Dean attracts new faces to politics -- most of them white

[Nicholas_J]

By Will Lester, Associated Press Writer, 9/9/2003

WASHINGTON -- Democrat Howard Dean has drawn new faces to politics, many of them young, middle-class Web surfers. Few of those faces are of color.

The presidential candidate has seized the momentum in the nine-way primary race with an Internet-driven campaign that has attracted thousands of supporters and millions of dollars. But Dean's success with minorities, a crucial constituency for any Democratic candidate, has been limited and political analysts wonder whether he can broaden his appeal.

"I think it's going to be difficult for him to connect," said David Bositis, a political analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think tank focused on black issues. "He doesn't have any history with blacks."

Dean, a Park Avenue-raised, Yale-educated internist, practiced in Burlington, Vt., and later served as the state's governor for 11 years. Vermont has a population that is nearly 98 percent white, according to the latest Census data.

Throughout the campaign, much of Dean's support has come from the Internet, either through his own Web site or Meetup.com, a point of contact for those looking for Dean gatherings. Extensive computer use, according to recent surveys, is more common among whites than minorities.

More than six in 10 whites describe themselves as Internet users, while about half of blacks say they use it, according to Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Among frequent Internet users, the digital divide widens between whites and minorities, with 60 percent of whites and 40 percent of blacks who go online saying they do so often.

Beyond the source of support, two issues that could prove problematic for Dean are his opposition to expanding gun-control laws and his decision, while governor, to sign a civil-unions bill.

http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2003/09/09/dean_attracts_new_faces_to_politics____most_of_them_white/

[gully]

1. So....

Somethin wrong with white people?

http://www.deanforamerica.com

Check out Deans coalition groups... I personally know of blacks and hispanics who support Dean.

[LuminousX]

2. For Shame

seeing caucasions are a majority race and there are a lot of caucasions who have never felt politically active, this is a good thing. I'm not, and I am certain the Dean campaign is not, saying that the minority vote isn't necessary - it is critical. But where do you expect a candidate to start?

They've addressed this issue so many times that this story seems to be posted to propagate a myth, or worse, insinuate that Dean doesn't care about minorities.

[CMT]

3. show us where the other candidates

have been generating a big buzz in the minority community? it is not only a Dean problem but a Democratic party problem at this point. Dean recognizes this and is reaching out.

www.latinosfordean.com
www.africanamericansfordean.com

[UnapologeticLiberal]

45. The audience at Kerry's announcement speech looked pretty white

from the pictures. And someone in the Kucinich campaign told me that they were having trouble also getting a diverse crowd at campaign appearances.

Check out my new Dean blog:
http://deangrassroots.blogspot.com

[MoonAndSun]

4. Every face Dean attracts to the Democratic Party is a good thing,

no matter what the color of that face is.


Try again.

[deutsey]

5. And yet, when you do a google search

for African Americans for Dean, or Latinos for Dean, there are a lot more hits than if you were to do the same for Kerry.

[Nicholas_J]

6. The size of those groups

Are FAR more important than the actual support Dean has.

And a pew poll is likely to be FAR more accurate than Googling on small Dean groups.

A report that is still only privately available (9 hours old), from DiversityInc. place Kerry way on top with blacks and hispanics

[deutsey]

8. Never made the claim that this was more accurate

Just indicates the level activity, in my opinion.

And I don't put much faith in polls, by the way...especially since before the 2000 election almost all of the polls were saying Bush would win the popular vote.

Never heard of DiversityInc, so I can't say whether their private report holds any water for me or not.

[OrAnarch]

32. Im undecided...

But your antics have made me cautious of Kerry. What man could attract a follower like you? Surely one that I wouldn't want to vote for. Im being totally serious...I can't think about anything but the tactics of his supporters when I see him talk in that Washington Insider type tone. Just chill a bit...

[Ediacara]

35. I think the avatar is just a disguise

Never once has NJ had a substantive discussion about Kerry. He lives and dies on DU to try to discount Dean calling him a communist and a republican that hates gays, and will lose because he supports gays all in the same breath...

[OrAnarch]

36. Not a supporter then?

You suggesting just a freeper/disruptor?

This tends to get quite annoying.

[Ediacara]

37. no

all I am suggesting is that his posting is not constructive.

[Ediacara]

7. hmmm

Most Americans are white

Most Voters are white

Most Democrats are white

Yet Nicholas_J very clumsily tries to imply that Dean's supporters are racists....

