Election results in Florida and Georgia prompt soul-searching for African Americans

[mia]

Last edited Thu Nov 8, 2018, 12:29 PM - Edit history (1)

As cars clogged the parking lot outside Highlands Public Library, Tony Maxwell was certain his state was on the cusp of electing Florida’s first black governor.

“It’s nice to see black people doing something early,” said Maxwell, 53, an African American retired naval officer, voting two days before Election Day....

“When we vote, we win,” was one of Gillum’s trademark phrases, and Maxwell and his friends believed it.

They voted. Still, their candidate lost....

The results should prompt soul-searching among all of us.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/election-results-in-florida-and-georgia-prompt-soul-searching-for-african-americans/2018/11/07/c27e7c40-5ae5-11e8-858f-12becb4d6067_story.html?utm_term=.bb68a13450fb

[wasupaloopa]

1. What is soul searching? What is the desired result of soul sesarching?

[mia]

9. Self-examination of beliefs and motives to try to understand these election results.

The desired result is that Democrats will win and that our efforts won't be sabotaged. In other words: What do I need to learn or unlearn in order to help make this happen.

[wasupaloopa]

16. Are you saying the election was sabatoged and that is why we lost?

It couldn’t be because not enough of us chose to vote?

I would say since about half of us chose to vote the half that stayed home needs to do soul searching. But if they don’t care no soul searching will change that.

[mia]

17. Both.

Thanks for your reply.

[jcgoldie]

2. Soul searching?

Uhm when you turn out the vote and the other side wins through suppression and anti-democratic shaenanigans how the hell does that warrant soul searching?

[marybourg]

4. Maybe among those who didn't actually turn out?

[Blue_true]

12. I have friends, a lot of young Black and non Cuban Hispanics don't vote.

People have told me that their kids don't vote and they can't convince them to. We have a majority only if we exercise it.

One disturbing piece of information that I read this morning was that in Georgia, most of the NEW voters voted for Kemp. That damages models that existed in my mind. Who were those people, what age were they? If new young people went for Kemp given his behavior, that truly is disturbing.

[Hortensis]

15. +1000. Does anyone NOT believe both candidates would have won

without Republican election tampering/voter suppression? And Stacey may still.

Damned if two extremely unlikely winners doing so unexpectedly superbly sparks me to "soul searching." I'm disappointed but thrilled at what this all means. We had/have 2 great Democratic candidates here and overall a good, supportive electorate to go with them -- in 2 traditionally red states, GA blood-red. I haven't seen figures for black turnout yet, but it has to have been high, in GA for the first time ever in a state race, which means we are part of an electoral revolution, and I'm guessing in FL also.

Kemp is supposedly 60K votes up but just 12K for Stacey would trigger a runoff in December.
If a recount and maybe finding some more lost votes forces a runoff, my husband and I will be voting for Stacey all over again. But whatever happens, we're feeling really good about what all this means for the future.

“There’s nothing honorable about being robbed. It’s not something you do with dignity and compliance,” Jackson said. “When you’re robbed, you should cry out, and she’s crying out, and she deserves support.”

[muntrv]

3. The only ones who need to do soul searching are

the ones who do not bother to register and vote.

[UniteFightBack]

5. Florida Dem's should be damn proud! It's very very close....as it always is. nt

[UCmeNdc]

6. The GOP is manipulating the vote. They are suppressing the black and latino vote.

IMHO


This article is just a cover story to divert attention from the obvious reasons.

[ananda]

8. Also, I don't think all the ballots were counted, particularly provisionals.

nt

[UCmeNdc]

7. I bet if you had a verifiable paper trail and stopped voter suppression tactics the Democratic

candidates would win in a landslide!

[peekaloo]

10. Yep. Uniform voting machines, too.

I live in a red county with optical scanners yet that is not the case statewide.

[ecstatic]

11. Not sure I'd call it soul searching. It's more of a return

to reality. I'm in Georgia, and the way I've interpreted the results is that, for the race to be so close, that means most white voters in Georgia are racist. The people who voted for Kemp--some of them (I assume) were neighbors, coworkers, former teachers or professors--they smile in my face, but they don't want me to vote. They're OK with my constitutional rights being taken away. They're OK with families being separated at the border. I wonder what else they would be OK with? Am I safe in this country or any country at this point? Those are the questions I've asked myself.

[mia]

13. Am I safe in this country or any country at this point?

Thank you. The realization that our government is incapable of protecting us from corruption scares me.

[SweetieD]

14. White people in the south are the ones who need to do soul searching.