looking” black who might deliver eight more years of Wall St.-favoring economics for their big bank donors, while providing the illusion of “hope and change” just by his skin color. No wonder Obama has now stepped in to protect the banks from Warren and Sanders. No wonder Goldma saw Cory Booker as yet eight MORE years of “moderation” for the rich, and made him mayor, then senator, even if he’s fizzled for president. Black voters are the Dem bulwark against economic reform for the masses. They are the Dems’ answer to the Republicans’ equally reliable bulwarks for the rich, the white Evangelicals. Tom Frank should write “What’s Wrong With Blacks?”
7
Why is Georgia not considered to be a Deep South state?
1
Bravo, Charles! If your analysis is correct, then what southern blacks need is an ally, or at least someone who won't work against their interests, at the national level. That probably explains why Biden is doing so well with southern blacks: at least he won't make life worse.
But isn't that a low bar? What about an FDR kind of figure? What about someone that will use the power of the federal government positively? Maybe it is time for the elders to listen to their children.
20
@Walt Bruckner
"What about an FDR kind of figure? What about someone that will use the power of the federal government positively?"
Do you have the name of this candidate?
Imaginary perfect candidates never get elected; only imperfect human ones.
2
@Walt Bruckner
The problem is that we don't live in an FDR world anymore.
Perhaps FDR got the legislature to work with him is because they were in the midst of a deep depression.
@Walt Bruckner
FDR? A white guy from the 1%?
1
Independent of generational divides, everyone understands that we need good, fair paying jobs, good healthcare, good schools, and fair protection under the law. This is what presidential candidates must be addressing.
Unfortunately, the fact is that even the public believes that police abuse is the one and only issues informing African American voters. While not diminishing the abuse of power, its bread and butter issues that guide voters. Ditto for Latinx voters (not just immigration). In short, jobs and security is what working families want
1
"For these voters, many of the candidates are simply offering promises far beyond their ability to deliver"
Not just for these voters.
8
Excuse me but I have to dispute the idea that blacks have local control in the South. The GOP controls both houses in every southern state. Given that the GOP is not especially friendly towards blacks, I fail to see that "control". Yes, the Dems had gains but in most cases it's far from a tidal wave of change.
Mayors, councilmen, whatever have some power, but seriously, the legislature calls the tune.
3
@uwteacher
Because of blacks and progressives gaining in the South, white Republican legislatures are restricting what local governments can do (perfect example: gun safety) and even nullifying their ordinances.
It would be interesting to know the number of African American teachers in public schools in southern states. I am disappointed that the Democratic candidates do not stress their party's commitment to education as a priority.
3
@Alan J. Shaw
If you mean public education in the South than an admission of commitment would be an admission of failure.
Not a great political strategy.
1
@Alan J. Shaw
And, of course, having African American teachers would be the best long term strategy for a building a coalition of African Americans and working class whites, although geographic segregation is becoming more prevalent.
2
@Pono You sound like Trump to African-Americans: "Democrats have done nothing for you. You've got nothing to lose. Might as well vote Republican."
Or ike Gabbard: " The failed anti-drug program."
So easy to talk about failures without recommending improvements or specifying reform.
My grandfather built structures and houses for 50 years. He worked for himself, but most of his deals were by word-of-mouth. Whites saw a poorly educated black man, and they cheated him. He died poor, in a shack.
There are deep roots of distrust between whites and blacks in the South. Trump has not improved that. However, many people in southern states can barely make "ends meet" with two jobs. Taxes are low, but so are salaries. SO many survive without health insurance. Then they work until they fall down and die.
Democrats need to dig into their war chests. Some folks will be unreachable, but Georgia, Louisiana and Kentucky have shown us that southern states are winnable. If a democrats could go to southern black churches and try to identify with the sorts of struggles they deal with, such as low pay, unfair working conditions, and retirement security, democrats might win another southern state.
97
Brilliant. I’m not religious, at all, but the key is the Churches. That’s why we Dems are much more successful with Black Women, because of Churches. Women are much more likely to attend, and be greatly motivated to VOTE by other Church-members or clergy.
16
@Dr. Girl, they have been doing that. Every candidate who's been to South Carolina has gone to Black churches more than once.
1
@Dr. Girl
Or they can stick with Biden and hope for a Biden/Abrams ticket.
1
Mr. Blow, there's a lot to think about in this column. But I have trouble understanding why a candidate like Warren could struggle here. White or black, the money's going to the people who are already absurdly rich. That's the bottom line.
There used to be a black middle class in some places at least, and there used to be a white middle class (in most places). So how is it that the narrative pits the middle class against itself by race?
Don't you see that as the trap they set for us?
8
Not too clear what the bottom line is to this column. What is the conclusion? Biden is the only Democrat candidate with a strong following from voters of color.
Probably because people of color have the most to lose if a Democrat is defeated by Trump in 2020, so they are really focused on the sensible and pragmatic candidate.
4
@David That conclusion doesn't seem to be the argument exactly nor the reality. Rewarding loyalty is not the same as being pragmatic. In 2016 Sanders would have Crushed Trump. Meanwhile Clinton only polled neck and neck with Trump. Loyalty got Clinton elected. It was 'her turn' was the nonsense refrain. Despite her corporatist and inherently hypocritical policy positions, not helpful to blacks, and despite grotesque transparent pandering, the party establishment, which here is Older black voters ushered in the weakest candidate.
If style is more important than substance, loyalty more important than policy (can you say 'Trump') democrats will continue to lose. Fortunately millennials of all colors see through the nonsense and understand how progressive policy will help everyone who is not the .01%.
1
@trebor In 2016 Sanders would have crushed Trump? of course we don't know the outcome of alternative scenarios that did not occur.
but in my view Trump would have totally destroyed
Bernie, had Bernie earned the Democratic nomination. But Bernie
was not even close in getting the Democratic nomination because he was and is a fringe candidate, in my view.
3
@trebor
Just. Vote. Democratic.
Excellent analysis. Funny how the simplest explanations are often the best. The Baldwin quote about earned distrust really says it all.
6
I watched the Biden Gaffes and winced when he said he wanted to "punch" those guilty of domestic violence, and he said he had the support Black women in the Senate. If looks could kill, the stare from Senator Kamala Harris would have done him in.
5
This is one of Blow's less reactive and hectoring pieces, and therefore more informative and interesting. As an African American reporter from Washington Post pointed out during last night's debate, many, older black voters support Biden because he has a track record of actually working with and for the black community. This remains a challenge for Buttigieg, whom I do believe would be a good president for all Americans, but, sadly, I understand why black voters would not trust that.
9
As much as I deeply respect the work of Maggie Haberman, she made a comment in the live feed commentary last night I found troubling. She made a point of essentially saying that Biden is resting on his laurels with regard to fighting for black communities decades ago. Charles Blow’s analysis here crystallized for me what I found disturbing about Haberman’s comment.
3
@GJR
Haberman's comment may be disturbing but it's true.
Joe consistently fought for extensions of Civil Rights Act. But SCOTUS has gutted it.
So Democrats need a new plan, and there's nothing new about Joe. He isn't going to convince Mitch to give the vote to people who will turn out Republicans.
So what are you trying to say, Mr. Blow? That only black voters are multi-faceted unlike other voters (white, Asian, latino, etc) who are monolithic? Where on earth did you get that idea? So if black voters don't get the candidate they want, they will take their ball and go home? We should stop being black or white or whatever and stand united to end this travesty on humanity and our country. There is no need for kumbayas because this is a desperate call for the survival of our country.
12
Black voters usually turned up much more consistently to white voters in comparable socio-economic circumstances. Your wrath here is unfounded and uncalled for.
3
@robert He's not saying that ONLY black voters are multi-faceted. He's helping to explain the black vote, which in this particular article has nothing to do with the white, Asian, Latino, etc vote. He got that idea because he is a black voter in a deep south state and the "black vote" matters. And, yes...the Asian, Latino, white, etc vote matters as well. And, hopefully, we'll get an article from writers of different backgrounds who will offer their interpretation of why THAT particular vote matters.
3
My point is this no time to be insular and pc. We are in the same boat together and should be pulling together regardless of our mutifacted heritage or views. We know we are all different but to dissect the differences and customize messages is not exactly productive in the bind we are in.
2
South Carolina is the fourth state, not the third. Nevada comes after New Hampshire.
1
This week:
“The black vote is multifaceted. Understanding that is key.”
Last week:
“No black person ... should ever even consider voting for Michael Bloomberg.”
10
I'm impressed with your geographical as well as your psychological breakdown of the varied motives and subtle differences in what sparks black people to vote in the south. I find it hard to believe that voting against a candidate that has the full backing of the KKK, who wouldn't rent to rich blacks in the seventies and eighties, who scapegoated a black quarterback into early retirement, who keeps Stephen Miller in his cabinet after his white supremacist background is revealed, who calls countries populated by African Americans "Swearword" countries and who follows the standard Republican playbook of racist voter ID laws mixed with gerrymandering to delete minority votes would have been enough. But, I guess that's not enough. What you have just described in your piece is not a diverse group of people eager to help, you've described the average Jill Stein voter who will purposely throw away their vote if they don't get exactly what they want.
