I wasn’t going to Blog today. But there’s just too much being said, that requires my opinion here.
Liberal Blogger and Obama-bot, Nate Silver asks, What’s the Matter with Michigan?
Democrats have grown accustomed to winning Michigan by relatively comfortable margins. Bill Clinton flipped the state in 1992, bringing home the Reagan Democrats and giving the party its first win in the state since 1968. Clinton’s margin grew to 13 points in 1996–five points better than his national popular vote margin against Bob Dole–and he successfully passed the torch to both Al Gore and John Kerry, each of whom also finished 5-6 points ahead of their national margins in the state. The Tipping-Point States But Barack Obama has had trouble getting traction in the Wolverine State. Although nearly all polling since the Democrats resolved the state’s messy delegate situation in June has had him ahead, it has often been by uncomfortably small margins–just one point, for instance, in a Public Policy Polling survey released on Monday. For most of the election cycle, Michigan has polled no more than 1-3 points ahead of Obama’s national poll standing, placing it well within the range of a potential Republican takeover. All of this comes in spite of a seemingly favorable environment for the Democrats. Michigan, its fortunes still tied to the struggling domestic auto industry, has the nation’s highest unemployment rate at 8.5 percent. Its population is 14 percent African-American, among the highest figures outside of the South. And it has two huge university towns in East Lansing and Ann Arbor, potential ground zeroes for youth voter enthusiasm. Why, then, have Obama’s numbers been sluggish in Michigan?
Well, where do I start? As a former “Left of Center”, and someone who has had contact within the African-American community, I feel I am most qualified to answer this.
- Obama is not authentic. – Most African-Americans that I have spoken with, especially among the older African-Americans, they view him as an “Uncle-Tom”. Someone who has sold out to the White Community. They also feel that the only reason that the Democratic Party has chosen him, is to appeal to “White Guilt”. or another way of putting it, would be to say that, the only reason he was chosen, is because he would appeal to a segment of White America.
- Obama is too controversial. – Yes, the Jeremiah Wright scandal is still lingering around here. Most African-Americans feel that Jeremiah Wright unfairly smeared the Black Community. In fact, one person told me, that “We don’t all feel that way about America or White people”. That whole “Chickens coming home to roost” thing, was a bit much for many blacks in this area.
- Obama is unknown – Most African-Americans that I know, really do not know anything about him, at all. I mean, one person I know, told me, “A couple years ago, nobody knew anything about this man.” This is not to infer that black believe that he is a Muslim. None of the people that I have encountered, have ever said that he is a Muslim. In fact, some have brought up that it really infuriated them, that many within White Conservative America were repeatedly inferring that Obama was a Muslim, because of his middle name.
- Obama is inexperienced – One African-American that I spoke with on this, asked me, “What has he done?” I proceeded to tell him, that he was a State Senator and then a US Senator, he asked me, “Well, what else?” I then told him, that he was a community organizer. He simply said this, “That’s not enough for me.” – So, based upon this, I am assuming that the African-America Community wants an more experienced leader.
- Fear of assassination – As much as I hate to bring this topic up, It has been, I am very much ashamed to admit, brought up by those I’ve spoken to. It is pretty much an unspoken thing among the African-American Community. One African-American man I talked to simply said, “He’ll do great….if they don’t get him.” -I really did not want to press to see as to whom, “They” was even referring to. It is very hard to communicate in words the look in that mans eyes, his expression, he was an older man, in his 60’s. I know what he lived through, what he experienced — The Kennedy’s Assassinations, Martin Luther King Jr. – All of that seemed to be what he was referring to. I guess some feel that it could happen again, and that is most likely why they’re not willing to look to another leader again.
I write this, not as a Conservative Blogger, or a “Right of Center” with an axe to grind. I write this as a citizen of the State of Michigan, a resident of Detroit area. Someone who grew up here. Someone who has spoken and interacted with the people here, in my many years of being here. As someone who used to work in and around the downtown Detroit area, as a delivery man. As someone who has driven in the area, where the 1967 riots took place. As someone who has watched this area change. Some for the good, and some, quite frankly, for the bad. I spoken with and interacted with the people, you can see the scars of the past. You see it in the city. A city which elected it’s first black Mayor, who promised great changes in the city, only to find that he was just as corrupt as the white city officials who used to run the city before him.
A city that after 7 terms in office was able to get rid of that corrupt Mayor and put in a new one. Only to find that was nothing more than an “Uncle Tom”. Then, a ray of hope and promise, a young mayor, someone who could connect with the city. He started out well, but, he too, fell into that cesspool of corruption.
I guess the best thing to say about this is, people in Detroit and yes here in the rest of Michigan are just cynical, we see this young guy out of Chicago, a Democrat, talking hope and change, and we just sit here and say ourselves. “Now, where have we heard that before?”
Others Blogging: FiveThirtyEight.com, Washington Monthly, Michigan Messenger, Matthew Yglesias
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