I hope we've heard the last of the theory that it's more important to appeal to

[pnwmom]

disaffected white male workers, and to disparage Democratic concern about civil rights as "identify politics."

We owe it to the black men and women who have, once again, risen to the occasion. If anything can save our democracy, it will be the spirit that sent them out in droves yesterday to vote against Moore and for hope.

[gollygee]

1. And, of course, appealing to disaffected white male workers IS "identity politics." nt

[Irish_Dem]

2. We are witnessing a power shift in this country. nt

[Johonny]

3. I think the Trump model of campaigning, where you lose by 3 million votes but win

was highly overrated to begin with.

[hibbing]

20. Nice n/t

[hlthe2b]

4. certainly African Americans, but ALL POC and ALL women

I am so grateful for black Alabamians coming out in historic numbers. I'm also proud and grateful to the younger voters and the majority of women who are both caring, concerned, and SANE! I give a smaller, but substantial nod to those Republican former ideologues who are STARTING to wake up and did not continue as sheep over the cliff.


But yes, POC and women are our future (accompanied of course by some good progressive men who have likewise, seen the "light&quot

[wasupaloopa]

37. Many of us white males have been progressive all our lives. I am 71 and

have done much during the civil rights era and woman's movement and for equality.

I won't go into my whole life but to say I have lived in the light my whole life.

We are wrong to see all white men as enemies of women minorities and others.

[hlthe2b]

38. Toss the chip off your shoulder. No one denies the value of our male progressive partners for WHOM

the focus has been on ALL ALONG. We are saying it is damn well time to put a focus on POC and women--who HAVE been left behind.

[hlthe2b]

50. It isn't an EITHER OR. Contemplate that, please!

[Blue_true]

53. Dude, your former wife did you wrong.

Don't take revenge on women that had nothing to do with hurting you. Yes, like everything, there are women that are overbearing, but that can be said about some members of any subgroup.

[Trumpocalypse]

67. It's name is the democratic party. nt

[LanternWaste]

70. You project your own failings onto the party.

You project your own failings and sense of ineffectual inadequacy onto the Democratic party. I get it... human nature being what it is.

[LexVegas]

77. "Democrat party" You are full of shit.

[wasupaloopa]

55. I have no chip on my shoulder

My point is folks my age have been supporting women and POC before the idea ever occurred to you.

[hlthe2b]

57. And, how exactly do you get to assume MY age and experiences? Hmmm?

[dhol82]

60. Boy, for somebody who has a problem with chips on the shoulder

you sure like to like to use all caps a LOT.
Hmmmmmm

[hlthe2b]

63. We should be celebrating together today and some want to disrupt

Why is it when women, of all races and ethnicities are given some props, some men here become almost unglued with the whataboutism? feel the need to express their bitter past grievances with a spouse who "done them wrong" and apply that to ALL women?

Truly progressive men, who I believe to be the majority of DU, are not so insecure that they can not acknowledge that issue and women's contributions when appropriate.

[NastyRiffraff]

103. Hear hear!

Excellent reply. We keep seeing this straw man, the misunderstood male under relentless attack by women who are demanding their rights and who don't acknowledge their awesome liberal chops.

NOBODY is saying that there are men, many men, who are very liberal and who support women and POC. Good grief. Some people, no matter how old they are, need to grow up.

[wasupaloopa]

65. Because of the way you express the idea

that it is time to start caring about women's and POC issues and your lack of perspective on the issues.

[hlthe2b]

66. your assumptions are wrong.

[LanternWaste]

72. Why argue against a point no one is making?

Who is arguing that minorities have not been receiving support. No one.

Why argue against a point no one is making? Self-validating statements are a form of shoulder chips. In case you were unaware.

[flying_wahini]

83. I agree wasupaloopa. It used to be a lot worse for women and minority's

And there are (were) lots of good people who stood up for them over the years.
My dad was one of them. He always spoke up and defended the good people in bad situations.
That's what it takes.

[LanternWaste]

69. Who is arguing that?

"all white men as enemies of women minorities and others...."

Who is arguing that?

(space provided below to rationalize)

[TransitJohn]

109. Well, not all women, really.

White women, in particular, are again failing in intersectionality.
https://theslot.jezebel.com/white-women-keep-fucking-us-over-1821250590

On Tuesday evening, 63 percent of white women voted for Roy Moore, a man accused of assaulting multiple teenage girls, and cruising for more—so aggressively that he was thought to have been banned from the Gadsen Mall. I’ll say it again: 63 percent of white women voted for the guy who was probably banned from a shopping mall for assaulting teenagers and for saying America was “great” during slavery. What world is this?