7
As of today I don't see any candidates that have earned the Black vote. I cannot in good conscience vote for Biden. Bernie, Bloomberg Harris or Klobucher they spent their entire careers creating and enforcing laws and policy that did more harm to ADOS/Black folks generationally than they did trying to rectify and repair the damage laws have been weaponized and used against us as a people with the Criminal Justice system. I have not heard any candidate who has a Black Agenda or support reparations, they haven't made any concrete promises to ADOS to help our lives.
IMO it is not ADOS/Black citizens job to save America or to save White folks from the reckless choices they make in elections. This will be the first time in 61 yrs that I will vote Down ballot and write in ADOS in the president category. Politics is an exchange not a gift
3
@Hayward JOHNSON
That'll teach 'em! Don't "rescue" America by voting for which ever candidate the Dems nominate. Throw away your vote in yet another meaningless protest. I'm absolutely certain that another 4 of DJT will really benefit blacks, "ADOS" or not.
Another Purity Test that will get us another 4.
2
@Hayward JOHNSON
Blacks should vote for Trump because he has been their powerful advocate in two key areas: Jobs and prison reform.
1
Maybe the Democrats should spend time talking to Doug Jones and those fired-up and organized black women voters in Alabama who got him into the U.S. Senate in 2017- the first Democrat to win a U.S Senate seat from that state since 1992. Maybe they could help with the “deciphering.”
8
@Susan
Doug Jones has done nothing for the black women who got him into the Senate, he didn't even bother to thank them. A vote is a transactional exchange, quid pro quo, if that term isn't overly tainted now. We are tired of voting for politicians who do nothing for us.
Doug Jones has done an excellent job in the Senate. He has made many Town Hall visits in the spirit of representing every zip code. He sponsored legislation regarding survivor benefits for military spouses, school lunch funding, and expanding Medicaid to protect rural hospitals from closing. In loyalty to his voters who opposed his accused rival Roy Moore, Jones voted against confirming Justice Kavanaugh. Jones, a former prosecutor, has been a sober, moderate, rational and effective servant of Alabama.
2
@Lynn in DC
Sorry to rely on an quote, but:
"It is better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it."
So, Jones is not everything, maybe he isn't even much of anything. But do you really think Roy Moore would have been better? And good ole Jefferson Beauregard?
I know it's not easy to digest, but taking half a loaf is better than nothing. Or do like losing 60-40 in election after election just so you can say you're "pure"?
So why are blacks supporting Biden instead of Booker and Harris?
Probably for the same reason Jews are not overwhelmingly supporting Sanders and Hispanics are not overwhelmingly supporting Castro.
Because minorities are essentially insecure of their place in America, and therefore want to back the perceived “winner” so he/she will be beholden to them and protect them.
Young whites, more secure and carefree, are less likely to fall into that trap, and are free to vote for anyone they like. Promise them free education and a job, promise to destroy those corrupt “mind-controlling” corporations and evil billionaires, appeal to their youth and vitality - and they’ll follow you anywhere.
3
Thank you for your comment. I’m disappointed with many of the commenters here who don’t understand this simple fact. It’s not about “taking your ball and going home” as some have ignorantly asserted. Maybe you can take your ball and go home when you’re on the same field, playing the same game.
I saw a black pol on Chris Matthews show months ago. Much of the panel was in the studio. The black guy.\, a young guy, maybe 40, was remote.
All the white talking heads were saying how Biden would quickly fade and talking about the different lanes etc, etc, etc.
Eventually Matthews went back to the black guy, who was simmering with frustration. He said, and I quote,
‘.Joe Biden was ‘ride or die’ with Barack Obama and we are ‘ride or die’ with Joe Biden’. Loyalty goes both ways...’.
That is the story of the primary contest right there.
11
Loyalty is one of the most commendable traits. We can be loyal and still acknowledge that someone is ageing and may not be as sharp. It is not a crime to grow old, as it often seems in our youth-obsessed society. It is, however. necessary that the President of the United States be sharp and on the ball whatever the person's age. We can see the consequences to our country and the world when the POTUS is not up to the job. When we take the car keys from an elderly parent it is for the best reasons. Joe Biden's slowing down due to age must be faced. That is not disloyal, it is honest.
4
So? Sorry, I missed the point. If black voters get drowned out in the Deep South by white majorities in their states (or in the voting public there), how is that supposed to affect Democratic Party decisions about presidential candidates? More precisely, what difference would that make?
2
I have a dream:
First, we vote for the best candidate, female or male, and not caring about skin color.
Second, every eligible voter registers and votes.
When these two things happen, we will be free of Republican corruption.
5
@Astrochimp We need to be free of Democratic party corruption. Republicans are beyond redemption. When Democrats shed corruption the Democratic party will overwhelm the republican party for at least a generation. If it doesn't? More Trump, more pain.
1
The idea that the Democratic Party’s nominee will be largely determined by folks from the Deep South is quite disturbing.
3
@Neildsmith
the power the electoral states gives a few swing states in addition to states with small populations is disturbing.
Trump certainly talked to them as if they were begging. He talked as if every black person, every non white minority, lived in disgusting circumstances.
I am not black but I would think that black people want many of the same things white people do. Higher wages, decent schools, affordable healthcare and prescription drugs, and safe neighborhoods.
Unfortunately one of the major ways there is a difference is that blacks are kept from voting and their power on a national level is decreased because of it. I doubt any president can deliver everything they promise especially in this partisan era but Democratic candidates definitely want more minorities to vote. Once voting in every precinct is accessible to all of its citizens real change might happen. There is a reason Republicans try to suppress the votes and yes, it is about race.
3
There is an old saying that words are cheap. In other words, they are meaningless, and even dishonest and disingenuous, if there is a lack of empathy and proaction. Further, there is a difference between sympathy and empathy. Sympathy toward our Black neighbors risks being interpreted as, to paraphrase Charles, that of being "weak and begging." For any ethnicity and race, that is an insult to a person's dignity and worth.
I do not know what the exact answer is for our candidates to sincerely engage and understand the challenges of African Americans, particularly in the South. But it would serve them well to absorb and heed this column. That includes the knowledge that one must not do the above for votes or think, What's the use. A Democrat can not win a southern state. We have had enough of that jaded and cavalier attitude. An individual of that ilk does not belong in the Oval Office.
2
Black voters have the same concerns as all voters. They would like to have a decent job, live in a secure neighborhood, have good education for their children, reasonable health care that doesn't bankrupt them the first time they get very sick.
If I understand Mr. Blow correctly, those very basic needs are often frustrated by more than just indifference by politicians in general, but more specifically those politicians who promise so much for the Black community but seem to forget them when they are elected.
Politicians like Joe Biden and Bill Clinton and Barack Obama who when elected do try to overcome the endemic racism inherent in our system to help the Black community achieve the aforementioned basic desires will get support.
Newbies have a lot too prove, since the Black community has been let down by "nice talking politicians" times without number. With their rising political clout they are wise to ensure their support is earned.
1
@gpickard I'm not clear on what the politicians you mentioned did that materially helped the (non-monolithic) black community. Overcoming racism? Haven't seen that. Universal health care would be a concrete policy that absolutely positively helps the black community. It is unfathomable how that is not supported in the deep south.
If the Black voters in the democratic party are as powerful as Mr. Blow asserts, (and I believe they are) they aren't voting like it. Rather than assert power they seem to be second guessing what is acceptable and getting behind that.
Good op/ed, but I hope you understand that this white, desperate to see the present occupant of the White House gone, woman needs to understand what it will take to get every non-Trumper to the polls in 2020. I would be very surprised if my top pick gets the nomination, but vote I will.
2
Much as I appreciate Mr. Blow's thoughts and perspective, and he is consistently among my favourite columnists and has been for years, I feel this essay misses the mark.
It is not the self sufficiency or distrust our black brothers and sisters rightfully have of the promises of politicians that we need elucidated, but their thoughts on who the Democratic nominee will be: we are united against the alternative.
Will black voters join many of us on the left and present voters with a bold new choice to move our nation forward, or will they continue to put their faith in a backslapping segregationist friendly old codger who has even less verbal fluency than the current POTUS?
That is the real choice facing Americans of all shades and creeds: do we go forward confident in our ability to change our present and make a new and better future, or do we hide under our pillows and return to the failed policies of the past, of incarcerating our youth, calling marijuana a gateway drug, striving to bend towards an unyielding opposition that will stop at nothing to ensure its grip on power remains?
That is the real question facing us. That is the answer a wise southern writer like Mr. Blow could explain. I look forward to reading more on this topic from Mr. Blow.
4
The black vote is done, 2020 will about its last hurrah in Presidential politics. Democrats have for several years now been conflating the black vote into the People of Color block. The reasons are well outlined here by Mr. Blow. The black vote delivers no electoral College votes, they dont really even tilt any electoral College votes. All the focus and promise to black voters doesn't move the needle anymore. The broader people of color label pulls in more votes. South Carolinians already proved this and elected a black Republican US Senator. Florida, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado waste of effort for Democrats to reach out to black voters, Hispanics are the path to electoral votes in those states. New York, California and Illinois, black outreach is just not worth it, those states are already in the bag. This discussion is only being had because we are talking about the Democratic primary and convention votes. The big race next November, the black just doesn't matter.
2
@Mkm
In 2016, the African American vote was down in Philly, Milwaukee, and Detroit just enough for Trump to win those states.
The Latino vote in Texas could turn the state. That potential has existed for 20+ years but they don't register or turn out.
