Leonard Pitts Jr: No, it's not the economy, stupid. Trump supporters fear a black and brown America

[babylonsister]

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/leonard-pitts-jr/article211963789.html


Leonard Pitts Jr
No, it’s not the economy, stupid. Trump supporters fear a black and brown America.
May 25, 2018 07:35 PM


We’re going to try something different today. Rather than pontificate yet again upon the motives of Donald Trump’s supporters, I’ll let a few of them explain themselves in their own words.

Here, then, is “Robert” with a comparative analysis of the 44th and 45th presidents:

“President Trump has accomplished more positive things for this nation in less than two years than the last three have accomplished in twenty plus years. After the past eight years of a Muslim Marxist in the White House this nation could not survive another demwit in the White House. … Could you please list one thing the demwit party has done for the black people in America other than hand out government freeies for their continued votes?”

And here’s “Gary’s” take on demographic change:

“[America] has a constitution which guarantees equal rights for all and yet people like you hungar for change that puts people like me in the back of the bus. You seem egar to know what it would be like to be in the driver's seat. You need look no further than Zimbabwe and South Africa. When people like you started driving the bus, the wheels came off. That's what terrifies people like me.”

This column is presented as a service for those progressive readers who are struggling with something I said in this space. Namely, that I see no point in trying to reason with Trump voters. I first wrote that over a month ago, and I am still hearing how “disappointed” they are at my refusal to reach out. So I thought it might be valuable to hear from the people I’ve failed to reach out to.

I’m sure some of you think those emails were cherry-picked to highlight the intolerance of Trump voters. They weren’t. They are, in fact, a representative sampling from a single day in May, culled by my assistant, Judi.

It’s still an article of faith for many that the Trump phenomenon was born out of fiscal insecurity, the primal scream of working people left behind by a changing economy. But I don’t think I’ve ever, not once, seen an email from a Trump supporter who explained himself in terms of the factory or the coal mine shutting down.

snip//

But at the same time, let us be clear-eyed and tough-minded in assessing what’s happened to our country — and why. How else can we salvage it from the likes of “A Trumper” who says Trump was needed to “get things back in order” after the “terrible job” done by President Obama?

He wrote: “We're sick of paying welfare to so many of your brothers who don't know what work and integrity mean. I hope you keep writing these articles and reminding my White Christian brothers that we did the right thing and we need to re elect Trump.”

I have two words for those progressives who think it’s possible to “reason” with that:

You first.

[dalton99a]

1. Racism is what energizes and motivates the Trump cult.

[Phoenix61]

3. And misogeny, don't forget that nt

[Marcuse]

60. As evidenced by radical anti choice initiatives designed to increase the birth rate.

Actually the extreme right would prefer to deny reproductive rights to white women only, while “encouraging” others to abort.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/08/alt-right-abortion-richard-spencer-upholds-margaret-sanger-eugenicist-legacy/

[JI7]

2. It's clear that's what it's all about.

[calimary]

31. It's sad and discouraging to see how profoundly ignorance plays a part in this.

I’m just struck, right off the bat, by the bad spelling and grammar. Just spent too much time writing and editing copy. Can’t help it. But I always find myself there. The way they look “on paper.” I learned that as a young job seeker long ago, AND as a news director with many a job application and inquiry to process.

Way an applicant would communicate, the way he or she would write about themselves, describe qualifications, shape cover letters - all that was instructive about basic smarts and communication skills, usage, grammar, professionalism, and general knowledge. It was always a good tip-off about whether an applicant could really be taken seriously. A “sorting hat”, with apologies to Harry Potter.

I see all kinds of basic stuff like that in a lot of these communicators these days. Whether it’s the misspelled protest signs or the bad grammar in their speech, it’s generally a reliable “tell.” Even in this era of tweets and texts, that stuff still matters.

I used to gobble up articles about how to present yourself on paper, how you look on paper, and what that says about you and how seriously you deserve to be taken - by, for example, a prospective boss or supervisor, or other figure who would presumably be holding your livelihood in their hands. It made a powerful impression on me - that lingers to this late date.

[MyOwnPeace]

38. I agree!!!!

I know a "moran" when I see one!

?1258151610

[calimary]

67. ROFL - I love that photo!!!

I forget when it first graced the internet. I've been laughing about it ever since!