[lunasun]

5. Black men and women are workers too

[The Polack MSgt]

11. Holy hell yes, this - THIS NEEDS TO BE SHOUTED FROM THE ROOFTOPS

We have to move away from the whole concept of "Normal Americans" and "Working Class Americans" as euphemisms for white people

[Hortensis]

22. +1000. And young voters and women voters of all backgrounds

are also workers. This is the demographic grouping that won in Alabama.

I never thought we should chase the votes of those who chose Trump because they were anxious and resentful over losing the special advantages that came with being white men.

Quite the contrary. Door's open for whose who regret, but the others belong with what has become the white male supremacist party.

And let's honor the 1/3 of white working men who are Democrats and face the same big changes decently and responsibly.

[lunasun]

42. Yes let's honor the 1/3 of white working men who are Democrats and face the same big changes

And back to the OP let's also consider them another group that got burned by this nonsense

that mantra of choosing to listen to the concerns of white males who didn't vote for Dems instead of the issues of any white males who did . Just as bad as all the other slights involved in that choice
We know the two groups are often remarkably different in views and primary issues
yet the choice to listen to the people pissed off at you ( plus some of the reasons were crazy talk upfront) instead of the ones that love you in hopes of winning more votes was always insane in it self

[bigbrother05]

33. Exactly, this is why Dem policies make sense regardless of "identity"

The disaffected white men are helped just as much by the actions that help workers to stand up. Whether it's unions, OSHA, EPA, FLSA, etc., all those things that make for safe work and living places. Fair labor & equal pay laws help all workers by leveling the playing field to prevent management from pitting groups against each other in a race to the bottom.

[Mister Ed]

6. Amen, and thank you. n/t

[Willie Pep]

7. We won't be able to replicate this exact situation everywhere, though.

For example, not every state has a large black or minority population that can turnout in big enough numbers to win the election for us. In other states we have to appeal to whites.

I had a feeling that some people would take this lesson from the election but it is the wrong lesson. We need to try to win everywhere and that means casting a wide net and including the much-reviled white working class.

Turnout was higher than expected but only 35 percent of eligible voters turned out. Some of those who stayed home were likely poor whites. We should be trying to win some of this disaffected demographic. Why not? There is no reason not to try to win them other than that some Democrats have an aversion to this demo. We won't always face bad candidates like Moore and the election was still pretty close despite Moore being a terrible candidate.

[louis c]

15. It has been my experrience that Trump voters are "priotity" voters, not economic voters

and there top priority is to elect a bigot and advance the cause of bigotry even to the detriment of themselves and their families.

That certainly makes it hard to win them over.

[Willie Pep]

16. That is true for some of them but not all of them.

At least some Trump voters were Obama voters in the past so they are probably not hardcore white identity voters. Also, there are a lot of white nonvoters who we should be targeting. They are more likely to be poorer so they are ripe for the picking if we emphasize how bad Republican policy is and how we offer a better economic deal for working people.

[louis c]

35. Let me put it this way, unless the Trump voter is hiding in a cave

they shouldn't need my help to convert.

KI agree, once they convert to normalcy, we have to work to get them out to vote, but they should come to the conclusion of the error of their ways on their own. For instance, I don't think there was a great Democratic outreach to white, college educated professionals in Virginia a couple of months ago. They voted overwhelmingly for Northam.

If I have to convince a white working guy, with a daughter in High School and a son in college with a student loan, in a high tax state, who owns his own home, that Trump is not out working for him, I figure he's only still for Trump because he's a fucking bigot. Nobody is that stupid. Of course, that's not all. Trump is down 13 percent from his election day number. That's who I want, those 13 percent.

Like a drug addict. You can't help them until they at least admit and recognize their problem.

[Justice]

8. I actually think the message is to appeal to pocketbook issues - wages, jobs and healthcare as well

as justice and civil rights.

That was Doug Jones' true message.

[pnwmom]

10. If we had taken the votes of African Americans for granted -- as some Democrats

have been doing lately, with their focus on the great white disaffected male voter -- we wouldn't be celebrating this victory today.