I'll take what's worked over the potential of the unproven.
"Democratic candidates have to talk to them like the people they are: strong and pushing, not weak and begging."
Amen.
I found it striking that while white candidates were defining racial justice as a matter redistributing wealth towards minorities, the only person on stage last night talking about entrepreneurship was Corey Booker, a black man.
3
It is one thing to understand how people think. It is another to be able to appeal to that thinking. Obama's understanding of red America's attachment to guns did not make him able to alter their perception that he was going to take their guns.
Nobody else can replicate Joe Biden's experience as Obama's Vice President. If that's the primary qualification for their vote, if they are determined to mistrust Washington, if they reject the fundamental premise that Washington can be a force for good, then how can a Presidential candidate appeal?
I am still trying to understand how the people who came out to elect and reelect Barack Obama failed to show up in the mid-terms to reward the Democrats who worked to pass his agenda.
Perhaps a candidate who levels with them will catch their attention - making your voices heard every 4 years is not enough. If you choose to vote for me because you like my agenda, I need you to do your part and elect people who will help me pass my agenda.
4
These voters are casualties of the Electoral College too.
3
Black citizens have power when they are concentrated in a city or a congressional district and hold the majority in elections. No mystery there. Also no mystery that they, especially middle-age and older blacks, distrust the politicians who make big promises. But I notice Mr. Blow does not answer a question I have long had: What do black citizens want from government that white, brown, yellow and red citizens do not also want? In other words, what is a candidate supposed to say when speaking to a black audience or a black community leader that they wouldn't say to a primarily white audience or community leader?
5
@abigail49
Really? Do white people fear being killed by the police when their cars are pulled over? Do white people call the police on other whites for barbecuing in the park or entering an apartment building? When did the police last break into an innocent white person's apartment and kill said person or shoot through a window in a white person's home killing the white person? These are a few of the incidents that affect blacks and do not affect whites. I include them to make clear that blacks and whites are not the same, do not share the same experiences in life and therefore do not have the same expectations of politicians.
1
Polls show that Biden is far more likely to beat Trump the Warren. That probably explains his popularity.
Very well written, Mr. Blow.
Maybe the Democratic presidential nominee doesn't win in the South, but Doug Jones won in Alabama two years ago largely because of black women (running against Roy Moore didn't hurt.) In a fair election, Stacy Abrams would be governor of Georgia. Louisiana re-elected a Democratic governor.
Treat politics as local, and the national will eventually follow. The Democrats could learn a lot from the South, especially from African-Americans. And women African-Americans.
6
While I agree with all of this, and the conclusion, we can take it further to prove it more.
With the exception of two Deep South governors, Clinton and Carter, no Democrat has won any Deep South state since Nixon. Obama in just one state is the exception that proves the rule. A governor from the Deep South knows how to win it, and the other Democrats fail to decipher it. Even Hillary, even after Bill won it, failed herself to decipher it.
"These Southern black voters are in control of the power structure most intimately affecting their lives — local government."
That is not exactly true. They do win elections and elect many black candidates, but they DO NOT seem to get effective control of local power. Those elected don't end up serving the interests of the people who elected them -- they sell out.
What does that mean? See the example uncovered about the racist police and prosecutor behavior in Baltimore, when so many in the local power were black. The same thing has happened/not happened in Detroit since the 60's days of Mayor Coleman Young. They use and abuse black voters. Black voters even when they win locally don't gain what they have a right to expect from control of their local power structure.
There is a lot more untold in this story, of how voting power does not become real power. I suspect Blow stopped short of deciphering it, even as he points out that too many who ought to decipher it fail in that.
3
Mr. Blow:
Your OpEd piece educated me and certainly many others. The exercise of the electoral power of Black communities in the deep South is a difficult balancing act. The candidate wants the vote, but knows that to win the state (say Georgia) there must be an alliance of the Black community and some portion of the rest of the state. Perhaps that, rather than skepticism with big plans, explains why Sanders and Warren do not resonate. Is the perception that a vote for them is a wasted vote since they will never win enough extra votes to carry the state?
2
In the Deep South, the best way to determine one’s political leanings is by looking at the color of their skin: white people vote republican (over 80%), while black people vote democratic (over 90%)... There’s no better predictor out there.
It’s been that way ever since LBJ signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which immediately turned the South red. He was too optimistic when he predicted that “democrats had lost the South for a generation.”
Only shifting demographics will bring political change to the region, as we’ve seeing in Virginia.
4
@Chris
aren't you forgetting the last elections in Kentucky and Louisiana?
Mr. Blow — You wrote (listing Deep South) states: “Specifically, I’m talking about Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina. (I’m from Louisiana, and trying to define the Deep South is a subject that can spark a bar fight. I include North Carolina, while many do not. I do not include Florida or Texas. Geographically they are Deep South, but culturally they are different.)”
I’m curious where you place Georgia? I lived in Atlanta and Savannah from 1987 to 2014, and realize that the cities are not the rest of the state, but am wondering how you see it.
1
I do not see any of the Races being a block vote ...just as I do not see any other Race being that way either.....Looking at the Political circus that we have been watching , and looking at the 3 most IMPORTANT Issues being 1. The Economy 2. Jobs 3. Safety of our Nation Trump Wins hands down 2020!
1
A Charles Blow column I actually agree with! Imagine that!
Joking aside, though... it's hard to square Mr. Blow's (accurate) realpolitik assessment of black voters in the Deep South with his own ideological stridency. He's absolutely right to assert that "many of the candidates are simply offering promises far beyond their ability to deliver, no matter how good the promises sound or how good they would be if kept;" to my ears, that sounds like a tacit admission that Democrats are best served to elect tacticians, rather than ideologues.
Yet that doesn't square with Mr. Blow's maximalist insistence on ideological purity — particularly when it comes to divisive, racially-tinged issues, like reparations, that tend to cleave against Democrats in a general election. If black voters want to be regarded as strong and pushing, not weak and begging, then why have so many column inches in this election cycle been dedicated to an issue (reparations) with perhaps the smallest chance of ever succeeding in national politics?
5
Mr. Blow. I enjoy all of your columns. Please provide the reasons in a reality based case of what Dems and GOP have as basic tenets in the values and ideals they hold most closely. That is an service any diverse group can use to determine T or the Dems.
Hispanic groups are "multifaceted" as well as are every other group.. I wouldnt presume to tell anyone the rationale behind why Hispanic voters vote the way they do.
1
"Black voters" Seriously? Does that even mean anything? Does "white voter" mean anything? What's a "woman voter"? Anyone who talks or thinks like this is wrong from the start. I get that this article is trying to point out the diversity of opinions that exist among blacks, but the point should really be that color or gender are simply bad ways to categorize how people think.
4
A great piece by Perry Bacon Jr., the highly regarded poll analyst, journalist, and senior writer for FiveThirtyEight, tackled this issue nearly two months ago in "Why Black Voters Prefer Establishment Candidates Over Liberal Alternatives".
Bacon emphasized the same point you make: "black Democrats are not a monolith and are divided in some of the same ways white Democrats are divided."
Further, he then detailed the trends specific to black voters:
"1. Establishment candidates typically have existing ties to the black community. This will sound tautological, but an establishment candidate is … well … established. A candidate who is part of the establishment wing of the Democratic Party likely has fairly strong ties to major constituencies in the party, such as labor unions, women’s rights groups and, of course, black leaders and voters."
And,
"2. Black voters are pragmatic...Black Democrats are not moderate in the way that the word is most often invoked in white-dominated, elite settings, such as cable news and Twitter..If, for instance, Biden endorsed Medicare for All and the elimination of most private insurance plans...it’s likely that black voters...would begin to feel more favorable about Medicare for All rather than breaking with Biden to find an anti-Medicare-for All candidate."
And,
"3. Black leaders are part of the establishment and support its candidates."
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-do-black-democrats-usually-prefer-establishment-candidates/
The primary problem, no pun intended, it is assumed from the get go that blacks are naturally Democratic voters. I find this odd. Under the current administration black unemployment has reached record low levels and wages are increasing, though not as much as I think we all would like. Frankly, the Democrats take the black vote in the general election for granted. The truth is the a Democrats have done little for black Americans for about two generations.
1
So what you are saying is that because black people don’t feel like their vote counts, they don’t vote in the federal elections. How, exactly, are their voices to be heard if they don’t vote? And so what if they “don’t like” the Democratic candidate? That is the most ridiculous excuse to not vote. They will vote for Democrats at the local and state level, but not a Democrat presidential candidate because they “don’t like” them? That’s what got us trump in the first place.
1
The Democratic candidates should consider their difficulty in gaining the support of African American voters as an indicator that they are missing somethings about which they know not. They should stop trying to gain their support by offering impressive policies and start listening to what they want as they describe.
2
Thank you for a insightful piece. As a New Yorker I don't expect anything from these elected officials who hold city and state office position because there is always a reason why they cant deliver on there promises to help the average person. The city has lawyers but they don't read the fine print. The city has social workers but the mentally ill still don't receive services
Nothing ever changes for the better,positive change is always coming and somehow some of us miss the visit.
Ms. Warren and Bernie have spent the last two years out in the field talking to everyone who will listen to them. The support they get is because they have been fighting the good fight for thirty years and more. The other candidate's are so ambitious that they don't care about the American people.
