Basically the Whites have departed the Democratic party and the

[candy331]

Democrats must go to Afro Americans to swing the tide to put them in office but refuse to put them on the big ticket for office. The local sheriff here in red GA won by going to the AA community to get votes and so beat out the repug. The repubs would put he devil himself on the ticket if it meant a win. Just imagine if Obama/other had been on the ticket with Kerry, AA would have been standing in line in Ohio even till now to vote.Of course this couldn't happen since Obama/other was not a white man from the South and surely the nation was not ready for any AA according to Democrats. A very large percentage of the AA population live in the South and (many more are continually moving back) would have brought their relatives out of the nursing homes to vote and even raised the dead to do so. What a shame seems the Dems have a bigger problem with the very thing they accuse the repugs of. The ems will neve regain any balance until they dealwith the issue, Howard Dean started the discourse but Dems were the loudest yellers(remember Edwards in debates, forget Sharpton words he needed attention) ended it for him.

[NorthernSpy]

1. but the Dems won in Maine...

... a state which is about 98-99% white. Same for places like Vermont and New Hampshire. Maybe they didn't get the 'attn. whites: depart the Democratic Party' memo...

I think that we need to counter the racial politics of the GOP by actively courting black voters and NEVER selling them out. Simultaneously, we need to use class politics in our message to the white working class throughout the country. Not "issue" based; not ideology-based: us-versus-them -based. We know that the repukes fear that sort of thing, judging from their downright unhinged reactions on those rare occasions when a candidate has been willing to go there. Much can be made of the predatory behavior of the rich and what it does to working class Americans -- and of the actions repukes take every single day to aid and abet these crimes.


(edited for clarity)

[SoCalDemocrat]

2. I tend to agree

It should be class based. That's what can work.

The CONs use Religion and Patriotism to clasify their voters across class lines. We need to remind people which party is best representing their interests in office; it isn't Bush.

[candy331]

3. I will be kicking this thread for awhile since many don't seem to

deal with the real truth even here,even still.

[4dog]

5. Include 'values' in the Dem message

Talking to some just-barely-getting-by white middle class Bush voters today; values are important to them. They see him as a person with values that mean something to them (abortion, gay marriage, making Iraq free of 'Hitler' like figure). But when I talked about values in terms of opportunities denied the middle class by his economics policies, they responded favorably.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

7. Will Somebody PLEASE Explain To Me

how the Democratic Party is supposedly "selling out" African-Americans and other minorities and/or "taking them for granted?" I hear this spouted by pundits and analysts all of the time, especially among African-Americans who are supportive of Republicans, but I haven't really heard exactly what the Democratic Party ISN'T doing for African-American and minority communities and what they SHOULD be doing. I'm not naive enough to believe that the Democratic Party has a spotless record on Civil Rights or helping African-Americans and minorities in this country but I would like to know what the Democratic party has to do to ensure the continuing support of African-Americans and other minorities. The Democrats' policies seem to be far more beneficial for African-Americans and other minorities than the Republican policies and it was Democrats who got major civil rights legislation passed in this country. As for all of this talk about how America isn't ready for an African-American President, who decides when it IS time and HOW does anybody know for a fact that an African-American CAN'T be President or Vice-President in our country when neither party has EVER run an African-American candidate for President or VP?

[barb162]

9. America isn't ready for an African American any more than it

is ready for a woman. EIther is a lightning rod, more so now than ever. Just like the moral values types love Laura Bush and can't stand Teresa Kerry or Hillary, any black person will get the same reaction (also known as: stay in your place).

[blondeatlast]

15. Hate to say it, but I agree. However, in the House and Senate,

we know we can get them elected, and that's what we need to work on now.

Remember, there is a Supreme Court nomination imminenet, too.

[barb162]

20. yeah, you can get people elected locally, Obama in my state got a

huge margin of victory. But he is viewed by the evangelicals as a babykiller, pro gay person so any talk about him being a possible Dem candidate in 2008 is ridiculous as he won't win. Problem being that if you are pro-choice you are dismissed a s a babykiller. Hillary, Kerry, etal. too. Look at South Dakota where 2 years ago they had 2 Dem senators, Wellstone and Daschle. Now two repuke senators. I am very despondent over this election.