[mythology]

30. And if Roy Moore didn't sexually assault/harass children

We wouldn't be celebrating a win. Picking an individual race under exceedingly unique circumstances probably isn't the best plan.

[brush]

31. Kudos to Tom Perez for that. He distributed funds to local AA GOTV groups who took it from there.

[NurseJackie]

9. I hope you are right about that. But if experience teaches us anything...

... we can rest assured that the most vocal advocates of such things (even when couched with bargaining pleas of "can't we just get along and do both"... or veiled threats of "you'll never win without us") will never cease in their relentless dismissiveness of civil rights and women's rights.

We owe it to the black men and women who have, once again, risen to the occasion.

Well said! Thank you!

(I fear, however, that the very ones you mention will soon be cluttering-up this thread with dismissive and disparaging and demeaning comments about civil rights.)

[leftstreet]

12. and good fucking riddance to 'we can't run a pro choice candidate!'

!!

[Me.]

39. Exactly

In Alabama yet and he wasn't afraid to put it out there.

[Iggo]

13. We haven't.

Not yet, anyway.

[KPN]

14. That's a false choice. Framing appeal to disaffected white male workers vs

minorities/women/LGBTs or any other group (as you say, identity) as an either or choice as far as one being more important than the other is divisive, plain and simple. We vshould be talking about all, every voter counts.

That is not to disregard or minimize in any way the importance of the black vote -- especially in yesterday's election. But yesterday's election was yesterdays, and it was in Alabama. Elections elsewhere have their own and often quite different nature and dynamics. But more importantly , the Democratic Party needs to nurture every single vote it can -- everywhere -- while holding true to its fundamental Democratic Party principles; not argue over which group is "more important".

[HopeAgain]

21. Well Put

[Demsrule86]

26. The poster is talking about the meme that we need to set aside

identity politics in order to appeal to the disaffected white males. And that was always a bad idea.

[wasupaloopa]

41. I think the OP is talking about something that doesn't exist.

I would like to have a few cases pointed out to me. Not right wing cases but Dems who appeal to white males to the detriment of others.

[Demsrule86]

46. There are none but this refers to a couple of Sen. Sander's statements...and if you

look into comments made Nina Turner as well...during the Mello fiasco. It was suggested we should do that ...and Mello was just such a candidate with a horrible record on Abortion rights as a state representative.

"It is not good enough for somebody to say, 'I'm a woman, vote for me.' That is not good enough," Sanders told a crowd at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston, according to WBUR. "What we need is a woman who has the guts to stand up to Wall Street, to the insurance companies, to the drug companies, to the fossil fuel industries.”
Sanders, who come in second place to Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination this year, has repeatedly voiced his concerns with the party’s lack of support in middle America.

"The working class of this country is being decimated — that's why Donald Trump won," the senator said. "And what we need now are candidates who stand with those working people, who understand that real median family income has gone down."

The Vermont independent, who was named chair of outreach among the Democratic Senate leadership this month, has said the party must shift its focus to winning back blue-collar workers and the economically disaffected.

I come from the white working class, and I am deeply humiliated that the Democratic Party cannot talk to the people where I came from,” he wrote on Twitter last week.


http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/307014-sanders-dems-must-move-beyond-identity-politics

[brush]

32. Agree for the most part, but when a demographic group votes 70% for a pedophile...

slavery advocate you can't waste too much time and resources on them.

[bigtree]

17. k&r

[jalan48]

18. It depends on where you live. Why would we want just one message appealing to one group?

We need multiple messages addressing the concerns of voters who live in different areas of the country.

[Demsrule86]

25. Are you kidding...if there was ever a place to appeal to that vote it is

Alabama. That idea was always a bad one.

[jalan48]

28. As I said, the message is tailored to the voters where you live.

[FreepFryer]

19. IF ONLY WE'D PLAYED TO THE CENTER IN ALABAMA!

k/r

[Cuthbert Allgood]

89. Wait. Are we pretending Jones isn't a centrist?

Because he is.

[FreepFryer]

91. He demonstrably didnt win for that reason. Cheers!

[Cuthbert Allgood]

94. Well, yeah, but you were saying we didn't play to the middle.

He is the middle. Just because we played the "he's not a statutory rapist" doesn't mean we somehow played to the left.