Cory is all about I am not sure, Ms. Harris was all about locking people up but now she sees the bigger picture of the harm that she has caused like Bloomberg. Deval feels he can jump in two years later and everyone should be in awe.
The south has their own issues and the people in the south know best how to successfully deal with them.
However we all need to get behind the best candidate and we need to know and understand all the issues. The best candidate will carry us all to better times that we all need to be a part of.
This is our future and we need to listen to everyone who has progressive thoughts to move us all forward.
4
Charles, (full disclosure, I am a 74 yr old white guy that grew up in the Boston suburbs) I agree that black voters are skeptical and they have every right to be. But the alternative, the republican party, is a choice even more apt to ring hollow. Every person of color should note the way the republicans have treated immigrants both legal, illegal, and dreamers as something to be purged. They talk a good talk, but in the end their actions support the opposite.
7
I think we do ourselves no favors as Democrats by failing to see just how similar black and white voters in the South really are. Southerners as a whole are more evangelical than any other geographic group, and too often it seems that we exclude black Southerners from this discussion because the term evangelical has become politicized thanks to groups like the Southern Baptist Convention taking such a visible role in right wing politics.
But black Baptists and white Baptists, for example, share the same roots in the Deep South and are both socially conservative. Politically the may be very different, going right back to the Civil Rights Movement, where black Baptists were instrumental in spearheading equal rights while white Southern Baptists vehemently opposed it. But when it comes to choosing a Democratic candidate, black Southerners are influenced by their evangelical religion as much as white Southerners are. That’s why Mayor Pete is having a hard time with black Democrats. Even though he is arguably the most conservative Democrat in the field, gay marriage is a hot button issue for evangelicals across the Deep South.
Things change very slowly in the South due to the religious beliefs, and as much as I like Pete, I just don’t think that black Southerners would turn out for him in purplish states (GA, NC, FL). So while he’s way ahead in Iowa, the ugly truth is that black Southerners do not share the enthusiasm. Rebuilding the Obama coalition won’t happen with Pete.
4
If the group is ‘multifaceted’ then it is not a group and can’t be ‘deciphered.’ But in any case groups should be out there about who they are and what they want. Politicians are not mind readers or decipherers to begin with.
4
Blow explains some dynamics about the different views of African American voters that are not generally known nor discussed. When one looks at the concerns of African Americans historically it was about getting past the severe limitations due to racism. It's more complicated than that now.
Racism is and is not a factor. The kind of racism which was the target of the Civil Rights movement could only be addressed at the Federal level. That was the institutionalized racism of Jim Crow and racial segregation. Those are now gone, defunct, no longer part of our public laws nor institutions. The memory of racism and white supremacy is still fresh but it has not the power that it once did. But a lot of the racist motives are still at work in how many officials at the state and local level choose to use their authority. But with more economic opportunity the big majorities of people could overcome that.
The Democrats would greatly strengthen their political power by helping the great majorities of African Americans in the Southern states to achieve greater power and influence at the state level.
3
While some initiatives should be taken at the federal level (ie affordable health care), others really don’t make much sense with our current system. I would have loved for longer school days with extracurricular activities when my kids were little, but despite having a Dept of Education, these things are unworkable while we fund schools at the local level.
I am surprised that former Newark mayor and now Senator Booker was not doing better with black voters.
2
Buttigieg being a mayor of a city with a big controversy over a shooting of an African American by police is in plenty of difficulty. He and the police administration tried to recruit officers from the African American community but nobody from that community will join. Apparently, just being a police officer is an act against the entire community. No local African American with any political influence is likely to endorse him, and without that he cannot gain widespread support among African American political leaders.
4
I read your column as I listened to Elizabeth Warren's speech at Clark Atlanta University. As Rep. Ayanna Pressley said in her introduction to the speech, Elizabeth Warren has been working with and listen to Black people all of her time in politics. I hope more African Americans listen to Sen. Warren this primary season.
10
In 2008, it was the first time in my adult life that there were lines at the polls. young people who had never voted, diverse. There to vote for Barack. Since then there are so many early voting options to work voting into our work schedules. Varies state by state. It would be a great public service if the Times could provide free information via a mobile device which is the only real access. And where early voting is available etc.
7
@Florence Everyone has a cell phone. Look it up.
1
I'm not a fan of Mr. Blow but he makes some good points here. It's good when voters don't make up their mind solely on the basis of a candidate's skin color.
Over the long term, I think the Democratic Party is at risk for losing a big share of the black vote. The party is dependent upon a narrative that the biggest problem for blacks is white racism and they need the power of government to help them. But as more and more blacks move up the economic ladder, and as Democratic administrations don't really do anything for those left behind, that narrative will be hard to sustain.
I also think the interests of the teachers' unions and black parents are diametrically opposed. When given the choice, black parents are voting with their feet and demand for spaces in charter schools exceeds supply. But the teachers' unions are doing everything they can to maintain their public school monopoly. At some point the Democratic Party is going to have to abandon one side or the other.
4
@J. Waddell
LOL. And the republican party will have to choose between corporate tax incentives and improving the salaries of the working class. Well we know that salaries are still stagnant...but will they admit it?
8
@Dr. Girl You don’t seem to keep up with the economy. Wages have been going up, not stagnant. Blue collar wages have risen more than white collar.
2
@Jackson
Really what economic report have you been reading. Wages are stagnant and have been so for decades. Rich people like Trump Jr. was paid from student fees 50k ,he is now stealing from students, what a family.
5
It's too bad that Blow didn't delve into the specifics of how various candidates are being processed by black voters in a place such as South Carolina. The polling suggests that the two younger black candidates who have patterned themselves after Obama, Booker and Harris, are barely registering while Obama's ancient white running mate Biden is topping the field. There surely must be an important message lurking there. So what is it?
Part migtht be the tacit recognition by older black voters that the national mood is not favorable to another younger black winning the presidency. The Obama backlash that gave us Trump is being perceived as not yet completely spent. For many blacks, aspiring to be the next Obama is regarded as a negative political factor, not a positive one. Biden is trusted as being a friendly white who was Obama's partner -- well-intentioned, safe and not symbolically toxic to the white electorate.
The big unanswered question is whether older southern blacks can be convinced to risk votes on more radical white candidates, people who espouse programs more economically helpful to the black community than Biden's but have done so at the risk of alienating moderate whites.
So in the black community, as well in the party generally, the issue is whether Democrats truly believe in the power of their base. That is, is firing up and turning out a currently disengaged cohort of a natural majority a better strategy than playing for a handful of uncommitted centrists?
18
@woofer
Blow is correct in citing Baldwin’s poem where it states that Blacks don’t trust politicians because at some point the oppressor changes his/her tune once your vote is obtained.
This is why Biden will win because on an existential level he can be trusted because he didn’t stab Obama in the back over the eight years of his presidency.
Go Joe!!!!!!!
2
"As such, until [blacks living in states controlled by white Republicans] changes, voting in presidential elections can feel mostly symbolic for blacks in the South."
The problem of presidential elections feeling mostly symbolic is not limited to blacks. Under the electoral college system, in states that are predominantly Republican or Democratic, votes for the other party basically don't count. But that's no excuse for not voting in the national election. The fact that a majority of the voters voted for Hillary Clinton and not Donald Trump will be an important factor in the 2020 presidential election.
8
It is long past time to decipher what any group of voters needs, or wants. Rather, we need adults in the room, who have come to grips with the fact that Congress, who passed the much lobbied Trump law 2 decades ago, for the real estate holdings companies, has driven the price of housing out of the reach of most Americans in most major cities. Until we see that the over 70,000 pages of the IRS Tax Code that gives more and more credits, and deductions to every individual, group, etc. especially those who have lots of children, we won't see the forest for the trees. The fact that our country is spending 30% more each year than what we are taking in in revenue, and the gravy train is running dry. Medicaid the free program for 75 million, where most states are adding numbers to the rolls each year, and must tax for it, thus straining their budgets, is set to run out of enough money to pay all the bills in less than 3 years. Congress has known this for a decade, think that they have been interested in shoring it up? Think again, they haven't We have met the enemy, and it all of us that are consumed by our own needs, and not the honest truth about the arrogance, ignorance, and dereliction of duty of Congress to the American people.
4
I had a sense of what Mr. Blow describes but only from afar, and from a white guys perspective. Thank you for the excellent analysis and succinct summary of this analysis.
As others have noted, please democratic candidates, heed the message presented and take it to heart.
4
Thank you Charles for giving some rationale as to why black voters vote - or don't vote - the way they do. And I agree that they represent the single biggest bloc of voters that vote for Democrats, so their values and thinking matters for any Democratic candidate that wants to win, to understand this and be able to communicate with black voters in these terms.
But while black voters may have come to believe that their Presidential or Congressional votes don't matter, they shouldn't use this as a reason to stay home and not vote. I live in a deep Red area where my mostly Blue votes are almost meaningless in terms of immediate results, but I vote anyway. Not long ago the state I live in was solidly Red in Presidential races, but has transformed from that to Purple to Blue. This happened over time because lots of people like me kept voting Blue and instead of it being seen as "wasted vote", it spurred others to vote Blue. This is what blacks must do.
But there is another issue, and that's the seeming collective mindset of the "black voters", whereby they vote - or don't vote - as a monolithic bloc. Where is the independent thinking and judgement of these voters? Hilary received landslide support against Bernie from blacks, but did these voters actually stop and consider who would do best by them? And why did they stay home against Trump? If blacks don't want to be stereotyped, or taken for granted, they need to not treat themselves as monolithic.