[DrFunkenstein]

9. Why Racist?

Dean doesn't have to hate minorities to be unable to connect to them? It's just that not alot of minorities are Ben and Jerry-eating birkenstock appeasement-monkeys, that's all.

[deutsey]

10. Personally, I've never liked Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream

Could never afford Birkenstocks, either.

:evilgrin:

[DrFunkenstein]

23. I Hear They're Supposed To Be Very Comfortable

I was joking, of course, but they say Birkenstocks are supposed to mold to your feet. They look ugly as hell, which is why they should really think about branching out their design.

As for Ben and Jerry's, I've always been disappointed. Starbucks Java Chip is where it's at, although Breyer's Vanilla Bean is pretty bangin'. And then there's Pistachio, Cookie Dough, Mint Chocolate Chip...

:9

[deutsey]

25. I know you were joking...

and was responding in kind.

I don't agree with you on your choice of candidate, but I do like reading your posts...they're always (well, maybe often :evilgrin:) very thoughtful and interesting.

:hi:

[DrFunkenstein]

28. Fair Play To Yeh

Not gonna take me up on the ice cream faves?

[Ediacara]

29. you should try

chunky monkey and confection obsession, totally fantastic icecreams :-)

[xchrom]

12. takes one to know one

[w4rma]

20. …self-aware, and capable of reacting to the shifting winds of a political…

Dean's army goes offline

Aware that the computer-geek vote will not be enough to elect Howard Dean, the front-runner's supporters are fanning out to organize minorities, blue-collar workers and retirees.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Sept. 9, 2003 | Steve Chaffin, an attorney who is the unofficial coordinator of presidential candidate Howard Dean's campaign in Ohio, has been working in Democratic politics for about 20 years. He doesn't remember ever seeing a candidate attract the kind of people who come to Dean. "They're all intellectuals," Chaffin says. "They're lawyers, doctors, engineers, very creative people."

Chaffin considers this a generally positive thing, but he worries that because Dean has relied greatly on the Web as a campaign tool, the candidate's message has not been widely received by "blue-collar people" and minorities. This concern, which has popped up repeatedly in the media, is shared by many other Dean supporters, including Richard Hoefer, a San Francisco filmmaker who believes that the campaign has been too "blog-centric." Asked if he thinks there's a homogeneity to Dean's base, Hoefer responds, "You mean whitey?"

In June, when he surprised commentators by beating his opponents in the second-quarter fundraising race, it became clear that Howard Dean was using the Internet like no other presidential candidate in history. By building connections with the Web's leading bloggers, the campaign created an online movement around Dean's bid -- and it used the movement to get cash, mainstream media attention, and dominance in the polls. Since then, the Web has been nothing but kind to Dean: The cash has come in faster (the campaign reportedly expects to collect more than $10 million in the third quarter, which ends on Sept. 30), the media has become much more interested, and Dean's poll numbers have skyrocketed.

But is Howard Dean's campaign too wired? Is Dean attracting too many people who hang out on the Web all day -- wealthy, Internet-savvy, mostly white people, including a healthy dose of what the NYT called "the tongue-studded next generation," as the New York Times put it recently -- while failing to win over more traditional Democratic constituencies?

Some Dean supporters are starting to think that's the case. But what's remarkable about Dean's grass-roots organizers is that many already seem to realize that it's time to do something about minority outreach; the connected hive of Dean supporters, held together by blogs and hundreds of Yahoo groups, is, in a sense, self-aware, and capable of reacting to the shifting winds of a political campaign.
…
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/09/09/dean_outreach/index_np.html

[Ediacara]

26. The implication that most of them are white

implies that he has a problem with minorities, which implies that his supporters are racist.

The simple fact that most of his supporters are white is a reflection of modern US demographics and nothing more. The title of this thread is misleading in that regard.

[Nicholas_J]

11. Nope

Dean has yet to appeal to minorities and as the Pew Study indicates, Dean has little attration for them.

But even more, the Democratic Party's largest base comes from two places. Unions and Minorities.

And even more so, the swing voters are largely hispanic.

Most of these are fiscally progressive, and socially conservative.

On two issues, School vouchers and Abortion, Latinos poll futher to the right of Republicans, even those who state they are democrats.

Hispanics to Right of Republicans

As democratic presidential candidates try to attract the Hispanic vote, a new poll out today shows Hispanics to the right of Republicans on two key issues. The poll, conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, shows 37 percent of Hispanics want the federal government to prohibit abortion outright. Thirty-one percent of Republicans agree, while only 17 percent of Democrats do.

