Michelle Alexander: Why Hillary Clinton Doesn’t Deserve the Black Vote
From the crime bill to welfare reform, policies Bill Clinton enactedand Hillary Clinton supporteddecimated black America.
By Michelle AlexanderFEBRUARY 10, 2016
Hillary Clinton loves black people. And black people love Hillaryor so it seems. Black politicians have lined up in droves to endorse her, eager to prove their loyalty to the Clintons in the hopes that their faithfulness will be remembered and rewarded. Black pastors are opening their church doors, and the Clintons are making themselves comfortably at home once again, engaging effortlessly in all the usual rituals associated with courting the black vote, a pursuit that typically begins and ends with Democratic politicians making black people feel liked and taken seriously. Doing something concrete to improve the conditions under which most black people live is generally not required.
Hillary is looking to gain momentum on the campaign trail as the primaries move out of Iowa and New Hampshire and into states like South Carolina, where large pockets of black voters can be found. According to some polls, she leads Bernie Sanders by as much as 60 percent among African Americans. It seems that weblack peopleare her winning card, one that Hillary is eager to play.
And it seems were eager to get played. Again.
The love affair between black folks and the Clintons has been going on for a long time. It began back in 1992, when Bill Clinton was running for president. He threw on some shades and played the saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show. It seems silly in retrospect, but many of us fell for that. At a time when a popular slogan was Its a black thing, you wouldnt understand, Bill Clinton seemed to get us. When Toni Morrison dubbed him our first black president, we nodded our heads. We had our boy in the White House. Or at least we thought we did.
Black voters have been remarkably loyal to the Clintons for more than 25 years. Its true that we eventually lined up behind Barack Obama in 2008, but its a measure of the Clinton allure that Hillary led Obama among black voters until he started winning caucuses and primaries. Now Hillary is running again. This time shes facing a democratic socialist who promises a political revolution that will bring universal healthcare, a living wage, an end to rampant Wall Street greed, and the dismantling of the vast prison statemany of the same goals that Martin Luther King Jr. championed at the end of his life. Even so, black folks are sticking with the Clinton brand.
What have the Clintons done to earn such devotion? Did they take extreme political risks to defend the rights of African Americans? Did they courageously stand up to right-wing demagoguery about black communities? Did they help usher in a new era of hope and prosperity for neighborhoods devastated by deindustrialization, globalization, and the disappearance of work?
No. Quite the opposite....
http://www.thenation.com/article/hillary-clinton-does-not-deserve-black-peoples-votes/
Warpy
(111,367 posts)when they ASSume black people or Hispanics or women or any other group of people who aren't male WASPs are some sort of voting monolith. They aren't. Even the male WASPs don't run in a herd of identical voting patterns.
If they want to know why people support Clinton, maybe they need to go out and ask them and listen to the answers without trying to talk over them or talk them out of it.
kristopher
(29,798 posts)Have a good day.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)The author is a respected author and has written a very creditable article. Are there any articles that have a theory as to why Clinton has the support of the AA community in spite of the damage they, the Clintons, have done?
Black Lives Activist Ashley Williams seems to agree with this article.
Here are some important points made by Ms. Williams:
The 1994 Crime Bill that she so vigorously defended not only expanded incarceration, but stripped funding for college education from prisoners. The Clinton legacy allowed for policies that prevented anyone convicted of a felony drug offense from receiving food stamps or income assistance. Clinton-led welfare reform fundamentally ripped apart the social safety net.
Make no mistake, Hillary Clinton's efforts to push these policies resulted in the continued destruction of Black communities and the swift growth of our mass incarceration crisis.
You object to the article but offer nothing. Congrats bytheway on getting the first response slot. A gold star.
Baobab
(4,667 posts)for giving their companies service jobs
Actually, the contracts would go to any WTO country that is the lowest qualified bidder, likely via the GPA e-tendering system.
Which public sector workforces would be subject to GATS rules depends on the GATS Article I:3 (b) and (c) test.
appalachiablue
(41,178 posts)Oldenuff
(582 posts)n/t
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)spite of all the damage the Clintons did to the AA community.
Mr_Jefferson_24
(8,559 posts)...running for President. I think she'd be absolutely great. And Bernie might do well to have a non politician like her, who speaks/presents well, has intelligence, and a demonstrated commitment to the fast growing underclass in the US on the ticket.
Just a thought.
Bill USA
(6,436 posts)Bill USA
(6,436 posts)Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day.
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Laziness is a trait in blacks.