I came across an article Friday morning which asked, “Will black voters stay home if Obama loses nomination?”
Following his recent endorsements from two former DNC Chairs, Paul Kirk and Joe Andrew, who withdrew support from Sen. Hillary Clinton and endorsed Sen. Barack Obama, Obama is gaining ground in superdelegates, trailing Clinton by 20.
According to the article, though, black voters are concerned that Obama will be denied the Democratic presidential nomination, and if that happens, a lot of them may stay home in November: “If Obama isn’t the nominee, ‘there would be a significant number of African-Americans who would stay home. They’re not voting for (presumptive Republican nominee) John McCain,’” predicted David Bositis, a senior analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, which researches black voting trends.
What about Hillary? In the article, Todd Shaw, a University of South Carolina political science professor, cited a broad disenchantment in the black community with both Bill and Hillary, following Bill’s performance during the South Carolina primary and Clinton supporter James Carville’s description of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as “Judas” for endorsing Obama.
“The comment plays very badly with African-Americans and Latinos,” Shaw said. “They remind them of ‘Look what we’ve done for you; you should stay in line.’ That doesn’t sit well with voters of color. They view it as Northern machine politics or Old South boss politics.”
James Mondesire, president of the Philadelphia NAACP said it’s foolish for any Democrat to refuse to vote if their candidate isn’t the nominee:
“It’s a stupid way for Obama supporters to think and a stupid way for Hillary Clinton supporters to think,” said Mondesire, a pledged Clinton delegate. “It’s a selfish and destructive way to think. I can’t think of what the Supreme Court would look like if McCain were elected. Roe v. Wade could be diminished, and Brown v. Board of Education could be impacted.”
I think the question is absolutely ridiculous; is there a poll or survey floating around asking if white voters will stay home if Hillary loses the nomination? I digress…
Having won more states, Obama may be on his way to securing the presidency, and one organization wants to make sure that the superdelegates’ votes match those of the people.
Late last week, Color of Change launched an online petition to ensure superdelegates must not overrule the choice of voters. In just two days, nearly 25,000 people have signed it. According to one petitioner: “Black folks are pissed about the possibility of Clinton snatching the nomination, and folks are starting to take notice.”
Following his recent endorsements from two former DNC Chairs, Paul Kirk and Joe Andrew, who withdrew support from Sen. Hillary Clinton and endorsed Sen. Barack Obama, Obama is gaining ground in superdelegates, trailing Clinton by 20.
According to the article, though, black voters are concerned that Obama will be denied the Democratic presidential nomination, and if that happens, a lot of them may stay home in November: “If Obama isn’t the nominee, ‘there would be a significant number of African-Americans who would stay home. They’re not voting for (presumptive Republican nominee) John McCain,’” predicted David Bositis, a senior analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, which researches black voting trends.
What about Hillary? In the article, Todd Shaw, a University of South Carolina political science professor, cited a broad disenchantment in the black community with both Bill and Hillary, following Bill’s performance during the South Carolina primary and Clinton supporter James Carville’s description of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as “Judas” for endorsing Obama.
“The comment plays very badly with African-Americans and Latinos,” Shaw said. “They remind them of ‘Look what we’ve done for you; you should stay in line.’ That doesn’t sit well with voters of color. They view it as Northern machine politics or Old South boss politics.”
James Mondesire, president of the Philadelphia NAACP said it’s foolish for any Democrat to refuse to vote if their candidate isn’t the nominee:
“It’s a stupid way for Obama supporters to think and a stupid way for Hillary Clinton supporters to think,” said Mondesire, a pledged Clinton delegate. “It’s a selfish and destructive way to think. I can’t think of what the Supreme Court would look like if McCain were elected. Roe v. Wade could be diminished, and Brown v. Board of Education could be impacted.”
I think the question is absolutely ridiculous; is there a poll or survey floating around asking if white voters will stay home if Hillary loses the nomination? I digress…
Having won more states, Obama may be on his way to securing the presidency, and one organization wants to make sure that the superdelegates’ votes match those of the people.
Late last week, Color of Change launched an online petition to ensure superdelegates must not overrule the choice of voters. In just two days, nearly 25,000 people have signed it. According to one petitioner: “Black folks are pissed about the possibility of Clinton snatching the nomination, and folks are starting to take notice.”
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