Salon: When Will Dems Stop Pandering To White Males?

[babylonsister]

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/09/17/white_man/index_np.html

So long, white boy

Could 2008 be the year that Democrats finally admit an old sweetheart is never coming back, and stop pandering to the white male voter?

By Thomas F. Schaller



Those who have been closely following the politics of the Democratic primaries may have noticed that someone is missing -- and I'm not referring to Bob Shrum, the Rev. Al Sharpton or an as-yet-undiscovered "Gravel Girl."

I'm talking about the white male voter, or at least a certain long-coveted variety thereof. He is variously known as "NASCAR dad" -- that shirt-sleeved, straight-talkin', these-colors-don't-run fella who votes his cultural values above all else -- or "Bubba," as Steve Jarding and Dave "Mudcat" Saunders affectionately call him in their book, "Foxes in the Henhouse." Start looking on milk cartons for Bubba because he has vanished, and not a moment too soon: The Democratic obsession with the down-home, blue-collar, white male voter, that heartbreaker who crossed the aisle to the Republicans many decades ago, may finally be coming to a merciful end.

The simplest explanation for Bubba's absence to date is that none of the 2008 Democratic presidential contenders provides an obvious home for his vote. Despite accusations that Hillary Clinton is prone to dropping her "g's" when talking to rural or Southern audiences, it's difficult to imagine the former first lady making overt appeals to a group that regards her with something verging on rabid disgust. Barack Obama? The former Chicago street activist is not easily mistaken for a good ole boy. Ditto for Christopher Dodd, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich and Bill Richardson.

But the underlying reason may be demographics. In 1952, according to calculations performed by Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz for Salon, white males were nearly half the American electorate. Thanks to the recent growth in the Latino population, however, the white male share is now dropping about a percentage point a year, accelerating a decline that began with the increased enfranchisement of African-Americans in the civil rights era. In next year's election, white males may account for fewer than one out of three voters. Bubba is no longer a kingmaker.

more...

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/09/17/white_man/index.html

[Gravel2008]

1. So we should pander to latinos and blacks instead?

Why choose the people we "pander" to based on race anyway? The whole premise of the article is racist.

[Skip Intro]

2. I agree, its offensive. n/t

[frogcycle]

3. I call bullshit

I am a white male. I am not of that "certain long-coveted variety thereof."

If they want to talk about ditching the bubbas, fine, but when the headline includes me, I get really pissed.


fuck Thomas F. Schaller and the horse he rode in on.

Any valid points he may have had to make got negated by the headline.

[babylonsister]

6. Touchy, ain't ya? Obviously he wasn't talking about you. nt

[frogcycle]

8. yes, I am

i am not so much personally affronted, but I get sick and tired of sensationalist headlines or post titles meant to get attention. Why intentionally piss off a large segment of the audience before they even read a line? I know he isn't talking about me, but I had to read a bit to learn that. When something is written that way it smacks of someone having second thoughts and being "politically correct" - like saying "Blacks are lazy - well, at least some of them are." If the author did not have an "attitude" toward the ENTIRE group, why did he not accurately title the post?

Just being picky, I guess.

[frogcycle]

11. here's who he is talking about

bubba

[marmar]

4. Great read.....Thomas Schaller always tells it like it is......

Focus your resources on your bread and butter, and ensure that they're energized, excited and get out to vote.

[babylonsister]

5. Thank you. I can't believe the responders even bothered to read this.

Racist? That thought never even entered my mind.

[frogcycle]

9. what is not racist (and sexist) about "white males" ?

[gaspee]

12. So when you

Read articles lumping "females" into one group, do you find that sexist? Do you bother to voice your opinion?

I find it funny that so many people take issue with the headline when no one ever seems to take issue when it's women or people of color lumped into a group.

Or is it the premise of the article? The premise that says white males, typically the power holders and brokers in western civilization, no longer hold all the cards? That their power is more in line with their actual numbers and not through the oppression of other folk?

[frogcycle]

15. yes, and sometimes

and while I am a white male, I never held all the cards and welcome any and all moves away from exclusionary minority rule. The current move toward oligarchy indeed does appear to favor a largely white male group - but its not the bubbas; it's the CEO's. And I am not sure how many of the cabal seeking world domination are American white males vs. some from Asia or the MidEast.

The bubbas were always (politically) just pawns being used by those seeking power. In the workplace and society in general, plenty of them have had their own little power trips, at the expense of, well everyone but them. Usually women or minorities, but I have been treated like a pariah for not joining in their bigotry, and ultimately had to change jobs.

I am a whole lot more excited by Blackwater's problems than by bubba's.

[defendandprotect]

18. YOU never held all the cards; but white males gave most of the cards to themselves....

Our Constitution is evidence of that --

Unfortunately, we're still working with the same gene pool, so there will be those who will try to keep things arranged that way and generally they have money and power.

No -- it's not FOR the benefit of the "bubbas" -- but it's the right-wing propaganda which moves the "bubbas." Just like the Civil War: The CEO tells the lie, the "bubba" goes off to war.
The CEO/Elite profits. Simple!

If "bubba" is disappearing as a tool for the right wing, then maybe that even means that "bubba" has woken up?????

Any "bubbas" around here???

[Lasher]

19. Try it this way

When Will Dems Stop Pandering To Women?
When Will Dems Stop Pandering To Homosexuals?
When Will Dems Stop Pandering To African-Americans?

Now ask yourself, would anyone be justified in feeling offended of any of the above were used as a title for an OP?

[Captain Hilts]

7. Some of the NASCAR dads are coming back. nt

[The Traveler]

10. Bubba is no longer a king maker

but Bubba can still be a spoiler. Howard Dean has this right ... don't be afraid to ask anyone for their vote. To do so is if nothing else a sign of respect ... and the first step towards receiving respect is offering it. Also, NASCAR dad types are perhaps more amenable to Democratic persuasion than you think ... GOP malfeasance has left many of them whirling in confusion. Being something of a motor head I know many of that type ... and all the ones I know are all re-evaluating their stance on things. I even have a couple of them tuning into Olbermann ... :evilgrin:

[Maribelle]

13. NASCAR dad --and -- straight-talkin equals an oxymoron

Not that there is anything wrong with your typical NASCAR dad's love of Viagra, lust of hooter implants, beer guzzling, adultery, gambling, or cheating at their own game.

But it's when they start thumping their "family values" charade that I believe "straight-talkin" is not at all in their lexicon.

[groovedaddy]

14. When they stop voting?

Seems to me the segments of our population that don't vote get the least attention (i.e. the poor).

[stimbox]

16. A better question is when will they stop pandering to corporations? N/T

[Gravel2008]

17. ExACTly!