Democratic wins in the midterms were driven largely by African American voters

[Gothmog]

Link to tweet

[sheshe2]

1. Of course.

They are our base.

[Kahuna7]

27. +1

[Gothmog]

41. DOUG Jones is evidence.of the power of this group of voters

[Blue_true]

42. I hope they come through in Mississippi.

That is the only way sanity prevails there, African-Americans going big and a handful of moral Whites joining them.

[Gothmog]

50. Same here

I really want Espy to win

[sheshe2]

45. Exactly.

[allgood33]

2. Only makes sense since they are the discriminated against in this country.

Even more need to come out and vote in proportion to the racism against them.

The is the "Black lives matter" that the GOP knows and fears.

[Garrett78]

3. But Dems are supposed to focus on winning over those "not comfortable" voting for POC, right?

I'll say it again, Republicans vote against their economic interests precisely because they are voting *for* their perceived cultural/social interests. The latter takes precedence.

So-called "independents" tend to be very partisan (not 'middle of the road'), include a disproportionate percentage of young people, and are not terribly reliable.

Given the above, who should we target in order to win? We win by turning out the base, in particular women and persons of color. It's not about "progressive" vs. non-progressive, or "far left" vs. moderate (it does not serve us well to fall into the trap of that narrative). Those candidates who have at least some grasp of oppression theory (or how systemic racism and sexism impacts life - and politics - in the United States) are needed. They are the ones who will lead us to the end of Republican Party viability. We must emphasize anti-racism and anti-sexism, not shy away from those things.

[Cha]

9. "Given the above, who should we target in order to win?"

It's A No Brainer!

We win by turning out the base, in particular women and persons of color. It's not about "progressive" vs. non-progressive, or "far left" vs. moderate (it does not serve us well to fall into the trap of that narrative).

Brilliant.. so simple. And, yet..?

We must emphasize anti-racism and anti-sexism, not shy away from those things.

Mahalo nui loa, Garret!

[Garrett78]

13. "And, yet...?"

And, yet, too many bought into the inherently racist and disproven 2016 "white working class/economic anxiety" narrative. As I've written about at length: https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11442020

And, yet, too many have bought into the "far left" vs. moderate narrative that causes division and alienation. As if some Democrats are progressive and others are regressive. As if there's some great divide over positions on issues. There isn't. The conflict that exists has been misdiagnosed, as I stated here: https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11436338

And, yet, I'm cautiously optimistic that we can eventually eradicate the Republican Party by greatly diminishing racism, sexism and their impact on society.

[Cha]

16. Thank You for expounding perfectly on

the ".. and yet?"

Exactly what so many of us have seen and know exactly what you're saying is so true. It's referred to constantly on Twitterverse basically saying the same.

And, yet, I'm cautiously optimistic that we can eventually eradicate the Republican Party by greatly diminishing racism, sexism and their impact on society.

A Grand and Honorable Goal!

Thank You again!

[Garrett78]

21. And thank you for the kind words.

[Kahuna7]

28. You are correct.

[Tarheel_Dem]

11. +1

[0rganism]

4. black women are the smartest voters in America

how did it happen? i don't know, but the evidence is overwhelming.

[Kahuna7]

29. Because we can smell the bullshit from a mile away.

[grantcart]

5. That would only be true in areas where there are significant AA voters

[Lunabell]

6. Yes!

This makes my heart happy.

[Cha]

7. Again.. African American and even more so AA Women Voters were our

Strongest Turnout in 2008, 2012, 2016, and now after two years of the Traitor and his Doormats dismantling all our Democratic Institutions, and selling American down the river to Russia and the Saudis.. they're were out in Force Again during the Famous Blue Wave of 2018.

I love them to pieces!

[Tarheel_Dem]

8. And those same African American voters will choose our next presidential nominee, so come correct.

[Cha]

10. Always On My Mind!

Please Check out Garrett's post, Tarheel..

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11457695

[Tarheel_Dem]

12. Thank you.

[TeamPooka]

14. Harris 2020!

[Garrett78]

15. Yes. I've been saying this for over a year.

Mark my words, we will see record-breaking Democratic turnout if she's our nominee.

Harris-O'Rourke would work for me.

[Cha]

17. Sounds Good at this point

in time.

[Garrett78]

18. I think the Beto for president talk is silly.

And I wasn't really on board with him being VP, but I've come around on that. Other possibilities include Klobuchar, Castro, Booker, Landrieu, Brown, Bullock, Kennedy, Murphy, etc.

Beto won me over with his statement about kneeling during the national anthem. Others may be more qualified, but he's damn impressive...and he would likely boost turnout even more.

[TeamPooka]

19. I find it hard to compare him to Obama. Obama was a winner. Thats why people thought

he could win the White house

[Garrett78]

20. I haven't compared him to Obama.

I suppose a comparison might be made in the sense that Obama had only served at the federal level for a short time, as Beto has.

As for being a "winner," there's a world of difference between winning in Illinois and winning in Texas. Beto came damn close to pulling off the unthinkable. But I don't really want to turn this into a Beto vs. Obama thing, as that serves no purpose.

I simply wanted to say that I could support Beto being Kamala's running mate. That's all. I don't expect Beto to seek the nomination, and I hope that he doesn't. He has said that he won't, and I hope he stays true to that. That doesn't mean, of course, that he couldn't be selected as the nominee's running mate.