In addition, 58 percent of Hispanics support tax credits or school vouchers for private schools. Fifty-four percent of Republicans agree, while only 36 percent of Democrats do. On such issues as public school spending and a greater government role in health insurance coverage, Latinos tended to side with the Democrats.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,96328,00.html

Another indication:

Latinos’ Support for Larger Government Contrasts with More Conservative Social Views

Over half (55%) of the Hispanic electorate would prefer to pay higher taxes to support a larger government that provides more services (38% oppose). Meanwhile, majorities of registered whites (61%) and African Americans (52%) would prefer to pay lower taxes and have a smaller government.

Latinos’ support for larger government contrasts with their more conservative views on a number of social issues, including abortion. More than half of Latino voters think that abortion should be illegal in most (31%) or all (24%) cases, while 42% disagree, believing that abortion should be legal in most (30%) or all (12%) cases. This is a view shared by African Americans, but most whites (53%) say it should be legal in most or all cases. Registered, foreign-born Latinos tend to hold more conservative views than those born in the U.S. For example, 46% of foreign-born Latinos say having a child without being married is unacceptable, compared to 33% of native-born Hispanics.

“As immigration transforms the Latino electorate, candidates and politicians will increasingly be asked to respond to a population of voters whose political views challenge conventional wisdom,” said Mollyann Brodie, Ph.D., Vice President and Director of Public Opinion and Media Research for the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The distinctiveness of the Hispanic electorate is perhaps best illustrated by comparing Latinos’ views with those of whites with the same party affiliation. For example, about half (52%) of Hispanic Republicans say they would rather pay higher taxes to support a larger government, compared to only 17% of white Republicans. Similarly, 34% of Hispanic Democrats believe divorce is unacceptable, compared to 13% of white Democrats.


http://ascweb.usc.edu/news.php?storyID=25

In order to get Hispanic Suport, Dean is simply going to have to start lying again, or change his stance about big government.

[deutsey]

13. I can't speak for the rest of the country

But I know in Baltimore and DC, there have been lots of diversity at Dean events.

As for your other points: so, does that mean all the Dems (except for maybe Lieberman) should give up on Latinos?

PS: And regarding the last part you just added, maybe Latinos are not the monolithic, single-minded group that Fox News (?) and others who like to lump diverse individuals into neat little demographic groups think they are.

Do all white people vote the same, all Jews, blacks, Asians, etc.?

[Nicholas_J]

33. The "FOX THING"

Was done by Annenberg, rather and extremely repected for their reports.

Even the 2003 Hispanic Poll, states EXACTLY thhe same thing about Latinos

This is a summary:

http://www.newdem.org/hispanicproject/pollsummary.phtml

another reference:

But what's really made Hispanics such a battleground--aside from demographics--is the idea that they offer opportunity to both parties. That's because Latino culture tends to be economically liberal (read "Democrat") and socially conservative (read "Republican"). Says Adam J. Segal, director of the Hispanic Voter Project at Johns Hopkins University: "There's no other group that has the potential to change the American political process so rapidly...


Surveys of Hispanics also show that they tend to be more supportive of expanding government than the average voter and are more worried about the economy. "The overriding issues for Latinos are bread-and-butter issues," says U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, a Democrat who in 2002 rode Hispanic support to win a newly created House seat in southern Arizona. "It's going to be about employment, schools, and healthcare, and the report card is not good for President Bush."



http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/030908/usnews/8hispanics.htm

Stats wise. Denas platform and history is diametrically opposed to the
desires and wishes of most hispanics.

[helleborient]

61. The core constituency won't win the election alone...

One of Al Gore's perceived problems in the 2000 campaign was he did not hold the "Reagan Democrats," "Bubba Vote," or whatever you want to call them...these are some of the people Dean is pulling into the campaign. What other candidate is doing that?

[xchrom]

14. and all democrats or those who would vote democrat

should hold your view of the political climate because your crystal ball has the most clarity?
the campaign season has just begun and the infighting only helps bush this early. your candidate has bad baggage -- all the candidates have bad baggage.
dean is still bettter than bush -- and you can't fault a candidate for doing well with labor, now can you?
give us all a break -- the anti-dean threads are a bore.

[VermontDem2004]

18. hahaha Faux News

your credibility has diminished.

[Ediacara]

22. credibility has diminished?

from what: zero? is it in the negative now?

[Ediacara]

21. Hispanics to the right of Republicans?

but aren't you the one who constantly bitches about Dean being to far to the right, but now you want him to court conservatives?