[KamaAina]

25. Wellstone was from Minnesota, not SD

SD still has one Dem senator, Tim Johnson, as does Minn. with Mark Dayton.

Any and all repuke pickups are nonetheless disheartening.

[Redleg]

24. Good question.

If we actively go out to black communities we get accused of pandering. If we were to select a black running mate, we would be accused of tokenism. The Rethugs have done nothing for blacks.

[TroubleMan]

4. The DNC are the house slaves to their corporate and repug masters.

They get to stay in power, and they misdirect our anger.

[DuaneBidoux]

6. UNEDUCATED whites have abandoned the party

those with graduate degrees and higher tend overwhelmingly still to be liberal and democratic with the exception of engineering degrees and business degrees.

[Justice]

11. And Southern Whites - I think they have done so because of racism

I frankly think uneducated and southern whites don't want to be in a party that includes african americans. They vote republican because the republicans are the white party, the rich party - they wanna be with the rich and the whites.

Nothing is going to change this.

[davepc]

12. its cause we don't bother to goto rural America, talk to them

identify with them, and talk to them about making their lives better in terms they can understand.

its not their racism, its ABANDONMENT by us. This was the party of the rural poor, we built this party on the votes of the south and mid-west in the 30's.

Jimmy Carter tapped into that tradition in 1976, and won a good victory.

Bill Clinton repeated that success to a degree, and won...twice.

Gore and Kerry didn't do that. We ate it twice.

I guess Republicans were voting against Colin Powell and Condi Rice by voting for Bush?

Oh, thoes are sellout african americans, and not the same as REAL ones.

[Shopaholic]

17. You nailed it---

the southern rednecks and good ole' boys think that the Democrats=blacks and they don't want any part of that. I live in South Carolina and I can tell you for a FACT that's exactly what they think. I've been accused of being a ******lover because I'm a white Democrat. I've actually been asked, "Do you want them to take over?" when people found out I voted for a Democrat. Also, do not overlook, for one single second, how important the Christian thing is here. These dumbasses truly believe that any and all Democrats are atheists.

[Robert Oak]

8. Oregon is lilly white, this ain't so.

[candy331]

10. kick , off to work today.

[iceman_419]

13. We lost the race because of racism and the gay marriage issue

One is because of the gay marriage issue, and the other is because most people in the U.S. are bigots and racists. Look at them, with a Republican win, it is a good day to be white, rich, and racist. Why did we lose the south so long ago? Because of the civil rights issue. Southern Republicans or Dixicrats may say they switched because of states rights, but that wasn't the real issue. Look at Alabama, they had a chance to take out an article in the state constitution which had very racist language. It made interacial marriage illegal, and Alabamians are just now thinking that it would be a good idea to take that wording out, for symbloic reasons. Well Judge Roy Moore and hiw whackos came out and said that if this article was rescinder, then it would also make education a right. Oh yeah this article also had luanguage which said that education wasn't a right and doesn't have to be equal. Eventhough Roy's argument was ridiculous and made no sense, the people of Alabama ended up voting against rescinding that article in the constitution. This country is very racist, but we don't want to admit it. This is just another showing of how biggoted we are.

[davepc]

14. Jimmy Carter must of been one hell of a bigot racist.

[JVS]

16. Grand Wizard Material, dude

;-)

[Shopaholic]

18. Y'all are not getting this--Jimmy Carter was president from 1976-1980

the Christian right didn't exist then. They do now and not just in the South. As a Southerner, I can absolutly tell you that there are people out there who voted solely for * because of abortion, gay rights, stem cell research, etc. They decided that these issues are more important to them than the war, unemployment, the deficit, social security, healthcare, etc. Until the Democrats "get" the mindset of these people (not matter how fucked-up it is), we cannot win this country back. We've got to figure out a way to appeal to them and swing another of the moderates back to our side. I know, I know, they're not exactly the type of people we want on our side, but we cannot win without swaying the moderates amongst them. We've got to get a Karl Rove/Lee Atwater type to figure out what we can use against the Repugs in the next election to get to these swing voters.

