Why Bernie Sanders Isn't Winning Over Black Voters

[RandySF]

Relative to respondents who received no specific political message, those who were primed with a message depicting Trump as a threat to racial progress were more likely to express confidence that they would participate in the 2020 election in a variety of ways, both conventional and contentious. But these results did not extend in a statistically significant way to those receiving the competing messages: Trump as threat to economic justice and to American democracy. (These results hold after adjusting for political and sociodemographic factors such as gender, age, income, education, region, ideology, partisanship, attitudes toward Trump and 2016 voter participation.)

In other words, our survey suggests that if Sanders—or whomever Democrats ultimately choose—wants to win over black voters, a message stressing economic justice is not the best option; he needs to appeal explicitly to race. This finding builds on emerging work showing that the perception of threat on the part of racial minorities can encourage political participation, as has been demonstrated in the Latino community. It also builds on our finding, published in a previous study, that holding negative opinions of Trump can be a mobilizing force for African American voters.

Why is a message emphasizing racism so effective, relative to the alternatives? Simply put, race is the principal identity that resonates with the black community. History makes clear that racism affects every aspect of African Americans’ lives, so much so that most members of the black community perceive that they share a common fate. This is not to say that class isn’t sometimes important, but when it comes to political engagement, racial identity is a more reliable predictor of black political behavior.




https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/03/07/why-bernie-sanders-economic-message-isnt-enough-to-win-over-black-voters-118197

[bluedye33139]

1. The Jacobin message also downplays the history of oppressed people

If your response to LGBT issues or the concerns of people of color or women's rights is that economic revolution will satisfy all of these concerns and you don't want to talk about them, that's problematic.

I supermistrust the Jacobins on human rights and equality issues. The attacks on Mayor Pete, for instance, are a reminder of the typical hateful attitude of Jacobins toward gay men.

[UncleTomsEvilBrother]

3. You use "people of color"

The article uses Black. Indian Americans are "people of color". You will find that IAs and Blacks have totally different experiences and standing in the United States.

[bluedye33139]

4. Yes, I did not provide a fully detailed catalog of identities. Thank you.

As to my larger point, any thoughts?

[UncleTomsEvilBrother]

5. ...which

...seems to distract from the issue about the Black voters in America.


Your larger points, as usual, are valid, informed, and intelligent.

[UncleTomsEvilBrother]

2. One guess would be...

...is that he (and much of the media) take every opportunity to call Black people "people of color."

As much as I like Bernie(and would vote for him in a New York minute in the general), he hasn't shown any knowledge or interest in centering the unique and special issues of Black people in America.

[Blue_true]

7. Excellent point.

POC describes common societal risks only up to a very limited point. After that point there is massive diversity in how African Americans are treated in society versus say Americans of Asian Indian descent. Sanders just dumps everyone in one bucket and keep them there with his claim that economic justice will lift all of their lives equally, that is a totally blind assumption.

[MineralMan]

6. His absence at the Edmund Pettus Bridge

was definitely noticed, especially since other presidential hopefuls made it to the commemoration.

By not going there, and by cancelling his rally in Mississippi, Bernie made it clear that the black vote is a low priority for him. I'm sure many people will repay that with votes for Joe Biden, who was there.

I think it was a major mistake on Senator Sanders' part not to attend both events.

[padah513]

8. This right here

[Cha]

9. Mahalo, MM!