[FreepFryer]

95. Im not sure what youre on about but its not on my point, so cheers!

[Cuthbert Allgood]

96. You post "IF ONLY WE'D PLAYED TO THE CENTER IN ALABAMA." We did

You were wrong. There is no way a leftist would have won. Jones won because he was Moore and he wasn't really liberal.

I don't know what you don't understand about my point. Jones is a centrist.

[FreepFryer]

98. LOL OK! (n/t)

[Demsrule86]

23. I agree. That is obviously a bad strategy...good for Perez...he quietly defeated Roy Moore.

[Corvo Bianco]

24. Yes, I'm with you!

Courting coal humpers is a slap in the face to the lifeblood of the party and everything it ought to stand for. No, we don't need Nazis, thanks!

[ismnotwasm]

27. Here

Link to tweet

[brush]

34. Woohoo for Bravenak. That's my girl. She's still kicking ass.

[Lazy Daisy]

48. And must be living large

on all the rent Bernie's paying. Oh wait, he's living rent free.

[workinclasszero]

43. LOLOLOL

That is funny as heck!

[Me.]

45. WooHoo

[Demsrule86]

54. I miss her....could she please come off of FFR?

[MikeydaDog]

59. True that. Nt

[mcar]

73. That is great!

[brer cat]

74. Always brilliant!

[Baconator]

29. Except without those that did peel off...

... it would have been a loss.

You need both...

[Orrex]

36. Absolutely agree! I was making this argument on FB last night, in fact.

Beginning on the night of Trump's "election" we saw people (even on DU) urging us to "reach out to" Trump voters, and to understand and empathize with them.

I say now what I say then: fuck that. We do not need them, and frankly I don't want them. Their bigotry, racism and misogyny have no place in a Progressive party.

The people of Alabama showed us that our base is strong, and if we mobilize then we can defeat the Right's campaign of hatred, intolerance and oppression.

[nightwing1240]

40. Very well put!

Hope was the exact feeling I had last night when CNN called the election for Doug Jones, thanks in large part to our African-American brothers and sisters in Alabama.

[lancelyons]

44. Please stop... We have to appeal to all voters. Not just african americans. Stop

all votes count and voters of all races vote and voted for Jones.

[Lazy Daisy]

47. Here's my problem with this thought line

If we are to give black women all the credit for yesterdays win, where were they last November? Why didn't they come out for Hillary like they did Doug Jones? I have a real problem with giving credit for this election to one group, because that says they are to blame for the last one, and that doesn't sit well.

[Demsrule86]

56. They did come out...but with Stein and some staying home it wasn't enough.

[pnwmom]

79. Our GOTV failed last November because we didn't convince enough of them to vote, and support

them in getting past the obstacles.

But this wasn't just last November. It was in every election since 2008, when Obama first ran.

[mentalslavery]

51. here here

[lunamagica]

52. hear hear!

[Blue_Tires]

58. I also hope we've seen the last of the monthly

"Big-city reporter treks out to the reddest parts of Trump country and gives them a free platform to do their best Archie Bunker impressions" -stories...

[BumRushDaShow]

61. K&R

"Working class" and "middle class"... basically "any class" includes people of all races.

There are "core" issues that impact nearly ALL regardless of race and then there are special circumstances that may impact individuals and smaller groups. You can't keep trying to go after people who have a "Fear of a Black Planet".

[Raster]

62. I could not agree more! It was the Alabama African-American community...

...that rose up and organized and turned out the vote in record numbers. And very, very special mention to the WOMEN of the African-American community that organized and let their community. The entire nation owes them thanks, and it's time we recognize those facts.

[bobbieinok]

64. Only one valid 'identity' - white male

[scheming daemons]

68. How about we simply appeal to EVERYBODY. Our policies are better for America... *ALL* of America.

We don't have to pick and choose who we appeal to.

Have the right candidates and the right message and we'll appeal to a cross-section of everyone.

[mcar]

71. I hope so too but won't hold my breath

That identity politics meme was ridiculous and insulting - and always used by people playing identity politics.

[LiberalLovinLug]

75. Well...logically, dispassionately looking at it from a political strategy POV...

AA women and men have already been convinced that Democrats are their path forward. As Al Sharpton said "We were promised 40 acres and a mule. ... So we decided we would ride this donkey as far as it would take us.". Of course those of other races should never take AA votes for granted, and should applaud them. Those statistics are off the chart. And they damn well do deserve a special accolade for sure.