[davepc]

19. sorry, I want rural America on my side

The same people Jimmy Carter had on his side.

I want the rural poor on my side, I want good christians on my side. I want duck hunters on my side. I want people who shop at wal-mart on my side. I want farmers and sharecroppers on my side. I want union workers on my side. I want the people who get screwed by big government, and not helped by it on my side. I want the salt of the earth on my side.

We can do it. We need to GO THERE (and in fact a lot of us are there already) and talk to them in terms they can understand. We write these people off then we will NEVER be a national party anymore.

"I still want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks." -- Howard Dean

[barb162]

21. you are right. A few weeks ago I overheard 2 very educated older

men. One said to the other there was no way he was going to vote for Kerry, that nigger-lover. Other nodded and smiled in agreement. There is a lot of racism, it is underground but very much alive.

[barb162]

22. Wait let me correct myself. Altho I agree with you. I think there was

much more to it. Kerry and the Dems are viewed as unchristian, godless, without moral values, etc. If Democrats want to keep the system as it has been for 200 years, that is, a secular government, then we are godless and evil.

[barb162]

23. oh and I thought you will appreciate this delightful little post I took

off of a reactionary web site on 11/2. The person is an equal oppotunity scewoff bigot:
-------------------------
BUT ILLINOIS LOSES BIG!

ILLINOIS IS A POLITICAL TRAGEDY TONIGHT. Other parts of the country are
going Republican but NOT ILLINOIS!!!

ILLINOIS IS A fVCKING LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC DISEASED ARMPIT! THANKS TO THE
LIBERAL SOCCERMOMS, LIBERAL JEWS, MEXICANS, IGNORANT BLACKS, HOMOS, DUMB
STUPID IRISH, POLISH, BOHEMIAN, ITALIAN, etc etc CATHOLICS THAT ARE JUST
GOD DAMN fVCKING DEMOCRATS BECAUSE THEIR DADDY OR GRAND DADDY WAS.

AND THANKS TO THAT COCK SUCKER CROOKED DALEY! and his favorite RINOS
that exist throughout ILLINOIS! fvck ILLINOIS! AND fvck THE ASSHOLE vnt
SUCKING LIBERALS.

And there is a special place in hell for George Ryan and his titted
piece of trash wife!

-------------



Cute huh? Don't you love the level of venom here. since the asshole named just about every ethnic group it makes me wonder what ethnic background he or she has. Barb

[Tomee450]

26. Exactly!!!

[Frangible]

27. God, gays, and guns

I agree we need to reach out more to the African American community, but we also need to connect with mainstream America that ultimately cost us this election and subjected the nation to another 4 years of neocon control. We must do that by not letting the Republicans kick our ass on god, gays, and guns. I don't know if the country has changed or if these people are just voting more. But we must adapt.

[West Coast Democrat]

28. Wrong! Oregon is one of the Whitest states in the country!

Democrats are quite strong here

[Trailrider1951]

29. Well, Candy, as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Democrat

I'll take issue with the title of your post. My ancestors were mostly from Norway and Switzerland, and I come from a long line of good liberal Democrats. However, I will agree with the nature of your post, and most of the answering posts. Racism is alive and well here in the South (I'm in Texas), as well as in the North (I've also lived in Ohio, Montana, and New Hampshire). I get to hear many racist comments from my fellow whites who do not know me, simply because they think I'm one of them. And they usually espouse the "Christian" and/or the Conservative and/or the Republican belief system. And I always speak up, telling them that I am very offended by their comments. LOL, they're usually SHOCKED to be caught exposing themselves for what they are. Oh, yes, Racism is alive and well, and being taught in a church or school near you. :mad: :puke:

[Elidor]

30. I'd better call the local party HQ and tell them

They're all black. They'll be very surprised. So am I, come to think of it.