7
Over the last few generations there has been a big increase in the Black American middle & upper-middle classes. This growing wealth has come from innovation & hard work, not from social welfare programs. The outcome of this wonderful trend is that an ever increasing percentage of Black American voters are becoming attracted to the ideas of economic freedom & individual responsibility advanced by thoughtful conservatives. Candace Owens, who I listen to regularly, is eloquently leading the way. It looks like progress to me.
3
@Charles Woods And these people who realise they're lucky are happy to share the wealth and know that it takes a village. Do you really think Black support for Trump has gotten better in the last few years? Look at the 2018 and 2019 elections...
@Charles Woods
Minority small business owners support Trump.
1
One of the most informative and enlightening things I've read in a long time.
The mental light bulb went on like it does when you read truth both simple and profound.
I hope the Democratic leadership not only reads this, but pays attention.
9
Doesn't appear southern black voters are more disenfranchised vis-a-vis the presidential vote than any other voters, white or black, left or right, who doesn't reside in a swing state. Hello California. Nice to see you, Texas. This is a problem or at least a feature of the electoral college. But I don't think Mr. Blow explained specifically what candidates don't understand, how they can learn what they need to learn, and how they can convey that to the voters.
10
Don't lump Duval Patrick in with Harris and Booker. When you hear him on the stump, you will see a big difference between Patrick and all the front runners. Patrick is a gifted orator and on par with President Obama and it will be interesting to see if the doubters change their tune. Black voters will shift their vote for Patrick if they believe he can win--it happened for Obama overnight. Is it too late? We will see.
3
@EPMD
Sorry, but I lived in Massachusetts from 1974 to 2009, including Deval Patrick's term as governor, and while he was an excellent leader and administrator, he is no Obama. I say this as a gay married man (in MA) who is deeply grateful for his support for LGBTQ people. And remember: Obama himself was opposed to gay marriage for a long time.
But I still believe: Patrick is not Obama--as a speaker, as a visionary, in terms of gravitas.
3
I disagree. Patrick is a better orator than Obama.
1
The fact that some people look different from others makes it easy for them to be grouped separately. Grouped separately it then becomes easier to make behavioral claims about how one group behaves versus the other.
This is true of any characteristic that makes one group appear different from the other. It doesn't matter if they are old, young, fat, thin, slant-eyed, brown, black, white, or even green, blue, and purple.
2
So black voters can't carry states, deliver no electoral college votes, and aren't energized by a slate of candidates that just doesn't appeal--including the three named black candidates. Yet the black vote is seen as crucial to the fate of whoever wins the Democratic nomination. This is a very bleak picture: a "lose-lose" all the way around, and it would seem that the only, narrow way through is for ALL "identity voters," including black citizens, to come to the election with one aim--returning governance to propriety.
This is our dilemma, and opinion-formers and thought leaders from minority groups just have to summon their splinter groups to the Greater Cause. The threat to the United States is that The Greater Cause is being lost in a divided and needy culture, with subgroups that premise their own participation on direct and tangible benefits for themselves. We are in big trouble here!
31
@Robert
I am certain that you consider yourself to be a verynliberal guy. But your post is implicitly racist not to mention wrong.
It is wrong because black votes are critical in Nothern swing states and if you don’t believe me ask President Hilary Cli3nton.
Your statement is implicitly racist- astonishingly elitist-a in that you expect blacks across the country to vote for the candidate favored by the white, College-educate so-called elite.
That will never do
Just to play devil’s advocate, why should Democratic presidential candidates invest time and resources in states that have shown, over and over, that their electoral votes are not up for grabs? It makes no sense for the minority to court primary voters in solidly Red or Blue States until the slave-era Electoral College is abolished. Fix that and maybe the country can move forward. Popular vote for President is something that would give me great relief before I die. The ROI would pay dividends in perpetuity. Of course, the Imperial Presidency would have to be taken down a few pegs to prevent a tyranny of the majority. Constitutional Convention sounds a lot more unifying than extreme policy positions that have no hope of making it through the gridlock. One can dream. I just thought of the spectacle put on by the minority in the House. Never mind.
5
Interesting to see this take on black voters. I appreciate the insights you provide. Without being fully in a position to judge, the appear observant and sound. To me, your observation also seem consistent to me with what I’ve seen in polls of the democratic Presidential primary race. If people see Biden as part of the revolution of the possible, why should they go for something that might appear (correctly or incorrectly) as pie in the sky. With that in mind, polls showing Biden holding steady with black voters, despite what most pundits judge to be middling performances in the debates and despite repeated “gaffes,” including racial ones, makes a lot more sense.
Based on what you say, it also makes sense that there is no overwhelming consensus among black voters in their choice of Democratic candidates.
A most important takeaway from your article is that black voters should not be taken for granted. Nor should we (be we whites, non-whites , politicians, activists, conservatives, liberals, or progressives) make assumptions that we know what is in their best interests. That is an understand best achieved by listening to black people, both as individuals an, through instruments like polls, in the aggregate.
1
Your analysis explains succinctly why Joe Biden has an essentially impenetrable demographic firewall.
He is a centrist who isn't promising pie in the sky, and he was steadfast in his support for President Obama.
It is unlikely that any other candidate is going to be able to break through that, no matter what magnitude of gaffe Biden manages to serve up or what manner of promises or plans Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren conjure.
Biden's support seems to be hardening, not unlike Trump's unbreakable 40%.
10
There is a subtle contradiction in what Charles Blow is saying that is critically important in the presidential elections.
It is true that black voters in the South--as are voters everywhere- are diverse. However, black voters in the South vote in blocks and this can determine the Democratic primary race for the presidential candidate. For those who recall, Obama won the primary in 2008 DESPITE black voters supporting Clinton in the Deep South. In the 2016 race, the overwhelming support from black voters in the Deep South masked the deep weakness of Clinton candidacy. It was probably a potent sign that Clinton lost to Sanders in so many Midwestern states despite Clinton's huge advantages. My big fear this time around is that black voters in the Deep South--a region that will remain Deep Red--in the presidential race will throw their support behind Joe Biden who may hobble into the Democratic Convention and lose to Trump, repeating the 2016 nightmare. To frame this issue in a cynical way, black voters in the Deep South have too much influence in the Democratic primary. In 2016, this could have the most adverse impact on Kamala Harris and Corey Booker.
28
@UC Graduate
I think you are oversimplifying. The "deep weakness of the Clinton candidacy" did not prevent her from outpolling Trump by 3,000,000 votes. Trump won by a hair, actually many hairs, any one of which being different would likely have thrown the election the other way. Examples: Comey, "deplorables", the 20-year hate-Hillary campaign by the GOP.
3
Unusual perspective when the CW is both Iowa & New Hampshire are Not representative since they are so overwhelming white.
@UC graduate
With all due respect to Mr. Blow, I believe yours is a far better analysis of the situation. It’s very well written, thought out, and eye opening. One small correction, I think you meant to say 2020, not 2016, at the end.
I would much rather have the brilliant Stacy Abrams on the ticket than the tired, regularly misspoken and out of touch Mr. Biden, who seems to inspire no one over seventy, even his supporters. His main expectation is to stay awake, not be totally incoherent and correctly remember his web address when he recites it.
And his insistence in denying his son exploited his famous last name for money in the then corrupt Ukraine is a stain on a party trying to fight and punish republican corruption. Surely, with all his self professed experience in foreign affairs, Mr. Biden knew this stunk to high heaven, while technically not illegal.
6
Charles,
The situation that you are describing suggests that Black southerners may end up hurting the Democratic party's chances to win the presidential election.
If Black voters dominate primaries in southern states, but ultimately cannot deliver those states in a national election, then they could potentially skew the Democratic nomination away from candidates that would more likely to win the critical swing states needed to beat Trump in a national election.
48
It seems to me that one’s vote tends to feel “symbolic” more or less to every voter, because votes matter in the aggregate, not individually. One point being made here is that voting power seems more real in local elections because the aggregate needed to make a difference is smaller. Plus the more local an elections, the more voters experience a capacity to either know, or get to know, the candidate. You can call a city council member and have a chance of talking directly to the member, either on the phone or in person.
It seems to me, however, that interest groups, of all kinds, pose an interesting predicament for the conduct of civic affairs. Every citizen should feel that their interests are being “heard,” but what does “heard” mean? How much influence should one interest have over any other interest? Should the interests of one faction have precedence over another? Just because any interest group is particularly effective at being “heard,” does that mean their views should be favored? Conversely, just because an interest group is not good at making their interests “heard,” should their interests be ignored?
The less that we are unable to make sense of these challenges, the less that we will feel that we are in this together, and the more society will be divided and perceived as unfair. It does not help that at the top of our political system, we have a man who intentionally divides groups in order to increase his own power.
5
Suggestion to the candidates - ask the Black voters what is important to them, promise publicly to deliver, and when elected follow through.
56
@John Graybeard It would be nice if they followed through for any of us but in most cases it is about money, power and party loyalty. Research has proven that the wealthy have far greater sway with politicians then their middle class or poor constituents do. One campaign promise should be to fight to get rid of money in our political process.
16
Ask if they care if T is defeated. ! Poll this question. Let’s not split the vote to this aim. The country devoted to the rule of law needs this as an imperative.