You're all over the map N_J... and you're not making any sense.

[dsc]

30. You have to realize

no set of arguments are too contradictory for him to make. He is also all over the map on civil unions. He has posted thread, after thread, after thread, after thread on what a craven coward Dean was on civil unions. In this thread and others though, all of the sudden, civil unions will cost him tons of votes. Obviously both of these can't be true. Yet for him any port in a storm will do.

[Ediacara]

34. no response from N_J?

typical...

[Nicholas_J]

64. Dont live on DU

Actually have a real life...

ANd generally do not respond to stupid responses.

ANd I cut and pasted the article title, so I didnt alter it.

[Mass_Liberal]

24. WAIT A &^%*&%*in second

are you saying that dems should become social conservatives, to court hispanics? we need to change the voters to fit us, not the other way around. And by the way, if signing civil unions bill loses the black vote, that the problem is the voter's ideology, not Dean's. That said, voters can be swung. If we move the center to the left, as opposed to moving ourselves to the center, more voters will be social liberals.

[Jim Sagle]

38. Yeah, Fox News is really where it's at for reliable info on Dems.

Haw haw haw!

[BushGone04]

41. I don't think there was a racist accusation in there...

The columnist is just pointing out that, thus far, Dean's support in minority groups has been limited. I think DrFunkenstein is right in his post below when he argues that Dean's position on gun control, although it may help him with the "Joe sixpack" types, may also make it somewhat more difficult for him to attract minority voters, particularly inner-city African-Americans who have seen the realities of gun violence.

I'm certainly not accusing Dean of being a racist, and I really don't think Nicholas_J is either. But I think it's worth pointing out that he may have some trouble attracting minority voters.

[Ediacara]

42. Nick_J

changed the title of the article in a way that implies that Dean and his supporters are racist. The original title was something like "mostly computer savy middle class geeks, but few minorities."

[BushGone04]

48. Perhaps

But the gist is the same, it seems to me. Maybe a bit of spin for Nick, but really, the article is saying more or less what Nick titled it as.

[VermontDem2004]

15. I watched the "On the Road With Howard Dean" series

on C-Span during the "sleepless summer tour" and seen lots of minority and senior citizens attending the events. This columnist clearly has an agenda.

[dsc]

16. I get a little tired of hearing

this talk and not ever having the fact that gays and lesbians (where Dean has overwhelming support) are indeed minorities. While there are differences that are advantageous to gays and lesbians in this regard; there are many others which are disadvantageous. I think that we should get some credit for being minorities. And if gays and lesbians didn't exist neither would have the mayoralities of Dinkins, Bradley, and Washington in our three largest cities.

[Oreegone]

17. I love all the BS flying about Dean

Every day I hear some new shit, like Dean is a liberal(like its the plague), Dean is against Isreal, Dean is almost like Bush, Minorities are not interested in Dean, shhheeesh what will the rumor mill drag up next?

All of this BS means little or nothing to Dean supporters who hail from every politcal party and have studied Dean and know why they like him. They all know they won't be on the same page on everything but at least they are getting an actual human being.

The numbers continue to grow...Go Dean:toast:

[Oreegone]

19. Poll: U.S. Muslims Increase Political Activity Since 9/11; Dean Tops Bush,

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=125-09102003

The survey also looked at American Muslim views on political issues and on the current list of presidential candidates. When asked which Democratic Party candidate they would vote for, respondents favored Howard Dean (26 percent), Dennis Kucinich (11 percent), John Kerry (7 percent), and Carol Moseley Braun (6 percent). Only 2 percent said they would vote for President Bush. The president also fared poorly on domestic and international issues of importance to Muslims. Only one-in-ten respondents supported the president's Iraq policy.

[Nicholas_J]

31. This poll was done rather unscientifically faxing forms and such

The last Zogby poll on the issue places Kerry in the lead with muslims.

[arcos]

39. That poll is 3 months old...

hardly valid by mid September...

[Ediacara]

40. no datum can ever win in an argument against NJ

[arcos]

46. I know... I don't know why I even bother....

:(

[DrFunkenstein]

27. Gun Control Is Big With Urban Minorities

Where everyone seems to know someone that has been shot. I still remember a few months ago when I had to deal with my 4th graders after a neighborhood teenager was shot in the parking lot of a Popeye's. This was the future they were looking towards.

I know, I know. It is different for rural states. But for people from Newark, Elizabeth, Camden, Trenton, this is a visceral issue. And often a litmus test.