Morans!

[chowder66]

4. ooo ooo I can answer first....

Yes, lets talk about welfare shall we?

The Pentagon Can't Account for $21 Trillion
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210664116

[EffieBlack]

5. This is why I have no intention of "reaching out" to Trump voters.

[argyl]

43. It's not worth the trouble.

I'm recently retired but worked with guys like this for over thirty years. I was a supervisor at a public utilities plant and the great majority of men I worked with had their thoughts set in concrete.

They'd even admit I was right on a number of points but they were still voting for Ronnie, Poppy, Gee Dubya, and the worst of the bunch, Trump.

There's no changing their minds. Convince a Millennial it's worth their time to vote, help minorities get the IDs to vote or register.

That's where we will win. And if Trump supporting knuckleheads don't come around then maybe their kids will.

[EffieBlack]

44. Exactly

[irisblue]

6. The comments....whoo boy. Gross

[0rganism]

42. we live in parallel realities

the current state of our national political dialectic isn't merely disagreements over optimal means to achieve common goals, as was typical 40 years ago. no, the trumpsters now diverge from us on basic facts and priorities, as illustrated by both the article and the comment section. the erosion of consensus reality and shared national purpose is a real problem, one that won't be resolved any time soon.

[Garrett78]

56. I posted something very similar just recently:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210640241

[0rganism]

57. thanks - i agree with your post, gave it a K&R

someday our descendants are going to have to sort this mess out, if it can be sorted at all.

[hunter]

45. They pretty much prove his point all over again...

And they don't even see it.

[catrose]

7. I never thought there was any point in reaching out

Trump is what he always was, and if someone votes for a person with no resume for the job, just a string of business failures, as opposed to another person with an extensive resume in public service, then there's no point in talking.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

8. Once again

Leonard Pitts (of the Miami Herald) eloquently and succinctly encapsulates the matter in less than 1500 words.

[babylonsister]

11. He's definitely a columnist I love to read and agree with. nt

[oberliner]

9. All of them?

What about Diamond and Silk?

[blm]

30. And Ben Carson......and Ken Blackwell....

And Sheriff Clark.....

Because, of course, “All of them?” is what all us accuracy buffs are asking, eh oberliner?

[oberliner]

33. Well, I don't think this accounts for non-whites who voted for him

I support the Hillary Clinton explanation of there being two baskets of Trump voters - the deplorables and the non-deplorables. I think this article captures the first group, but doesn't account for the other.

[blm]

40. Pretty sure the only one claiming 'ALL of them" is.....you.

Leonard Pitts didn't.

"Diamond and Silk" ....surely you can't be serious. You certainly aren't 'accurate'.

[oberliner]

64. Did you miss the question mark?

Yes, the Diamond and Silk reference was a joke.

My serious position on this subject is one I have stated on this thread several times. That is to say that Hillary Clinton's description during her "basket of deplorables" speech is one that I agree with.

[MrScorpio]

61. You don't get how so-called "black conservatives," like Diamond and Silk operate, do you?

Would you like a quick explanation?

[oberliner]

65. They are ridiculous

To me it seems like they are just marketing themselves via the Trump schtick.

In any case, my general view is that I agree with Hilary Clinton in her famous assessment of Trump voters.

[calimary]

10. BOOM!

[oberliner]

12. What about the 28 percent of Latinos who voted for him?

How are those votes explained?

[Hoyt]

14. Greed and hatred. They see immigrants as competition.

[Retrograde]

19. "Latinos" are a very varied group

They range from descendants of the conquistadors who settled in New Mexico in the early 1600s to people arriving from Ecuador last who just became citizens, from conservative Cubans who prospered under Batista and still oppose Fidel Castro to children of Mexican farm laborers. They occupy the political spectrum from arch-conservative to ultra-liberal and every point in between.

[oberliner]

34. Good point

However, I think it is fair to say that they may have had reasons other than the ones identified by the OP. I support the two baskets analysis of HRC.

[spooky3]

55. Central Americans (eg El Salvador) are a big subgroup as well.

[JI7]

27. they hate blacks, gays, other immigrants etc. they voted for bigotry also

[oberliner]

35. Or perhaps they had other reasons, a la the analysis from Hillary Clinton

Who talked about there being two baskets of DT voters.