But isn't one of the glaring demographics that must be won over, to try and appeal to more...at least a lot more of them...is the white male (and women) voter that feel they have been maligned economically? (everything is relative) I just think this kind of rhetoric that separates the races by those who's majorities voted Democrat, and those who's majorities voted Republican, is not very helpful.

As well if you are a white person, who lives in a deep Red State like Alabama, who despite the fact that everywhere you listen on the radio, every restaurant and bar showing Fox News 24/7, and most everyone you talk to casually, and probably a lot of your family and past friends are all die hard brainwashed Republicans.....surely we cannot overlook whatever percent of these folks resisted the cultural pressure, went against the grain of their own communities, and did the right thing and voted Democrat. Some are probably ostracized at work or community for that stand. I think they should also get a pat on the back for coming out and canceling out the votes of at least a chuck of their fellow deplorable disillusioned if not racist whites.

And for that matter, the Latino, Asian, and other cultures that came out and supported the Democrat candidate. Actually I find this whole race vs race debate unsettling. It was ALL the good people that came out and made sure to cast their vote for Jones we should applaud...but with a special and deserving shout out to the AA community that came out big time.

[pnwmom]

76. You forgot a key piece of the puzzle.

You are assuming that we can count on the votes of African Americans.

Yes, they have been reliably Democratic. But TURN-OUT is key. And they have not reliably been turning out in large numbers. In Alabama, for example, they haven't turned out in an election in these numbers since 2008 -- Obama's first election.

We didn't win Alabama simply because black voters voted for Doug Jones. We won because black voters came out in large numbers and stood in long lines -- despite all the obstacles in front of them (voter ID requirements, closed polling places, etc.) to vote for Doug Jones.

[LiberalLovinLug]

80. I did assume, you are right

But really, what else can I or anyone else do? Especially if we don't live anywhere close. Yes African Americans must continue to come out. But that is on them. Every Red State American that probably would have voted Democrat, but was too lazy to get up off the couch and stand in a line to vote, must do a better job.

That said the demographic we have the most work ahead to win over (or deprogram) at least a few percent more, is the white working (and non working) voting class. And as a white person, I am not proud of that. But its a dirty job that has to be done.

Surely it can't be a situation where addressing the needs of one racial demographic will negate the votes from another. Or visa versa. And if that is the case then something is wrong with our platform, or the way it is presented. Because, maybe for varying reasons, a Democrat in office is much better both civil rights wise, economically, and environmentally, for everybody.

[pnwmom]

82. No, it isn't just on them. The Democrats made a huge effort to SUPPORT African American turnout

in this election, instead of just assuming we'd have enough of their votes.

And even people in far away states helped. Prominent black democrats like Charles Barkeley spent time in the state campaigning. And ordinary Democrats in other states helped with phone banks, texts, and emails.

I agree that we shouldn't ignore any segment of voters. But we shouldn't take for granted any group either. Or disparage efforts to prioritize civil rights issues as identity politics -- as you know people have been doing.

[RandomAccess]

78. + 1000

Democrats and the DNC need to worry a LOT less about sloganeering and figuring out how to appeal to the non-appeal-worthy and simply follow their base. ALL of it, and especially those who've led the way as the most loyal Democrats.

[110liberal]

81. kpn

excellent post. We have to have a big net we can't excuse any democratic group. Moore was a damaged candidate before the women's testimonies. You could see the pain in their eyes they were genuine plus there was the mall where they had banned Moore. I live 30 miles from the Alabama line there are a lot of people in Alabama that think Moore disparages them with his outrages comments. Other races will be more competitive. Go on line and listen to Chuck Schumer say we are not going to western PA to compete we are going after the moderate republican in the suburbs around Philly. We won neither. We will remain a minority party if we exclude white working blue collar men.

[Nitram]

84. Both sides have embaraced so-called "identity politics," so it is just a red herring to pretend that

helping the poor, the disenfranchised, the down-trodden, and those who don't get a fair shake is just "identity politics." It is the Republicans who invent wedge issues to divide people and win elections.

[pnwmom]

85. Helping the poor is not what Democrats mean as "identity politics." It is more related

to supporting the rights of minorities and women.

African Americans, for example are not uniformly left-wing progressive but they ARE united by civil rights concerns.

