CottonCandyCurls

MichelleBFT · 10-21-2008, 10:29 AM

You said,

Quote:

As I said before it's problematic that blacks overwhelmingly vote Democratic but that is another topic.

Well, now it's another thread, too. Let's talk about why you believe it's "problematic" that the Black population overwhelmingly votes for Democrats.

A_la_Nap-tural · 10-21-2008, 10:59 AM

How funny, I just responded to that comment in the last post... This is what I said:

To Cotton Candy...

Why would blacks overwhelmingly voting democratic be a problem? Maybe they see that as the party that best handles and recognizes their own needs? 4% of blacks are republicans and I'm sure they see their party as suiting their own needs. Perception is only reality to he who wants to perceive just that. In other words, IMO, the whole "blacks vote for Obama because he's black" thing is propaganda to undermine the intelligence of blacks... like we've got scratch and sniff ballots or something... (scratch here for vanilla and here for chocolate

).

Maybe you don't believe this... but just like perception, if you adamantly post about something, we can't help but believe that you're under this assumption as well.

Poodlehead · 10-21-2008, 11:08 AM

I agree that it IS problematic.

It is also problematic that women overwhelmingly vote Democrat.

Why is the Republican party primarily designed for just one demographic? And why are they still so successful in spite of alienating so many?

MimsTX · 10-21-2008, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A_la_Nap-tural

How funny, I just responded to that comment in the last post... This is what I said:

To Cotton Candy...

Why would blacks overwhelmingly voting democratic be a problem? Maybe they see that as the party that best handles and recognizes their own needs? 4% of blacks are republicans and I'm sure they see their party as suiting their own needs. Perception is only reality to he who wants to perceive just that. In other words, IMO, the whole "blacks vote for Obama because he's black" thing is propaganda to undermine the intelligence of blacks... like we've got scratch and sniff ballots or something... (scratch here for vanilla and here for chocolate ).

Maybe you don't believe this... but just like perception, if you adamantly post about something, we can't help but believe that you're under this assumption as well.

lmao, I'm sorry... just had to comment on how hilariously ridiculous i found that.

mad scientist · 10-21-2008, 11:11 AM

I think that its problematic that entire demographics of people feel that they aren't represented by a particular party. That party needs to reevaluate the message that it is sending out. Its particularly problematic in a 2 party system like the US.

I can't speak for blacks in the US, but I can speak as an non-white/non-Christian American. I will never EVER vote Republican after this whole issue of targeting Obama because he might be a Muslim. It tells me that within the Republican party, if you are not white and Christian then you are second-class, worthy of distrust and quite possibly a terrorist. I don't want to be associated at all with that kind of thinking, whether it comes from the party itself or from supporters of the party. They want your vote, but they don't actually want you taking any sort of visible/influential role in the country.

Its sad because lots of non-white, non-Christians are fiscally conservative, want less influence of government on their lives. But most of the people I know who fit this bill, will still not vote Republican because there is that underlying distrust.

A_la_Nap-tural · 10-21-2008, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MimsTX

lmao, I'm sorry... just had to comment on how hilariously ridiculous i found that.

I must admit, I stole that from the Chris Rock Special: Kill the Messenger... But it was fitting don't you think?

lacunaCoils · 10-21-2008, 11:23 AM

I wish we had another successful party that wasn't either one extreme or the next. If only the Independant "party" could be taken seriously so people actually vote for them.

MimsTX · 10-21-2008, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lacunaCoils

I wish we had another successful party that wasn't either one extreme or the next. If only the Independant "party" could be taken seriously so people actually vote for them.

AMEN!

I'm very 'moderate'. My opinion on various issues really varies between being 'conservative', 'liberal' or somewhere in the middle. It's always a crap shoot for me, voting-wise in an election. No one's ever really a very good fit for what i'm looking for.

Still, I'd rather not throw my vote away on someone that i know won't get elected...

KindaWavy · 10-21-2008, 11:28 AM

I find it discouraging that any person, group, sex, or race bases their vote solely on which party a candidate represents.

KindaWavy · 10-21-2008, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MimsTX

Quote:

Originally Posted by lacunaCoils

I wish we had another successful party that wasn't either one extreme or the next. If only the Independant "party" could be taken seriously so people actually vote for them.

AMEN!

I'm very 'moderate'. My opinion on various issues really varies between being 'conservative', 'liberal' or somewhere in the middle. It's always a crap shoot for me, voting-wise in an election. No one's ever really a very good fit for what i'm looking for.

Still, I'd rather not throw my vote away on someone that i know won't get elected...

ITA with both posters.