[JI7]

37. No. They clearly show why they voted for trump based

on their continued support for him.

[Garrett78]

41. Hillary was being far too kind and diplomatic.

[jcgoldie]

48. She was being very kind

There's only one basket of them.

[Duppers]

15. Ya beat me to it.

[Hoyt]

13. trump was going to lose GOPer primary until he took off against Hispanics and BLM.

At that point, white wing bigots were sold on trump as their savior.

[aikoaiko]

16. I think Pitts makes the same (willful) mistake many pundits do about white Trump swing voters.

We don't need to the worst of the Trump voters or even a majority of the Trump voters.

Indeed, we only need a small subset -- maybe 10% to change the political landscape. Probably less to win the white house back.

[babylonsister]

17. No, we need to convince the

people who were too apathetic to vote, to vote. dt voters are a lost cause for the most part. Hard core.

[aikoaiko]

20. I think we need to do both. We've been doing GOTV and swing voters for a long time

We need to do both, IMO.

An estimated seven to nine million Trump 2016 voters voted for Obama in 2012. This is a huge number. We can't dismiss them and lose them. It only makes it harder to win by also GOTV with apathetic votes.

[Vogon_Glory]

36. Agreed. We need to reach out to both

We not only need to reach out to the apathetic and ill-informed who sat out the last election, but we should try to reach out to that sliver of Trump voters who voted for Orange Julius and are now going through the (well-deserved) pangs of buyer’s remorse. The good guys can’t throw out enough of the Republicans all by themselves. As much as I’d like to see the Party put all its emphasis on motivating the non-voters, there are a lot of red-staters who are beginning to wise up if they haven’t already. Not a majority, not even a plurality, but enough to tank some Reactionary Republicans on the state and federal levels.

[Uncle Joe]

39. +1

[Trust Buster]

18. I agree with Pitts. Trump did not hide his play on the racial fears of many. It was blatant and raw.

Millions did not vote at all in 2016. Our investment in time would reap much higher returns appealing to the non-voters of 2016 than to waste a moment of our time on the deplorable segment of our nation.

[raven mad]

21. We read this earlier today; Pitts has at least 2 Alaskan fans!

I adore his writing; clean & concise.

EVERYONE GO TO LINK & READ THIS!!!

babylonsister -.thanks!! 💐

[SCantiGOP]

22. I think Pitts is the best writer today

As far as understanding and being able to explain the political landscape.

[oasis]

23. Deplorable Dumbfucks are deep down racists. That's for sure.

They can't stop what America will look like in 2050.

[oberliner]

24. Hillary said there were two baskets

She said you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what she called the "basket of deplorables."

But she also said there was another basket of "people who feel that the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, etc."

Let's not forget that the second basket exists too.

[DonCoquixote]

25. No one will deny that the economy left people ebhind, BUT

a large part of that was caused by the fact that many of these people were willing to let them leave us behind provided that the first to starve would be "those people" that they never wanted to share the fruits of American labor. Hey union man, where were you when Blacks and Browns were kept out of your union? Hey "right to work state" man, where were you when your state banned unions. Where were you, voting GOP, that is where.

We are vry tired of hearing WWC voters act like their suffering needs to be placed at the front, because we know they minute they get healed, they will scream "screw the blacks and browns, they deserved to suffer anyway!"

[shanny]

26. As you say, the article is off base regarding what action is needed:

Who cares what trumpettes fear? They are not reachable regardless. Obama to Trump voters, on the other hand, likely ARE motivated by concerns about economic issues (like health care, in spades) and likely ARE reachable. Concentrate on them and leave the rest to stew in their toxic juices.

[alfredo]

28. Dear White America

If you had treated the "others" better, you wouldn't be afraid of being a minority in America.

[EffieBlack]

47. In a nutshell

Some people are terrified that the racism, bigotry and discrimination that they benefitted from and were complicit it but consistently deny will be turned around on them.

[alfredo]

54. What goes around comes around.

I remember my dad saying the blacks want to take over.

[summer_in_TX]

29. I don't listen to Rush myself...

But last week a friend of mine told me she does periodically while driving. She's noticed a shift in what he's telling listeners lately. About half the time she says he rants: "They hate you. They hate you, they think you're stupid."

The constant poison the propagandists spew is the reason their listeners cannot be persuaded.