6
@John Graybeard
Sounds like a logical approach, but since the black vote is segmented by age, gender, geography - as Mr. Blow states in this piece - that might be easier said than done.
1
Your bias is showing in your failure to note that 1 in 10 black voters supports the GOP (and if the president were anyone other than Trump, it could be 1 in 8 or more). The minute a Republican presidential candidate makes the legitimate case that every dollar that goes to support illegal immigrants is a dollar less for the black community,s/ he is making a winning argument. The moment a Republican presidential candidate argues that we don't need $20 billion more for schools, but could use $20 billion for a health information campaign to encourage young people not to have babies until they get married, and get married after age 21, s/he wins.
6
@Snowball
As an African American originally from the South, I disagree. None of the incentives that you gave from republicans would motivate blacks in the south. People in most southern states can barely make ends meet with two jobs. They have no health insurance. They work until they fall down and die.
If a democrat could go to churches and black town and try to identify with these sorts of struggles, democrats might win a southern state.
2
Texas is weird. Eastern Texas is the deep south, but western and south Texas are more like the AZ and NM. El Paso always struck me as being more like Tucson than Dallas.
3
"This group is multifaceted."
Which group isn't?
33
I do believe that Black voters are behind Biden for multiple reasons.
1. Although the messages of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party has appealing ideas, they aren’t running many black candidates. Black candidates supported Andrew Gollum who ran to the left and Ayanna Presley who’s a part of the squad but that’s pretty much it for black liberal wing democrats. This wing must run black candidates.
2. Most Black politicians are a part of the establishment wing of the Democratic Party. The CBC endorsed Clinton in 2016 and black house members have been the strongest defenders of Pelosi against the liberal wing.
3
Maybe its time for African-Americans to move 'en masse'....
into the Republican Party.
Where they would immediately become 30% of the party.
They've stayed with the Democrats for 60 years.
The Democrats have 'delivered' about all they can....not that much really.
Try a different strategy now.
If most Asian-, Latinx-, and African-Americans became Republicans....they'd take over the party.
Or am I missing something here?
16
@Kenneth Johnson And what is it that the Republicans might be offering in exchange for their vote? Voter suppression? Gerrymandering?
66
@Kenneth Johnson If they're a minority in southern states, they'd be a minority in the RNC as well. And things would be worse.
8
@Kenneth Johnson
Let's say for a moment that as you believe, the path to a better result for black Americans is to join the Republican party. That would mean moving to a Republican platform and president that currently:
-- on health care, would profoundly take away rather than strengthen it and has done everything possible to sabotage the signature health care expansion of the previous administration
-- on the environment, adopts policies that don't simply ignore climate change but make it intensely worse for future generations
-- on race, believes white supremacy isn't significant and there are "fine people" on both sides
-- on sex/religion (take your pick) has as its leader a personally immoral man who views women as beings whose bodies can be disrespected ("nasty" and "not my type") with their private parts physically grabbed as well as bought for sex (e.g., Stormy Daniels)
-- on inequality and debt, passed a massive tax cut for which Trump and his personal/corporate friends benefit at the expense of social security, medicare, and everything else the non-wealthy rely upon
-- has not done anything to invest in infrastructure which they want to privatize for private sector profit
and on and on and on and on and on...
Well, maybe black people have not joined Republicans and the above agenda because they are far, far wiser than you give them credit for.
35
The multifaceted nature of voters is also the case for Hispanics and the Democrats also have problems understanding the differences among different Hispanic groups. It is particularly difficult because I believe Hispanics identify with their country of origin rather than being Hispanic. I would say winning the black vote in the South was the most important reason that Hillary Clinton defeated Bernie Sanders in 2016 although many progressives continue to claim it was because the DNC rigged the primary for her to win. Clinton actually won every southern state in the primary. After Super Tuesday the race was more or less over. Biden appears to have a lot of the same support of blacks that Clinton have but it is probably a lot more tenuous.
2
Mr. Blow - i like reading your columns but why do you always punt everything into a racial corner ? Even President Obama, a man many like me admire quite a bit, got it wrong on this issue. The day he berated a white police officer for confronting Henry Gates and turned it into an issue about race was the day the Dems lost a lot of moderate voters including those who had voted for him.
While it is true that much of the American social psyche has been shaped by our attitudes toward race, it is also true that most Americans are trying to shed that emotion and embrace a society that has been the most diverse we have had since the day we were founded as a nation.
I am an immigrant from Southern India and grew up in a caste based society (far less so today). People like me moved to the US because we wanted to take no part in an archaic system. The US, to people like us, was the beacon of heterogeneity and flexibility where people of all colors, religions, languages, sexual orientations etc. were equally free to make their own futures.
Yeah ok, that picture is a bit more utopian than reality tell us is the case, but nonetheless it hurts my head to see all these buckets that we are creating here. Commentators like you have an obligation to help the transition to a future state where we don't see ourselves as Asian Americans, African Americans etc. but simply as Americans.
Can you please work toward that goal?
75
@Plato Mr. Blow writes about many subjects. His insights about the different and varied experiences of populations in the US are always enlightening, most often poignant.
So you, Plato, immigrated to the USA from Southern India; Mr. Blow's forebears were forced from their homes, enslaved, and sent across the ocean. Different stories.
It would be ideal if we could coalesce as humans, regardless, no subsets. But as long as racial and sexual heritage largely provides unequal opportunity, it feels artificial.
30
@Ambroisine - Lets take a leaf out of Nelson Mandela's playbook. There was no animosity, no scolding, no reminders, no categorization but only a recognition that things needed improvement and a strategy to get to that end goal. I fully understand where the anger stems from, but angry people don't usually enable change.
7
Plato,
Your comment reflects such a misunderstanding of the reality of our country. Unlike Mr. Blow, his family, my family and millions of Black Americans in this country, you seem to see this country’s racial history and reality as footnotes to be cast aside on the road to some blissful colorblind future.
Unfortunately, that history is lived daily experience for millions. It can’t and shouldn’t be cast aside in the name of not hurting your head.
There are real differences in how African-Americans are treated in all aspects of American life. Health outcomes, housing, criminal justice, employment, anti-black racism and economics just to name a few. My goodness, our Constitution, that shining example of Democracy, essentially defines Black people as 3/5ths of a person. These are real legitimate experiences, not mere emotions to be shed.
These candidates desperately need the support of Black voters to win the nomination. They also need us to not stay home or write them off as more of the same when Election Day comes. It is more than reasonable then, to expect that they put in the work and address issues that are uniquely or disproportionately impacting Black folk. And it’s important that Mr. Blow continue to share his insights on them.
It’s unfortunate that his discussion of race “hurts your head” but we all should be willing to endure a few headaches if we are truly serious about embracing the full worth and potential of every American.
17
Very interesting perspective. There are also many more candidates for the Democrats than 4 years ago. I wonder how many population groups and interest groups are fragmenting now in the primary season but will congeal again in a year.
2
I just hope that all Democratic primary voters choose the candidate who can beat Trump. And I hope all Democratic voters get out and vote for whichever candidate is nominated. Nobody gets to stay home because they don't think the nominee is pure enough. Nobody gets to protest vote for the Green candidate or the Libertarian or the Socialist Workers Party candidate because they "just don't feel comfortable" with the Democratic nominee. And no Democratic voter gets to vote for any local GOP no matter how far down the ticket he is, simply because he's a jolly guy who owns the car dealership in town. The GOP will destroy the planet if Trump gets another term. It will take decades to undo the harm he has done already. There is too much at stake to whine about being misunderstood by any of the candidates. I have my favorites, but if none of them is chosen, I will vote for the the Democrats, down to the last Appeals court judge, Parks and parkways commissioner, city council members, street sweeper. We already know voter suppression is popular in the GOPs bag of dirty tricks. We already know we battle the gerrymander to make our votes count even a tiny bit. We know we are already behind. So we better get over ourselves and vote for the Democratic candidate, who may be able to keep the air clean enough for our grandchildren to breathe, who will restore Nixon's EPA, who will keep healthcare for women out of the hands of radical evangelical men, and you know the rest.
105
@Patricia correct, this is the vote of the (current) century. Dems (and everyone) have to vote for whomever can beat Trump. It's vital to our society that we choose the path of kindness, not hate; of economic stability for everyone, not just the rich; education for all, not just DeVos' private (expensive) schools; and someone who represents all Americans, not just rich people. Vote anyone who can beat Trump, it's that important.
22
I would like to add a perspective as a white middle-aged liberal who has had several political conversations with black voters in my age group. What I have found is that we mostly agree on issues about Trump’s general awfulness as well as other liberal-moderate issues.
And then, invariably, they ask me about Barack Obama. I’ve noticed that no matter how much I praise the former president before issuing the mildest of criticism (such as that I wished he had punished the 2008 bankers more severely or had pushed for the public option), these older black voters will defend him passionately. They say things such as: “You have to understand what it was like for him as the first black president! He could not have been seen as too aggressive!” What’s clear to me is their level of affection for him is deep and it doesn’t surprise me at all that they would put their support behind his loyal Vice-President, Joe Biden.