[DemBones DemBones]

43. Yawn. Deanies piling on Nicholas J. again. . . Why? Nick posts

an article by an Associated Press writer. Sacrilege!

Nicholas J. doesn't like your candidate but that's his right as an American. However, you look foolish when you attack him for something a reporter says.

Reporters have to report about something. In political reporting, they look for all sorts of possible stories. Dean's lack of contact with minorities is an issue. As the article says, he was raised on Park Avenue, educated at Yale (an elite private school before that) and then practiced medicine in/ became governor of Vermont, a state with a population almost 98% white. Given that history, "Will he be able to connect with minority voters?" is a perfectly reasonable question.

If Al Sharpton were doing as well as Dean at this point, reporters would be asking if he could connect with whites.

It's silly to attack reporters unless one writes an unfounded attack on your guy.
This article is a) well-founded and b) not an attack.

[dsc]

44. gays and lesbians are minorities

and he has connected rather well with them.

[JohnKleeb]

47. I think it meant racial minorities and that said

I think that this article is bs and thats great on gays and lesbians.

[dsc]

49. He is far from the only one to say this

and my point is that if one means racial minorities then one should say racial minorities. Frankly, until Sharpton and Moseley Braun drop out no one is going to do well with African Americans. I do think Dean can sell (himself to) Latinos.

[DrFunkenstein]

50. Actually, I Think Selling Latinos Is Illegal Now

I'm not sure, but you might want to check before Dean does anything rash.;)

[dsc]

51. oops

Spent today subbing for a sixth grade and then some hours delivering. Should preview all posts when I am tired.

[JohnKleeb]

54. You are right ,horrible wording

I think you could be on to something with Latinos, he does know the language, I think they could find something about my candiate too they may like. I wasnt insulting you dsc, I think this article is wrong.

[dsc]

56. I didn't mean to imply you were

but there seems to be a very strong idea out there that gays and lesbians somehow aren't minorities. I wonder to what extent that is actually believed. I admit that there may be some merit to that position but I do believe we are.

[JohnKleeb]

57. I dont accept that

but then again and call me a schizo lol dsc but imo we are all minorities in some kind of way. Like take this, I am a white male heterosexual democrat, those guys voted overwhelmingly for the shrubster. Of course thats not a real minority just a view I dont know, did I mention to you I am :crazy: lol, no I am quite sane.

[arcos]

58. and remember Gov. Richardson said...

In NM Dean has the most support among latinos...

It doesn't mean it is this way everywhere, but it is certainly a good sign that he can connect.

[acerbic]

53. Why? Because at this stage, if "Nicholas_J" posted an article about

...different methods of calculating the value of pi, just from experience everyone would assume that it's somehow a BS attack against Dean. :-)

[DrGonzoLives]

63. Well, DemBones

for one, as DinoBoy pointed out, he changed the title into a misleading one implying that Dean is a racist.

Nicholas_J does not support any candidate - he is merely against Dean to the point that he has said he will not vote for him if he gets nominated. What does that tell you?

[Octafish]

52. Republicans and Libertarians also are predominantly white.

Not that all Dean supporters are GOP or Libbys or even Greens. Many, many good DUers are Dean supporters. In fact, I'd wager MOST of Dean's supporters are good Democrats. I've a problem with those who may not be Democrats.

That said, minorities are sensitive to phonies. They can see someone who's with the cause of equal rights for all. They also can see when someone arrives late to work.

[dsc]

55. Give me a freeking break

I realize for more than a few DUers equal rights for all don't include gays and lesbians but frankly to call a man who signed the farthest reaching gay rights bill ever signed in the history of the US late to work on equal rights for all is just plain assine.

[genius]

59. The guy supports streamlining convictions and executing people

This is racism. Look at which groups are represented among defendants in criminal trials and on death row. You won't see a bunch of middle-class white people there. 98% of those on death row were too poor to afford their own attorney at the time of their trial minorities are dramatically over-represented.

[Ediacara]

60. link?

or was this "genius"-level telepathy?

[helleborient]

62. Why concern about "holding" minorities, but not concern about reaching out

Beyond our traditional constituencies?

Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton both won by reaching out to white voters in the middle - the "Reagan Democrats," "Bubba Vote," "Soccer Moms," or whatever other weird term you want to use to describe these people in the middle.

I am excited that Dean is appealing to this huge swing vote population...and concerned that other candidates don't seem to be doing too well with them.