But there is a subset that were convinced they didn't have a good alternative and held their nose and voted for him. They weren't the ones subjected to the most insidious messages but enough to make them feel like the alternative would be worse. Decades of lies about Hillary eroded their ability to see her character and outstanding qualifications.

That message from Rush is one reason I think it's going to be harder than some Dems think it will be to capture a majority of seats in the House and hopefully the Senate. Especially with our elections not protected from foreign interference. It will take an extraordinary effort - but we must win this, every seat possible. That means going after every vote. Not just those who sat out last time, not just the swing voters, even that subset who voted for Trump but are not racists, misogynists, or xenophobes.

[BumRushDaShow]

32. Fear of a Black Planet

[Garrett78]

46. Regarding Obama voters who voted for Trump, everyone should read this:

As I've posted more than once: https://www.google.com/amp/amp.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/11/why_did_some_white_obama_voters_for_trump.html

[Garrett78]

49. The white working class/economic anxiety theory was always absurd, and racist.

As I sarcastically wrote recently:

No Democratic presidential candidate has won the white vote since LBJ. In other words, "economic anxiety" has persisted since the Civil Rights Act. That, of course, is a coincidence.

And the large minority of white folks voting Dem, as well as the large majority of persons of color voting Dem, don't experience economic anxiety.

And the Republican position on labor rights, wage stagnation, equal pay, health insurance and every other issue important to working people is clearly superior to the Democratic position on those issues. Such as the recent Supreme Court ruling (quite favorable to workin' folk, right?).

Racism, sexism, xenophobia and jingoism has nothing to do with Republican support.

The end.

Or, as I also wrote not long ago:

People often bemoan the fact that millions vote against their economic interests. But the reason why is clear. They are voting *for* their perceived cultural/social interests.

Absent racism, the Republican Party would cease to be viable. The Democratic Party message is infinitely better on every issue that should matter to working people.

In Ohio, Rob Portman (a major advocate of NAFTA) outperformed Trump. So much for the issue of trade being oh so important to Trump voters.

It's been postulated that social injustices are caused by wealth or income disparities. So, if we address the latter, we'll address the former. That reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between social and economic justice.

I'm sympathetic to what many dismiss as "far left" points of view, but this is one major issue that many leftists get wrong. In fact, you might even say people who make the above claim have it completely backwards. The fostering and exploitation of bigotry (along with race-based voter suppression and gerrymandering) is what enables Republicans to win political victories, which leads to right wing economic policies being enacted. Those policies hurt more than anyone those who are already most oppressed. Then, the wealth gap between white individuals and persons of color is justified using various stereotypes.

This has been the case since the founding of the US on the genocide of one people and the enslavement of another. Remember, race is a social construct. And "whiteness" (along with its supposed superiority) was an invention borne out of the need to prevent a united front by all poor, oppressed people. Whites would be indentured servants with light at the end of the tunnel, while Negroes would be kept in bondage. Poor whites would be thrown a bone (and a whole lot of propaganda), enough to make them feel superior, enough to make them feel like they had more in common with their oppressors than their fellow oppressed.

Social Security (initially), the GI Bill, access to housing and other investment opportunities, the right to vote, access to higher education, access to employment with a decent wage, access to a fair trial and so much more was essentially denied to persons of color and women. Those injustices (even those that were seemingly resolved) continue to impact the present, including the wealth gap between white households and black and brown households, between men and women. Therefore, a rising tide has not historically lifted all boats. Ta-Nehisi Coates makes "The Case for Reparations."

This is why social justice victories (legalizing gay marriage) and breaking barriers (first Black POTUS, first woman POTUS, first transgender state legislator, etc.) constitute more than mere symbolism. They are cracks in the facade, and crucial steps toward addressing economic injustice.

Much has been made of the *white* working class, or even white working class men. Democrats already do better than Republicans among the working class. In saying Democrats shouldn't go out of their way to appeal to *white* working class men, the point isn't to denigrate that subset of the population. The point is that the Democratic Party platform should already appeal to the working class. And, for the most part, it does, based on exit polls following every election.

Why speak specifically of *white* working class folks? We all know why. Either it's because there's this assumption that only white people work or experience economic anxiety (horribly racist and obviously false), or it's because a certain portion of *white* working class folks are voting based on factors that have nothing to do with candidate positions on wage stagnation, workplace safety, health care, equal pay, paid family leave and all of the other issues that should matter to the working class. If that's the case, and I think we all know that it is, what does one suggest Democratic candidates do?