[TeamPooka]

48. Many others have made the comparison. One of them was headline news the other day.

[Cha]

22. He's brilliant and quite

capable of learning quickly on the job.

We'll see what happens by then.. there are so many Dems looking at the job.

[Garrett78]

23. There are. I really hope fewer end up running than we expect.

20+ seekers of the nomination will lead to a circus atmosphere, and we run the risk of drowning out some truly viable candidates.

If we start out with such a high number, I'm hoping we quickly see the field whittled down to just a handful.

And I really take issue with the way the primary is run, such as Iowa and New Hampshire having so much sway. But not much to be done on that score. For now I just take comfort in knowing we're moving away from caucuses.

[Cha]

24. Yes "moving away from caucuses.."

A form of voter suppression.. and I hope "Open Primaries" too.

It's the Democratic Party candidate who's vying.. we should get to decide.

[Blue_true]

43. I think AA voters really like Biden too.

If Joe and Camilla team up, that should be unbeatable.

[Snake Plissken]

25. Which leads to the question, why didn't this happen in 2016, and will it happen again in 2020?

Granted Trump does a better job of exposing exactly what the GOP is, but the results we saw in 2018 should be the norm and not the except, the GOP is what it is with or without Trump.

[UCmeNdc]

30. Voter Suppression

If the true count of black voters were ever realized the Democratic Party would be winning everywhere. The GOP knows that. Hence, all of the voter suppression tactics the GOP uses.

[Blue_true]

44. A lot of AA voters mail in ballots, as does Hispanics.

More of them voted in person or early voted in person this year. But some key blue areas still suffered mailin vote loss or rejection. I hope that in 2020, most AA vote in person, hooefully early so that any issues can be addressed.

[handmade34]

26. a gracious thank you to them

and almost 20 percent of potential black voters in Florida will now be able to vote!

[NurseJackie]

31. It is a huge mistake for anyone to alienate AA and POC voters by making excuses for racism.

It is a huge mistake for anyone to alienate AA and POC voters by making "excuses" for racism. It's a very short-sighted approach for anyone (particularly our elected representative and/or candidates) to suggest that racist behavior isn't really racist. That type of thing serves no good purpose.

All I'm trying to say here is that anyone who would say such a thing needs to OWN IT for themselves, because it definitely does NOT represent what the Democratic Party is all about. As a party, the Democrats need to rise-up against such things, shine a harsh light on it, and call-it-out wherever it exists.

[oberliner]

34. That is exactly right

Also - all the more reason to work towards a presidential run with an AA woman at the top of the ticket.

[NurseJackie]

35. That's a secondary consideration for me. Our party's nominee should be qualified and...

That's a secondary consideration for me. Our party's nominee should be qualified and experienced. Our party's nominee should have a vision that embraces and promotes our party's ideals and platform. Our party's nominee should be a long-time loyal Democrat.

Also - all the more reason to work towards a presidential run with an AA woman at the top of the ticket.

There's so much more to consider. Honestly, this narrowly focused description (justification/rationalization) is on the verge of sounding like outright pandering. I believe that AA and POC voters are much smarter than they're being given credit for.

[oberliner]

36. I am confident that there is a qualified AA woman out there

Experienced might be a little bit harder to come by since the power structure has favored white men for so many decades.

[NurseJackie]

37. Nobody claimed otherwise.

I am confident that there is a qualified AA woman out there

Nobody claimed otherwise.

But, I hope we can all agree that it's better to focus on a candidate's experience, knowledge, agenda, party-loyalty and character... rather than to risk the appearance of clumsy and overt pandering. I'll be honest with you, I believe that such things reflect poorly on the party and on anyone who advocates for them. We're better than that. All I'm trying to say here (and I know I'm repeating myself) is that it's a mistake to underestimate people. I believe that AA and POC voters are much smarter than many are inclined to give them credit for. They are able to make a smart and informed decision without being spoon-fed, and without the need to be primarily motivated to support our party's nominee by virtue of his/her skin color or gender.

[uponit7771]

47. +1

[oberliner]

32. There is no stronger voting bloc for the Democratic Party

Democrats would lose every national election forever without those voters.

[HipChick]

38. What is the Democratic Party doing for that voting bloc?

Or even to retain and expand?

[Hortensis]

33. Don't agree. Absolutely, gratitude and a gracious thank-you

to this demographic group (half of 13.3% of the population) for their critically important contribution as a group.

But moving from the old days of making sure that they didn't count to considering that they count more than everyone else is the flip side of an old, corroded coin. Could we really take away an equal number of black male or white votes and it wouldn't matter? Those didn't "propel" anything?

How about a headline saying that the demographic group most committed to fighting for equality is black women, half of 13.3% of the population, and the least is white men? Simple truth.

As are the facts that the vote, when it can be cast and excepting the presidency, is truly equal and race-and-creed-irrelevant, that all committed, reliable Democratic voters regardless of color and creed are our base, and that our wins are all the result of the totality of the votes of everyone in our grand, diverse coalition.

[leftstreet]

49. +1

I've got nothing to add. That was very nicely stated

[tblue37]

39. They often are. nt

[sinkingfeeling]

40. One of the House's first priorities should be to end voter suppression. We owe them this.

[Scurrilous]

46. K&R

[workinclasszero]

51. Our base

God bless them all!