50
Dear Mr. Blow - This is a good column that makes many good points, and I'm sure you know this subject much better than I (an older white woman). However, I think everyone these days has very low expectations for what Washington politicians can do. I'm also not sure that the candidates see blacks as pleading and begging as opposed to strong and pushing. Doesn't it seem to you that everyone is pushing these days? The one thing I have believed all my life and continue to believe is that blacks get a raw deal in almost every aspect of their lives in America - from housing and mortgage lending to education and job opportunities. Would that there were a politician on the national level who could address that! O Happy Day!
8
Interesting article and it would be interesting to read Mr. Blow's observations on other regions and demographic components of the African American community. I was under the impression that, like all voters, African Americans are supportive of politicians that deliver federal $ and services to their communities over time - explaining both long serving African American politicians and even some white politicians that may have held racist views in the past.
That Trump may have been viewed as better economically by some African Americans may explain why he was able to capture 8% of the vote in 2016 (lame but 2X better than Romney) and may draw as much as 15% of the African American vote in 2020 (https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/268517/analyzing-black-support-president-trump.aspx).
Since we are talking about the South, with a higher percentage of church attendance, that could also skew some African American voters to Trump (especially if Mayor Pete wins the nomination).
2
I wonder how many working class black voters are going to say "I like the unemployment numbers. I like the higher wages. I like the end to war with the rest of the world" and vote Trump?
8
No problem with liking all three points made but liking Trump is altogether high-nigh impossible. No truth, gangster profile and racist for sure. And not the businessman he claims to be, considering his defaults and transgressions against those who worked for him. Sad!
1
Biden, in his rush to show his supremacy in the race, never stops to think how it sounds when he generalizes his polling numbers in South Carolina to the rest of the nation. Yes, in South Carolina, Black voters favor him because they are most familiar with him. But Black voters elsewhere hold him in disfavor for the exact same reason.
Biden should learn from Bloomberg and revisit his past and apologize for the harm he’s caused. It’s clear he won’t from his answer to Cory Booker. It’s unlikely Biden is capable of feeling remorse beyond what his advisers coach him to say.
6
Learned a great deal from this. Thank you!
5
It's good to have your perspective. One would think that black voters are a monolithic single-minded silo. As most groups of voters are portrayed by the Democrats. By gender, orientation, race. Refreshing not to insult individuals who have minds of their own.
3
i feel this article was merely an introduction or set up to trying to explain "the black voter." the population of black people in this country is not a monolith --different people have different needs and beliefs ...but this article didn't come anywhere near explaining what is needed to bolster support for the democratic party and its candidates. and i really want to know what it would take to sweep these ancient white privileged senators, congressman and presidents out of their top seats and how black voters could help.
5
Bernie Sanders went to the deep south and marched and protested side by side with the civil rights protesters. He got arrested. He has been advocating for blacks for decades both socially and (this is key) economically. For far too long the black vote has been taken for granted and as soon as the votes are casts their concerns are ignored. Bernie Sander will stand with the black community, as he has always done. I hope the black community, especially those older, will look deeper into his record and policies.
12
@FXQ LOL. Bernie never went to the Deep South. He wasn't a freedom rider and didn't march with MLK. He was arrested once protesting housing discrimination in Chicago. He spent a night in jail. Admirable? Yes. A civil rights icon to whom AA voters should flock? They know better.
But Bernie isn’t for reparations which is not something that excites me as a black voter.
"White working-class voters in the Rust Belt behave one way because they feel that they are losing power."
Amen, and that feeling is also prevalent in The South, too. However, most threatened white working class members confuse losing power with the simple fact that the playing field is in the midst of being leveled. If only they would understand that, a lot of the disconnect in the country would disappear.
6
@John White working class voters are not losing to Blacks. They're losing to China. Blacks are losing to China to a lesser degree, because their livelihood is less tied to manufacturing. Blow lives in the old days, when Black and White interests were often in opposition. I no longer believe that is the case. It would help if our Democratic politicians would stop with the identity politics, and start talking like we're all in this together.
1
When George W. ran for president he made sure not to repeat the mistakes of his father in the 1992 election. W. went all in on conservatives. Joe Biden is making sure he doesn't repeat Hillary's "mistake" in the Mid-West. Joe is going all out to win the Mid-West. It makes sense from an electoral college standpoint. He is all in on white working-class voters. Winning them over while not alienating black voters is going to require a balancing act. I'm not convinced he can pull it off.
5
@Karen Thornton I believe he can and here's why. I live in a neighborhood that is multi-racial and my black neighbors who I've known for 35+ years are conservative Democrats. That's what is so often missed along the coast.
This is what is always ignored by our more elite media.....many black voters are conservative Dems.
Joe Biden will win them over if he hasn't already. And in my neighborhood, he is ahead of the game.
13
@Judy There are no conservative Democrats with any power in the party. The moderates who won in places that voted for Trump--and recaptured the House--have to fight for attention lavished in progressives who won in solid blue areas. Moderates cannot win with identity politics, which is the lifeblood of the progressives. 2020 is going to be a watershed over whether the Democratic party moves beyond identity to unite, or fractures over it.
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@Judy
Conservative, whether one is black, white or any color in between, is code for religious bigotry in the form of misogyny and homophobia. And that is a problem for "conservative" blacks who must evolve in the same way everyone lectures conservative whites to.
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Black Congressional Caucus members have often said two significant factors contributing to Black poverty are unemployment and prison.
Trump has very actively worked to address both. Black unemployment is at a record low, with the greatest gains for Black women. He signed landmark bipartisan prison reform, First Step Act, and renewed the Second Chance Act.
Members of the Black Congressional Caucus are trying to impeach him. That's certainly some decoding we're missing. Or are we seeing clearly that it's really all about power regardless of identity or party?
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@AACNY What it's about is that the president degrades minorities and women. A job with a helping side of indignity anyone should reject heartily.
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US politicians certainly have a history of failure to follow through on promises and programs. At this point we have Democrats in Congress being blocked at every turn. Facts on the ground say that Democrats have accomplished nothing in the last 3 years and even Obama was hamstrung by a Republican Congress. Any positive change has been so painfully slow and often watered down. Living conditions for many just get worse. A new dangerous chemical plant is being built in Louisiana's Cancer Alley. We are failing to protect while impeding progress for many black Americans. I think black Americans want the opportunity to prosper and live satisfying and decent lives. The Democratic candidates have many "plans" but accomplishing them is another matter. The African American community is diverse and we would do well to realize that. The question is why the many promises are not fulfilled while the plans go nowhere.
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So if black voters are a multifaceted group, which I feel certain they are, why even lump them together by something as arbitrary as skin color?
Once more, we have that inherent contradiction of liberalism's obsession with identity: everyone is supposed to be essentially the same "inside" but people are packed into arbitrary groupings, which are then assumed to have a set of group-based needs and concerns.
The whole process does little or nothing to end inequality, and strikes many in the center as just plain strange, alienating them from the Democrats.
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@Cary
Why? Because for a few centuries, and up to the present, most people in America do so automatically, and because our media, especially TV, do so almost constantly.
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@Cary "Why lump them together by something as arbitrary as skin color?"
Because for centuries the arbitrary fact of their skin color has subjected black Americans to monstrous injustices and violence. Those injustices didn't end with emancipation or the civil rights movement. As we've seen since the spread of phones with cameras, African-Americans are disproportionately targeted for violence by law enforcement. Then there's housing discrimination, educational inequality, environmental injustice, and voter suppression. That's why there's "a set of group-based needs and concerns."
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Sir, you have my deepest respect and hearty congratulations. THIS is the single best piece of writing I’ve read about the confluence of Race/Politics in Years. You speak of power, both loss and gain, that is the true definition of Politics, for good and bad. I’m mixed Race myself, the exact proportions and identity I’ll keep private. Why? I don’t wish to be casually and conveniently placed into a slot, to ease discomfort and lessen so-called confusion for others. I’m just me, like many, many others.
I know this : Unless we Democrats can defeat Trump AND his Collaborators, we don’t have a future. Not just as a political party, but as actual Citizens. Hyperbole and Dystopian Fantasy ? Tell THAT to the Children locked into Cages at the Border. Or to the Families of those that have actually died, IF they can be identified and located. Tell THAT to the Families of Murder Victims, Killed by rogue and sociopathic “ Warriors “ in other Lands, then pardoned by Trump. Tell THAT to honorable, dedicated, Professionals that spent their Careers working in the State Department or for Intelligence Agencies, only to be mocked and vilified by Trump and his Team Of Incompetents. I’ll be telling MY two Granddaughters all about this Regime of Greed and Lawlessness, and what I did to help end it. Readers, what will YOU do ???
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@Phyliss Dalmatian: Lady of the Plains: Given Kansas as the nesting place of the Koch Bottles and the launching pad for one Tea Party zealot (Michael Pompeo) and the wasteland of the state due to the no-tax nonsense of Sam Brownback who beggared Kansas, your home state has leagues and miles and leagues and kilometers to go before it joins the 21st Century. It’s a state with an admirable conservative philosophy that gave way to a zealousness that’s gone way off the rails. It’s got a strange history: Brown vs. Topeka (1954); the Herbert W. Clutter family killings (1959), e.g. I’m sorry that you’ve had to hide in plain sight there.
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@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
Maybe you meant "the Koch Battles".