A_la_Nap-tural · 10-21-2008, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MimsTX

Quote:

Originally Posted by lacunaCoils

I wish we had another successful party that wasn't either one extreme or the next. If only the Independant "party" could be taken seriously so people actually vote for them.

AMEN!

I'm very 'moderate'. My opinion on various issues really varies between being 'conservative', 'liberal' or somewhere in the middle. It's always a crap shoot for me, voting-wise in an election. No one's ever really a very good fit for what i'm looking for.

Still, I'd rather not throw my vote away on someone that i know won't get elected...

Darn tootin'! I'm a bit of a conservative liberal if that makes sense. I'm conservative in making decisions for myself, but I realize that not everyone feels the same way. I usually vote in a way that will allow me to choose what's best for me without imposing on others. Like in the case of abortion... I might not do it, but that doesn't mean that I should vote that you're deemed a criminal if you do it.

MimsTX · 10-21-2008, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A_la_Nap-tural

Quote:

Originally Posted by MimsTX

Quote:

Originally Posted by lacunaCoils

I wish we had another successful party that wasn't either one extreme or the next. If only the Independant "party" could be taken seriously so people actually vote for them.

AMEN!

I'm very 'moderate'. My opinion on various issues really varies between being 'conservative', 'liberal' or somewhere in the middle. It's always a crap shoot for me, voting-wise in an election. No one's ever really a very good fit for what i'm looking for.

Still, I'd rather not throw my vote away on someone that i know won't get elected...

Darn tootin'! I'm a bit of a conservative liberal if that makes sense. I'm conservative in making decisions for myself, but I realize that not everyone feels the same way. I usually vote in a way that will allow me to choose what's best for me without imposing on others. Like in the case of abortion... I might not do it, but that doesn't mean that I should vote that you're deemed a criminal if you do it.

EXACTLY. Yep, we're on the same page.

As for people voting for someone because they're a certain race/sex/religion... yeah, it bothers me to no end. I just have to trust that MOST people are at least bothering to look up the facts and know what's what before casting their vote. Still... I mean, I guess if they want to vote for someone because they think he's pretty, that's their own right. Even if it ticks me off. lol

A_la_Nap-tural · 10-21-2008, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MimsTX

EXACTLY. Yep, we're on the same page.

As for people voting for someone because they're a certain race/sex/religion... yeah, it bothers me to no end. I just have to trust that MOST people are at least bothering to look up the facts and know what's what before casting their vote. Still... I mean, I guess if they want to vote for someone because they think he's pretty, that's their own right. Even if it ticks me off. lol

I dunno... Obama is kinda cute... Maybe that swayed me a little. I'm a sucker for sexy!

YolyC · 10-21-2008, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mad scientist

I think that its problematic that entire demographics of people feel that they aren't represented by a particular party. That party needs to reevaluate the message that it is sending out. Its particularly problematic in a 2 party system like the US.

<snip>

Its sad because lots of non-white, non-Christians are fiscally conservative, want less influence of government on their lives. But most of the people I know who fit this bill, will still not vote Republican because there is that underlying distrust.

ITA. I'd hadn't noticed how little diversity there was in the Republican party on a national level. On a local level the Republican party (at least here in Illinois) is a bit more inclusive.

I watched the Republican convention. I was really disheartened by the lack of minorities there. I had too look really hard to find them in the crowd. It seemed like the camera would pan on the same 4-5 faces when they wanted to show some diversity.

I didn't catch every minute of the entire convention, so I can not say there absolutely were no minority women there, but honestly I didn't see not a single one during the time I watched.

CottonCandyCurls · 10-21-2008, 12:20 PM

I find any kind of lopsided voting problematic because people are much more complex than that. If two parties didn't dominate the system, people would be free to vote all over the map and address more specific issues. I don't fault black people for staying in their comfort zone. But it's hard to have your issues seriously addressed by a party that assumes you have nowhere else to go. I'm a black woman and I vote for Greens, Democrats, Libertarians and Republicans.

CottonCandyCurls · 10-21-2008, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YolyC

Quote:

Originally Posted by mad scientist

I think that its problematic that entire demographics of people feel that they aren't represented by a particular party. That party needs to reevaluate the message that it is sending out. Its particularly problematic in a 2 party system like the US.

<snip>

Its sad because lots of non-white, non-Christians are fiscally conservative, want less influence of government on their lives. But most of the people I know who fit this bill, will still not vote Republican because there is that underlying distrust.

ITA. I'd hadn't noticed how little diversity there was in the Republican party on a national level. On a local level the Republican party (at least here in Illinois) is a bit more inclusive.

