This talk of "white vote" and "black vote"....

[Bright Eyes]

Does anyone else feel "slimy" (for lack of a better word) trying to compare which race goes to which candidate? Maybe I'm alone here....

[Proud2BAmurkin]

1. No because people here talk about it because they want to get a winning candidate.

Too much at stake to ignore.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

4. Speaking of ignore, god I wish that function worked right now.

[stravu9]

2. It Sickens me but...

that is how the voters divided. It gives me no pleasure to believe we haven't gotten beyond this but white voters crossed racial line , black voters , by and large did not.

[Captain Hilts]

3. Black voters vote in a bloc to a degree other demographic groups rarely do. nt

[Redstone]

6. As they probably should.

Redstone

[Captain Hilts]

17. I agree. Damn straight I'd a voted for Obama in SC! nt

[ristruck]

7. I am totally sick of all this

How about Iowa....Did we hear white white white there? NO!! This is getting freaking old fast.

[karlrschneider]

11. If you're that put off at 40 posts you probably don't have much of a future here.

:P

[Redstone]

21. BINGO!

Redstone

[RaleighNCDUer]

13. The only way to get them to admit that it's not all about race

would be for Obama to have lost.


Or,




to win in SC with such a decisive margin that it cannot be attributed to race alone.

Which he did.

[Captain Hilts]

19. I was in polling for eight years. It's not a slur to say black voters often vote together, or that

women lean a certain way, or veterans a certain way, etc.

It's verifiable.

[goodgd_yall]

10. I think we need to remember this happened in a southern state

I wonder if voting in a bloc is as pronounced elsewhere. The South only got rid of Jim Crow segregation 45 years ago and it didn't go without kicking and screaming. The history of white power over blacks was much more overt. I think this has something to do with the black vote being so united behind a black candidate who actually has a chance of winning the nomination. In other places, the vote may not be so unanimous for Obama.

[Captain Hilts]

25. In National elections it is also strong, but if I'd been voting in SC, I'd uh voted for BO. nt

[EffieBlack]

14. White voters vote in bloc, too

They just have more candidates appealing to their issues, so their "bloc" voting is spread out among more than one candidate. But they still vote in a bloc.

Black voters usually have fewer choices of candidates who actually address their issues - and even in those cases, we're often holding our nose and voting for the candidate that will do us the least harm, not the most good.

In South Carolina, white voters voted in a bloc for the two white candidates - 75% of white voters voted for two white candidates. In the 2004 South Carolina primary, 99% of white voters voted in a bloc for the white candidates - 85% of white voters voted for 3 candidates.

More than 80% of black South Carolina primary voters voted for the white candidates. The bulk - nearly 70% - of black voters voted for two white candidates (Edwards and Kerry). Funny, I don't remember anyone complaining back then about black voters voting "as a bloc" when they voted for white candidates.

[Captain Hilts]

20. No, not really. Black voters vote as a bloc, but not necessarily for black candidates...

but they are a far tighter bloc than women, or whites are.

[EffieBlack]

22. And white votes vote as a bloc, as well

but for some reason, it's only worthy of note when black people do it.

[Captain Hilts]

23. No, white voters split their votes. Look at 2000, 2004, etc. nt

[EffieBlack]

26. White voters split their votes between white candidates, they vote in a bloc for white candidates

This dynamic is masked by the fact that their vote is spread out between several white candidates.

It would probably be more noticeable the other way around - if in addition to Obama, another black candidate was running in South Carolina and Obama got 50% of the black vote and the other black candidate got 30% of the black vote, it would certainly be noticed that 80% - a large "bloc" - of the black voters voted for the black candidates.

[karlrschneider]

5. Many people proudly admit to supporting Obama simply because he's black.

I can't figure out how that's any better than opposing him for the same reason. :eyes:

[Bright Eyes]

8. It isn't.

I sincerely hope that the GE won't become solely about race (or gender, should Clinton win).

[karlrschneider]

9. Well, we have the right to hope, I suppose but I won't be holding my breath.

:shrug:

[goodgd_yall]

12. Really? You can't see the difference?

One comes from hope and pride and the other stems from hate and fear.

[karlrschneider]

15. Oh, they aren't different....they both stem from stupidity.

:eyes:

[goodgd_yall]

16. Easy to say

if you aren't a member of a group that has been historically scorned.

[karlrschneider]

18. That's pretty funny for a gay guy to read.

Not funny ha ha.

[Captain Hilts]

24. It's perfectly acceptable and understandable to, in part, vote for a member of your 'team' for Prez.