Thank you, Sir. We “ only “ have five more years to go, then the Husband and I will both be eligible for Medicare. Funny how younger people don’t consider that until they’re “ old “. After that, we’ll retire and move to Tampa, to care for my Parents, if needed. Otherwise, it’s move to Seattle, finally. A small downtown Condo. No yard work, no Car. Heaven. I’m an Ohio Native, but even Ohio is not what it was. Kansas is another Planet. After 20 years, I’m made my peace with it, but will never, ever return once I’ve left, nor recommend it to anyone. Except my enemies, and Republicans. But I repeat myself.
Cheers.
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The concern of Acela liberals is that southern blacks vote on the basis of fear - fear that if they nominate someone white Democrats won't support, they'll end up with a bigoted fascist like Trump in charge. People point to the late movement of black voters from HRC to Obama in 2008 as an example. Only when Obama won 'white' primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire did blacks stop fearing whites simply wouldn't vote for Obama. And who are Acela liberals to blame them? The horrors of the Trump presidency are embarrassing to Acela liberals, but blacks are justifiably terrified of white nationalism in the White House.
In any event, handwringing gets us nowhere. Southern black voters should vote for whomever they like, for whatever reasons they like. No one appreciates being scolded for how they decide who to support, and such scolding has an abysmal track record for building support.
Yes, each candidate starts out with a whole bunch of baggage. But I, for one, trust that the most effective campaigner will get the most votes, and that having the most effective campaigner win the nomination is for the best.
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I am not a democrat because I am white. I am a Democrat because I fervently believe that all humans must be protected by what we, the people, call Human Rights. All.
Let's get this straight: whomever votes republican is voting for their own self-serving reasons. whomever votes Democrat is voting for the best they can be and helping their neighbor to be the best they can also be. Voting Democrat is voting justice to be served to equally to everyone in land. It is voting for the future by better public education for all children. It is voting worker's rights. Let's cut to chase here, voting Democrat is voting for the future. Voting Republican is voting for history.
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We so often hear the pundits making huge generalizations about whole groups of people. Deciphering the black vote by understanding the group as multifaceted, that's a refreshing message!
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Mr. Blow, are white progressives talking to black voters the right way, or the wrong way?
Since so much of the white progressive identity is tied up in finding the right posture vis a vis racism, sexism, homophobia, etc., it's fair to ask whether this is even an effective way to communicate with black voters.
If it's not, then what on earth are they doing it for? The language of identity politics is galvanizing white racial resentment on the right and, I suspect, ringing hollow to black voters. So, could some black Democrats please stand up and tell the white progressives to dial it back?
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@Patrick I would love to hear more on this topic, too.
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Yes. Progressives are against racism , sexism, and homophobia. Progressives free health care for all, free community college or vocational education for all, $15 minimum wage and the right to form unions.
These issues affect all Americans, including blacks.
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99 percent of the time when I read about “ the language of identity politics “ it was written by a white male.
Just saying.
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Very illuminating analysis. Please continue (as always)!
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@Tashi Yes, please continue! How can we better invigorate this potentially powerful group of citizens? If they act as one, they can move mountains.
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Fascinating reading. While I don't agree with the view you cite of the progressive wing of the party, I certainly understand and accept the doubt many feel that it speaks to their concerns. You grew up, as I understand it, in the Shreveport / Bossier City area? I came, at about the same time or a few years before, from the Panola / Lake Caddo part of Texas. I'd love to have a drink and discuss what's South and what's something else.
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Black voters picked Hillary over Bernie in the 2016 primary. They then stayed home on election day, at least compared to the Obama elections, which allowed Trump to win. Perhaps it's time for black voters to think about how the candidates they support will fare with the rest of the country, rather than just picking based on trust, familiarity, or whoever's willing to pander the hardest.
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@KM i thought that trump won because of the bernie supporters who stayed home or, worse, voted for the green party in swing states.
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@KM You're missing Charles Blow's point about how the black community is not monolithic. Southern blacks voted for Clinton in the primary--she won those states, even though she lost them in the general. Northern Midwestern blacks, particularly in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio, are the ones who stayed home in the general. And Clinton actually lost Wisconsin and Michigan in the primary to Sanders. Voters in those states were not as excited about her as a candidate; they didn't turn out for her in the general. She almost lost Minnesota in the general, another state that went for Sanders in the primary.
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@Julie This is election is about beating Trump. It has to be.
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Thanks Mr Blow for a wonderfully clear and concise explanation. As an Aussie living on the other side of the world this sort of information is hard to find. Thanks also NYT.
This is why I subscribe!
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Thanks, Mr. Blow, for such an enlightening article. Localism is a force not just for Southern Blacks, but for the eco-movement as well. We expect nothing from the the Feds, but we depend on our neighbors to act as a community, for the betterment of our world. In this, we share a common sense of purpose and of facilitation. Please stay with this topic through the election cycle.
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African-American voters in the Deep South have just one duty: to vote in the Democratic primaries for the Democrat most able to defeat Trump in the general election.
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@Mark Nuckols Why? Because black unemployment is at all time lows? The Democrats didn’t do that.
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Blacks must vote for the democratic candidate, no matter who it is.
@Mark Nuckols ...and that Democrat is?
An excellent précis of the voting history—or voter suppression—of African Americans in America. Neither major party has genuinely taken them to its bosom or seriously, only courting us as a reservoir of votes every two or four years. In both the South and the North.
My grandfather—a Geechee from the Sea Islands area of Coastal Georgia and South Carolina—was a stone-cold Republican. He voted that way in Boston until he died in 1953. He revered the “Party of Lincoln, and given his Southern origins, I can see why. Some of his political conservatism rubbed off on me,
White Americans have, it’s been my experience, anyway, marked black folk as a political monolith—easily dismissed and lacking anything like political sophistication or the education necessary to negotiate the complexities of the urban or the local or the rural. Our unique history here has demanded a quick learning of things that immigrants and white native-borns are astonished to discover. Barack Obama’s intelligence and urbanity caught a lot of people in both parties (the Clintons, e.g.) by surprise.
The South, far more than the North, took seriously the black race’s quest for equality in all aspects of life. There are hard-line conservatives and skeptics of liberals in black America, the perniciousness of pervasive racism preventing a clearer understanding of the motivations of people of color.
The president and Republicans dismiss us as unworthy of the American Dream, even while they dishonor “the other.”
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@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18 Oh, this is a wonderful essay, Sir Red Sox. Thank you for this insight. (Place this in your internet folder to save, please.)
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Vital commentary - thanks Charles.
It comes down to trust. I can understand why Black voters don't trust Warren, Sanders, Buttigieg etc.
I can also understand why they don't relate to Harris & Booker, who grew up very far outside their southern cultural context.
But darn it, I cannot for the life of me understand why Black southern voters like Biden. He offers them nothing other than being the devil they know. Maybe that's enough.
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My understanding is Biden’s appeal is his connection to President Obama and his perceived ability to beat Donald Trump.
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@Cousy
Here are some guesses.
1. Biden is still the most popular Democratic candidate on the national level by a significant margin. The media doesn't like to talk about this.
2. People see him as being able to beat Trump. You might have doubts about whether he can (I certainly do), but people still believe this.
3. Name recognition and familiarity. More black people (and people total) know who Biden is and what he stands for than know who Warren, Sanders, or Buttigieg are and what they stand for.
4. Close associations with Obama.
5. He doesn't present himself as an elitist.
6. He isn't that far to the left. Black voters tend to be not very far to the left on certain things.
7. Outstanding character and integrity and a life of service. You may disagree with Biden on a lot, but the man has dedicated his life to bettering America, whether as a public defender, or as a politician.
8-9. Human connection and Authenticity. Biden isn't my candidate. Still, I feel more of a personal connection with him than with any other candidate. I think the tragedies he has experienced have humanized him. Additionally, he isn't afraid to express emotion. Watch a video of him being awarded the Presidential medal of freedom, or of him talking about his deceased family members and tell me you aren't moved. I am not sure there is another candidate who can speak as authentically or movingly as Joe can.
Also, an article came out today on Biden's stutter that was exceptional. I recommend it.
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@Cousy That you don't understand is part of the problem.
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"strong and pushing, not weak and begging."
Right on Charles. Over my 76 years I've moved a lot, and seen a lot. Have lived in Atlanta for 23 years, and all of them under a Black Mayor, yet at the top of the State U.S. Senators and the Governor dominate. But change is coming, and Stacey Abrams is showing the way.
On any given day or evening, shopping, a restaurant, the movies, theater, museum, etc., one feels a sense of pride and ownership among the Black citizens here.
When I first arrived in Atlanta in 1995, it wasn't that way, life was still difficult for most Blacks, you didn't see many in business attire, or in the medical profession, except as a receptionist. It's all together different today. African-Americans now make up a large part of the professional community, Doctors, Attorneys, Financial Advisers, Managers, and Supervisors.
And they're here to stay.
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@cherrylog754
Atlanta has been "business" black since the late 1970s. You've conflated your relocation to the city (during the run-up to the '96 Olympics) to a shift. But that was already happening 20 years earlier. What you're seeing is a takeover of the pop culture version of Atlanta by black sports athletes, musicians, and simply more imports of all races as the metro area explosively doubled its population over the last 40 years.
Too bad that along with the influx of business and educated blacks from around the country, in came the thugs, gangbangers, sex traffickers, drugs, carjackings, guns and guns and more guns in the hands of young black males. The violence was once corralled in specific areas but now is all over the metro to where Atlanta was became known in the early 2000s as Murder Capital and then over the last decade as Thunderdome.
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