[Nitram]

86. I know that helping the poor is not identity politics per. But you must have noticed that

the Repubs brand any policy designed to help the poor "class war", and any policy designed to help African-Americans (many of whom occupy a lower rung on the economic ladder) "identity politics". So they try to have it both ways. I was trying to explain how Republicans misuse the term to attack Democrats.

[pnwmom]

87. And I was pointing out that Democrats use the term to disparage

racial and sexual minorities who prioritize their civil rights over concerns about the class struggle.

[Nitram]

88. Thanks for the clarification. I hadn't noticed the left doing that. Maybe I'm not paying close

enough attention. Didn't most people on the left support Black Lives Matter?

[Act_of_Reparation]

90. Extremely unlikely.

There's no universal electoral strategy that will guarantee success in every battleground state. Appealing to blacks in Alabama is good idea, not only because it is the right thing to do but because blacks are 30% of the Alabaman population. Doing right by Alabaman blacks, motivating them to vote, is a great strategy to upset GOP control in that state.

But there are other states where racial minorities simply do not have the numbers to upset the white vote, and if Democrats want to win those states they are going to have to find ways to entice whites away from the GOP.

So no, you probably haven't heard the last of the "appeal to white people" argument, because breaking white support for the GOP still makes strategic sense in some states.

[pnwmom]

93. Actually, they make up 27 percent of the population, and only about 23% of the

population who is registered to vote.

So they were significantly MORE likely than white people to vote in this election.

[Act_of_Reparation]

101. I'm not sure I follow.

On a national scale, we're not looking at demographic variances in the small, single-digits. Just looking at swing states, Michigan is about 15% black, Pennsylvania is about 10% black, and Minnesota is about 6% black. I'm not sure you can win those states without a significant percentage of the white vote.

[pnwmom]

102. If you want African American voters to vote in high numbers,

you can't appeal to them on a platform heavily weighted toward discussions of class struggle . They are a diverse group and they're not all going to be motivated by socialist theory -- especially since they have been let down by that in the past. For example, FDR's new deal didn't lift their boats, because it excluded people in the jobs most black people were working in -- in the home and in the farm.

By contrast, Lyndon Johnson's Great Society placed an emphasis on civil rights and that did bring real improvements to the lives of African Americans.

[Act_of_Reparation]

106. That's why I think a state-by-state strategy is important.

What works in Alabama might not pull votes in Michigan, and vice versa. We need to tailor our pitch to our target demographics.

[gollygee]

105. The white vote will always be roughly split in Michigan and a lot of other states

But almost all black voters vote Dem. They swing elections. We never know who will win Michigan early because the Detroit and Flint votes come in later and they always go hugely blue. The state looks like it'll go red and then often, just at the end, it swings blue, but only if the Democratic Party has appealed to black voters and gotten them out to vote.

[pnwmom]

107. They do vote in high proportions for Democrats, but their turnout varies

depending on how much the Democratic candidate appeals to them (or how much they hate the R.) They haven't had turnout as high as for Doug Jones since 2008.

[gollygee]

108. Yeah, that's what my last sentence said. nt

[gollygee]

104. There are lots of states where they can swing the vote.

Only 14% of Michiganders are black, but they could swing pretty much every single state election pretty easily. Same for a lot of states. It's because of how strongly Dem. they vote. That's why the Republicans target them with voter suppression. They know what a huge difference their votes make. I have no idea why Democrats so often ignore them when they are a major political force.

[Caliman73]

92. I heard this on the radio the other day...

When you vote to make the lives of Black Women better, you vote to make all American lives better.


The more I think of it, the more I agree with it. I am not saying that the specific needs of other constituent groups should be ignored by any stretch of the imagination. What I think of this statement is that Black Women represent all facets of American life, from blue collar workers, parents, professionals, etc... and have been historically one of the most discriminated, powerless, and ignored groups in our history.

Making policies (not exclusive to Black women / exclusionary of others) that would make the lives of Black women better (I.E. equal pay, healthcare, childcare, educational opportunity and job training, better jobs, non discrimination, etc...) then all people will benefit.

[alarimer]

97. They need to stop trying to appeal to REPUBLICAN suburbanites.

OR Republicans in general. Go after non-voters of all kinds.

And attempting to appeal to the mushy middle is ALWAYS a losing game.

[pnwmom]

100. African American voters are a diverse group, including the "mushy middle."

But they do unite with regard to civil rights concerns.

[HipChick]

99. It's not often I agree with pnwmom

but she is absolutely correct here...