I watched the Republican convention. I was really disheartened by the lack of minorities there. I had too look really hard to find them in the crowd. It seemed like the camera would pan on the same 4-5 faces when they wanted to show some diversity.

I didn't catch every minute of the entire convention, so I can not say there absolutely were no minority women there, but honestly I didn't see not a single one during the time I watched.

I know a couple of black and hispanic people who specifically chose not to go to the convention because they already get harassed in their own communities for supporting McCain. It sounds silly but they just keep their political stuff to themselves. The convention really was a sea of old white men and which is also disheartening. Diversity is good. Both parties need some new solutions, ideas and people.

gemini · 10-21-2008, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YolyC

Quote:

Originally Posted by mad scientist

I think that its problematic that entire demographics of people feel that they aren't represented by a particular party. That party needs to reevaluate the message that it is sending out. Its particularly problematic in a 2 party system like the US.

<snip>

Its sad because lots of non-white, non-Christians are fiscally conservative, want less influence of government on their lives. But most of the people I know who fit this bill, will still not vote Republican because there is that underlying distrust.

ITA. I'd hadn't noticed how little diversity there was in the Republican party on a national level. On a local level the Republican party (at least here in Illinois) is a bit more inclusive.

I watched the Republican convention. I was really disheartened by the lack of minorities there. I had too look really hard to find them in the crowd. It seemed like the camera would pan on the same 4-5 faces when they wanted to show some diversity.

I didn't catch every minute of the entire convention, so I can not say there absolutely were no minority women there, but honestly I didn't see not a single one during the time I watched.

I saw one black woman, but we watched every night. At the start of it, I told my husband that we were going to know every "minority" face in the crowd because the camera kept panning to them. The 36 black people there only made up 1.5% of the delegates.

article

YolyC · 10-21-2008, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CottonCandyCurls

[
I know a couple of black and hispanic people who specifically chose not to go to the convention because they already get harassed in their own communities for supporting McCain. It sounds silly but they just keep their political stuff to themselves. The convention really was a sea of old white men and which is also disheartening. Diversity is good. Both parties need some new solutions, ideas and people.

See, They should have gone. I would have loved to see more minorities there. I want to hear a minority like me tell me why they think the way they do and why they are choosing who they choose. I was willing to listen to the folks who spoke at the convention, but honestly an old, rich, suburban white man or woman can't really relate to a middle-income, minority, inner-city single mom.

I don't care much for the Democratic party either. I like that they seem to understand the problems of the poor people. My problem with them is that they seem to think just throwing money at the problems will solve them. An even bigger problem is that the money they are throwing is my tax dollars. I wouldn't have such a problem with it if they had clear plans and there was accountability for where my money is going instead of here take this 50 million and just let me know what you're going to do with it- Oh you don't feel like it, it's ok we'll just say it's for education.

YolyC · 10-21-2008, 01:00 PM

This is kind of a random thought but, those few blacks I saw there reminded me of Bush's nephew during the 2004 elections. I was like hey where'd he come from? Maybe it's just my issue, but I felt like they just brought him out to show us that "see we like brown people. We even have some in our family."

CottonCandyCurls · 10-21-2008, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YolyC

Quote:

Originally Posted by CottonCandyCurls

[
I know a couple of black and hispanic people who specifically chose not to go to the convention because they already get harassed in their own communities for supporting McCain. It sounds silly but they just keep their political stuff to themselves. The convention really was a sea of old white men and which is also disheartening. Diversity is good. Both parties need some new solutions, ideas and people.

See, They should have gone. I would have loved to see more minorities there. I want to hear a minority like me tell me why they think the way they do and why they are choosing who they choose. I was willing to listen to the folks who spoke at the convention, but honestly an old, rich, suburban white man or woman can't really relate to a middle-income, minority, inner-city single mom.

I don't care much for the Democratic party either. I like that they seem to understand the problems of the poor people. My problem with them is that they seem to think just throwing money at the problems will solve them. An even bigger problem is that the money they are throwing is my tax dollars. I wouldn't have such a problem with it if they had clear plans and there was accountability for where my money is going instead of here take this 50 million and just let me know what you're going to do with it- Oh you don't feel like it, it's ok we'll just say it's for education.

Well this is the comfort zone issue that works both ways. The only young black female conservative I can think of who articulates her viewpoint reasonably well is Amy Holmes. She's not from the slash and burn school of punditry that can exist on both sides of the aisle. And I think she has really cute hair. Shallow I know but she has cute little corskcrew curls.

What I find interesting is the out there black conservatives who left the democratic party hesitate to out and out call themselves republicans even if they mostly vote for them. They are always independents or conservatives or conservative libertarians. Hmm.