Should Democratic candidates not talk about criminal injustice, the race-based "War on Drugs," race-based voter suppression, a path to citizenship and the fact that US policy has been a driver of immigration all around the world, reproductive rights, equal pay, a culture that suggests sexual assault is tolerable, and so on? If not talking about those things, or - worse - taking the opposite position is what it will take to win over a certain subset of the population, then that's just too bad. As Dr. King said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Just as some rich folks recognize the danger of extreme economic disparity, we should all want less disparity (in terms of wealth, criminal justice, medical care, housing, etc.) between white folks and persons of color, between men and women, between gay and straight. Get on board with Democrats or lose, because ultimately "the arc of the moral universe bends toward justice."

Going back to the invention of race/whiteness, the fostering and exploitation of bigotries has enabled economic disparities in the US. Economic disparities aren't what enable racism and sexism, though economic disparities are used - after the fact - as justification for social/cultural wealth disparities (again, stereotypes are used to justify the wealth gap between black and white households, for instance). Racism and sexism are what enable economic disparities. Whiteness and patriarchy had to be invented as a means to divide and conquer.

We must address racism (including xenophobia) and sexism head-on. If we don't, there's no hope of substantially redistributing wealth or opportunity. A common response to what I’ve written is that “we must fight for both economic and social justice” or that “it’s not an either-or situation.” Of course it isn’t. Of course Democrats and all people of conscience should be fighting for progressive taxation and closing tax loopholes, paid family leave, universal health care, ending imperialism, and so on. My point, though, is that right wing economic viewpoints survive and prosper precisely because of bigotry. Absent racism alone (to say nothing of other forms of bigotry), the Republican Party would cease to be viable.

And we must recognize that a rising tide is not sufficient. Measures must be taken to reverse history, so to speak. A good place to start: https://policy.m4bl.org/platform/.

Lastly, a message for the young folks and others who are hoping for a viable left wing alternative to the Democratic Party in this 2-party system of ours. The first step is ending the viability of the Republican Party. And we do that by significantly diminishing racism, sexism, heterosexism and xenophobia (because that, and not right wing economic policy, is what's keeping the GOP alive). In the meantime, you need to support the only viable party that stands in the way of fascism. And you need to recognize that addressing social injustice is key to addressing economic injustice.

[uponit7771]

68. +1

[Garrett78]

50. Campaigns are to be built on turning out the base.

Honest-to-goodness swing voters are relatively few in number, unpredictable and widely dispersed across 50 states. A national campaign focused on winning them over is asking for trouble.

[Garrett78]

51. The "alternate reality" thing is all too real.

As I recently posted: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210640241

[Thomas Hurt]

52. consciously or subconsciously racists understand that why they fear the other is that they....

know how ugly and black-hearted they are, and it scares them to think that being a minority, would expose them and their families to that same level of discrimination and thuggery.

[Hekate]

53. Well, that's fairly naked, and like imagining the Mad King naked...

Horrifying. Clarifying.

[JCanete]

58. I don't think many people have ever seriously considered that we would be able to reach the 33

percent of the population that sounds like this. The only people who could start to reach them are their own kin and and those less vitriolic in their social circles, etc. Those are the people we go after. its the middle 33 percent we're talking about...not those with their heels the most dug in.

[Steven Maurer]

59. "Progressives" who set aside racism and appeal to racists aren't really progressive

No matter how much they hate the supposedly "corporatist" Democratic party, lie about us, and ally with Republicans and Russians to defeat us.

Fortunately, the public is wising up to the Green Teabaggers. Not a second too soon.

[EffieBlack]

62. THANK you, THANK you, THANK you!!!

I've had it up to here with so-called progressives telling voters we should just look the other way while they try to bring racist white Trump supporters into our tent or that we should stop telling the truth about them because it's "divisive" and might drive them away.

I called bullshit on that a long time ago and will continue to do so every time someone tries to convince me that this is an appropriate approach.

[IronLionZion]

63. Then why have Dems been winning in Trump districts over the last year?

Surely some of the voters aren't a complete waste?

[JI7]

66. More Democrats came out to vote than republicans