As we move closer to November 6, the presidential campaign has become a day-by-day foot race to the finish, with each side trying either to dodge or deal blows to the other.
Here at The Last Word we thought it would be interesting to get a more longitudinal look at the campaign, so we combined snapshots of daily events with Nate Silver's "Chance of winning" prediction over at the FiveThirtyEight blog. To be sure, Nate uses a complex method to determine his numbers each day; snapshots don't reflect the subtle state by state, district by district number shifts. But seeing the biggest story of the day beside Nate's probabilities gives you a sense of the arc of the campaign in a new way.
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A heartfelt but sober message to the White American Middle Class…
Let us start with our fears, an article in the Daily Titan (Torres, Renee, Daily Titan, November 16, 2011) Rich Benjamin, Ph.D. sums these fears up best. “White Flight” is occurring today. In a room overflowing with people, Rich Benjamin, Ph.D., brought this ongoing phenomenon to the attention of students and faculty (California State University Fullerton) Tuesday. People stood in the back and sat on the floor.
Benjamin is a journalist, scholar, social and political commentator, author and a senior fellow at Demos, a non-partisan national think tank.
Benjamin’s website explains the premise of his novel on “Searching for Whitopia,” Whitopia being a combination of “White” and “Utopia” and to describe the growth of white flight.
“By 2042, whites will no longer be the American majority,” said Benjamin. “A related, less reported trend is that as people of color, especially immigrant populations, increase in cities and suburbs, more and more whites are living in small towns and exurban areas that are predominately, even extremely, white.”
This my friends is the big PINK ELEPHANT in the room. It is this fear that makes an intelligent and thoughtful white Middle Class electorate vote “against” it own economic priorities, interests and wellbeing. Estimates are that 80% of minorities, Hispanics, Blacks, Gays, Women, Asians, Indians, etc. will be voting for President Obama. My guess is that they are not voting for President Obama because he is a Black Man, but they are voting “THEIR” Middle Class economic priorities, interest and wellbeing. The fear of a Non-White Nation has no effect on their vote. They can freely choose to vote for American Middle Class economic interests without racial bias.
The Republicans have used this fear in White America to their advantage, but know full well that the time will come when the numbers will not bear this strategy a winning one. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told us everything we need to know about the Republican Party when he made this statement during the RNC: “We’re not generating enough angry White males...” The ARITHMETIC bears that out; in 1984 Non-College Whites comprised 61 percent of all voters. In 2008 they comprised 39 percent.
Much is made of the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court, but honestly if the American Middle Class were “UNITED” regardless of color or race, we really could take our Country back and make it work for us. Minorities are voting for policies that will benefit all in the American Middle Class; Education, Social Security, Medicare, Veterans Benefits, The Affordable Care Act, Disability, Clean air, water and food safety, and the safety net etc. “All” benefit from these policies apart from their race, religion, sexual orientation or ethnicity.
Stop for one moment my fellow Caucasian Americans, and think about the Republican Party’s veiled promises and let’s actually see what those solutions look like in BLACK and WHITE. Their mantra is “WE WILL TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK” I am assuming they mean back to a time when Whites were the majority and all laws favored them. Is this a “REALISTIC” goal for a US political party in 2012? Yes you could take this Country back, but it would entail, taking voting rights away from ALL Minorities including Women the full repeal of the Voting Rights Act; it would mean a mass round-up and forced deportation of “ALL” 11 million un-documented immigrants by our military and police; it would take the repeal of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, revoking EQUAL PROTECTION; it would take the rescinding of all anti-discrimination laws in employment, education and housing so that you could work and live in an environment segregated from all Minorities the implementation of apartheid in the USA; and God forbid some crazy horror of a human-being would suggest ETHNIC CLEANSING. No my friends this is NOT an HONORABLE or CHRISTIAN goal worthy of Caucasians. It is shameful and dangerous.
The Republican Party is playing with fire, but many in the past and not so distant past have done the same and it has ALWAYS been their undoing. There are Statesman Good and Just that are White, it is these White Males not the angry ones that have made this Country Great! George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodor Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Lyndon B. Johnson, George HW Bush, William Jefferson Clinton and Abraham Lincoln, all White and all Statesman and all have done much for Whites to be proud of. Which White Male are you, the STATESMAN or the ANGRY WHITE MALE?
It is time to let it go. This fear is doing NOTHING for the White American Middle Class, no good at all. It is time to undo the shackles of racism and to build a better future for the AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS. It is time to exercise American Values, United We Stand, and Divided We Fall.
