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When blacks ALWAYS vote one way they give thier power away. When the Dems know that the black vote is in the bag no matter what they do that is a bad thing for blacks.
This is why it concerns me. Detroit have voted for blacks for 40 yrs. Detroit is a toilet. When there is no chance of polical change things go to hell.
While I do believe Blacks can vote for whom ever they want it's what you cite that concerns me. When you vote so overwhelmingly for one party and unquestionably support one man just be prepared to cede whatever political capital you have and have your concerns ignored. Which is exactly what is happening now to the black community.
Say what you want about Maxine Waters but she gets that point and I was glad she vociferously challenged Obama even though I disagree with her politics. There needs to be more of that in black political circles IMHO.
The difference is that Cuban-Americans are motivated by a certain policy position with regards to Cuba. Just like seniors might be motivated by Social Security or Medicare issues. Joyner is telling Blacks to ignore the issues that affect them--like jobs and education (on which Obama has a poor record)--and vote for Obama based on his race.
Ninety five percent of Cuban Anericans do not vote for the GOP. The voting block that comes closest to the same degree of lopsided voting patterns is the Jewish American vote which generally goes 70-80% for the Dems.
A recent Washington Post story explores the overt racial appeals being made by prominent black personalities, like radio host Tom Joyner for Blacks to stick together as a race and vote to re-elect Obama because he is a black man. Apart from the mockery that makes of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s appeal that Americans be judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin such blantant appeals to race carries very real risks for minority candidates. Since Blacks comprise only about 10% of the voting public racial-based voting leaves them at a decided disadvantage. Imagine the implications if a white radio host urged his or her listeners to vote for the white Republican nominee only because he or she happened to be white.
I think it is incumbent upon Obama to disavow Joyner and any other Black personality that makes these racial appeals on his behalf. Failure to do so risks setting back by 50 years whatever semblance of racial harmony we have achieved in the years since Jim Crow.
I somehow get the impression that the vast majority of black voters will support the president w/o any urging from Joyner or anyone else.
I like Tom Joyner for the most part but I do not listen to him regularly. I think you have to understand where he comes from. He is simply pandering to his audience. He is very successful because he knows who his audience is.. No one that listens to Tom Joyner regularly will be offended by this statement; "Vote for Obama because he is black", in fact most will trumpet those same words. He is also deeply involved in the Black community, that's where his passion is at. That doesn't make him racist, he is just behind his people. He serves the black community as best he can and if he thinks Obama being president is in the best interest of the black community he will do what ever he can to assure his re-election chances. I am sure he wished he could tout other reasons for the black community to vote for Obama but the way things are right now, the best reason he can come up with is because he is black.
Regardless of Tom Joyner, there is a faction of voters who will vote for Obama because he is black just as there is a faction who will NOT vote for him because he is black. I would like to think those 2 factions will cancel each other out but that may not be the case. I also think there is a large faction of black and white voters who voted for Obama in '08 because he was black but will not vote for him in '12 because his policies have failed. If you take that into condiseration along with the voters who will simply not show up at the polls like they did in '08 because 'Hope and Change' is now dead there is a better than likly chance that Obama looses in '12. This is why you get folks like Tom Joyner pleading the black community to vote for Obama because he is black. Joyner knows the ship is sinking and he is doing all he can to keep it afloat.
Ideally, it would be nice if black folks could ignore Obama's color. But that is not going to happen.
I have taken plenty of swipes at Obama. And I never hesitate to criticize the squalor of inner-city black America.
But, I do not find it surprising in the least that black folks would favor one of their own. How could they not? Let's be fair. If you had their history in this country and all of sudden a black man is at the apex of power, would that not be reason to celebrate? It affirms their position in America, much like how the Irish felt with Kennedy.
Certainly it entails setting objectivity aside, at least a bit. But humans are not always objective. Black folks are "in a moment"- we all are. Like him or or dislike him, it is a good thing that a black man can get elected president- and be fairly lauded or criticized like any other.
Uncle Tom Joiner has done it again. He is a racist no if ands or buts about it. They had his radio show on in so. cali. and in one week they canceled him cause his show suckssssss.
A recent Washington Post story explores the overt racial appeals being made by prominent black personalities, like radio host Tom Joyner for Blacks to stick together as a race and vote to re-elect Obama because he is a black man.
The difference between Tom Joyner and other black personalities is that it appears he's come right out in the open and said what everyone else didn't dare to. That's all.
As a black man, I'm kind of having doubts about Obama. I might vote for him if he picks someone else as vice president.
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call it a hunch...