We have things to do, Mitt Romney has let us know in his SECRET VIDEO what he stands for, and it is not the priorities, interests and wellbeing of the American Middle Class. Quite to the contrary he looks down on 47% of us, Seniors, Veterans, Students, the Disabled, the poor and the sick. Jesus Christ never turned his back on the poor, the sick or the disenfranchised; he spoke for them, Proverbs 29:7 “The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor; the wicked does not understand such concern.” It is you the White American Middle Class that appropriately reminds America of its Judeo/Christian Values…Proverbs 29:7 is from the Holy Bible it is a ‘Christian Value”; racial segregation, injustice, greed and avarice are NOT, those things are IMMORAL!
I am asking White Males to choose the better part of humanity in your nature…Reject Republican Senator Lindsay Grahams cynical and negative portrait of your race…
The future of Democracy is still in the hands of GOOD and JUST White Males. Three White Men that I have come to admire and that INSPIRE me to be a better man; Vice President Joe Biden for his empathy, Chris Matthews for his moral compass and Lawrence O’Donnell for his relentless fight for justice and fairness. They are fighting the good fight as are many others...
Our President has worked hard in the past 3 years to make things better for us and that is the “US” of all races and ethnicities including Whites. It is time for the American Middle Class to “UNITE” and fight for this good man BARACK OBAMA, the President has done what he can to be our Champion, the Champion of the American Middle Class regardless of what color we are!!!!
We must vote “OUR” own economic interest, priorities and wellbeing in the race for President and the HOUSE and the SENATE RACES. Let us work together and build a Strong Middle Class Utopia…”TOGETHER” we have the strength in numbers…but it will take “WE THE PEOPLE”…idealism maybe, but isn’t that who we are a Country of ideals?
My sincerest apologies for saying it so frankly… May God Bless us “ALL”…
Arizona...large hispanic population. 12% of hispanic voters only went to the polls in the last election.
USA Today...headline article on the measurement of the extreme apathy showing up in their polls as to voters intending to vote in this election.
Hispanics voters huge numbers in California, and huge numbers in Texas and large numbers in Arizona...but due to the electoral vote process of electing our Presidents, Texas and Arizona will go Republican this year as usual, and California will go Democrat, thereby effectively cancelling each other out!
Large numers of black voters throughout the deep south; Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina...but we know that those states electoral votes will be in the Republican column when election eve is over on Nov. 6th, 2012.
Seems like the "White Devil" is in the details of whether the "People of Color" votes show up...or how they are couterbalanced in the electoral college allocation in the states. As to your statement above that 80% of hispanics, women, asians, and indians will vote for Obama, you aren't looking at the economic damage to this minorities that this failed President's policies have resulted in, as well as the broken promises. I'll give you the LBGT community, but that is 3.2% of the population, and their are Republicans and non political persons amongst those separate groups, as well a amongst black Americans, I hope you are aware!
Like your comment Thom.Not much to add,you just about said it all.
Romney seems complacent and philosophical and dithered and addled and wacky and confusing and perplexing and robotic and animatronic and contrived and convoluted and fuddy duddyish and gaffe prone and unfocused and without his homework, and therefore remains a perfect candidate for the GOP. He sums up the GOP base in one goofy package. He's positively iconic. Maybe he just wanted to attend secret intelligence meetings for awhile, because his candidacy is not serious. He's running not to be the President. He's winning the race for second place. He is as he was, not presidential. Obama is a President. Gobama 2012!
I can see which sector of the media you have been consuming, that's for sure, reveal.
That IS for sure... Just as sure as we know a Republican shill when we see "failed President" and "broken promises."
Phrases which only Mitt's minions still use. Too bad. Unless of course it pays well per comment... or at least by the word...my guess is by the word, since shills usually take so long to say so little.
Curious though, since this is obvious to most readers... why would anyone but a shill take the time to make so many negative comments against liberal-leaning readers? For fun, or profit, of just boredom from being stuck in the house?
Hispanic voter turnout wide
2008 Elections 63.6% (62.2% - some discussion as to what constitutes a qualified voter)
Whites decreased to 66.1%
Hispanics increased to 49.9%
2010 Elections 45.5% (41.7%)
Whites decreased to 48.6 %
Hispanics increased to 31.2%
Arizona Hispanic turnout was apparently 38% of the qualified Hispanic population (The "White" turnout was only 48%). One Arizona claims some of the credit and even points to increased participation in some 2011 municipal elections.