Webb: White Appalachians voting against Obama because of affirmative action
posted at 10:14 pm on May 21, 2008 by Allahpundit
Share on Facebook | regular view
Affirmative action for blacks, you mean? No, he seems to think Appalachians are okay with that. It’s affirmative action for all the other groups that have got them on the defensive. I honestly have no idea what to make of this. On the one hand, it feels like he’s offering a bitter/clingy read on poor rural white Democrats; on the other, it sounds like he thinks affirmative action’s gone too far himself. Or maybe not far enough. Follow the link and you’ll see why this smells like him reading a pet theory into exit poll data that doesn’t necessarily support it, all in the service of avoiding having to take sides between two groups he’s part of: The Obama camp, which is failing to win white rural voters, and the Scots-Irish, who are failing to climb aboard the Hopenchange Express.
Since we’re tossing out theories without regard for empirical evidence, how about the possibility that it doesn’t have jack to do with affirmative action, especially since racially homogeneous communities like Appalachians logically shouldn’t worry too much about minorities taking opportunities from them? Just maybe, it’s because they’re more culturally conservative than most Democrats and find something off-putting about Obama. Scroll down to the very end here and note the breakdown on the last two questions. 86-10.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages:
this tool has been doing the rounds all week… it’s like he’s got a book coming out or something.
Kaptain Amerika on May 21, 2008 at 10:16 PM
So proud I am to have this tool representing the Commonwealth of my birth. Somewhere, George Allen is breaking liquor bottles because Webb didn’t say this a month before the election.
What a disgrace.
fiatboomer on May 21, 2008 at 10:17 PM
Redlasso, sorry an error has occurred:
Sream Failed To Connect to Any Available Ports After 8.33 Seconds.
Please try again later.
Click HERE to email Support with this information
————
Why are we beta testing their software?
Chakra Hammer on May 21, 2008 at 10:18 PM
Interesting, he is saying Hillary is right. In that they think ‘white and out of sight’, and Hillary runs around saying ‘you are invisible, but not to me’ (because I have night vision goggles and you forgot to lock the door, no wait…that’s Bill).
Anyway, sounds like he is reinforcing her theme and the theme that these voters would be voting to get their share of entitlements. Kind of an interesting way for an Obama supporter to try to make nice with Hillary’s voting block.
86-10 holds a lot more water, though.
Spirit of 1776 on May 21, 2008 at 10:19 PM
I hope not. I couldn’t stomach even the sample quotes from his last few.
amerpundit on May 21, 2008 at 10:21 PM
I found interesting that 40% of the people who thought Obama was more honest and trustworthy, still voted for Hillary. “Vote for the liar, it’s important?”
“Trustworthy” is not a word that seems to apply to either one of those two, not by a long long way.
Splunge on May 21, 2008 at 10:21 PM
There are plenty of honest idiots who I’d never vote for. I can trust quite a few to do nothing I want them to.
amerpundit on May 21, 2008 at 10:23 PM
Have you been following Lieberman’s attempts to have YouTube pull their jihadi videos?
Purple Fury on May 21, 2008 at 10:24 PM
It’s very simple. The fact is that WVa generally is bumfuck country and more specifically home to many racists. Same applies to Kentucky. Most people would kill themselves rather than live there or even talk to many of their residents.
The Democrats can’t say that, though. Hence the awkward dance.
freevillage on May 21, 2008 at 10:27 PM
I have nothing to say about this video, except that I don’t get Webb at all. His rhythm and cadence seem nonsensical every time I hear him. No clue what he’s about.
But let me take this opportunity to address race, especially why KY and WV blue collar whites won’t vote for Obama. People ask, is there still racism in this country. The inference drawn being, are whites still racist against blacks. But I don’t see it that way. I see some whites racist against blacks, and some blacks racist towards whites, and hispanics, and koreans, and you name it. I don’t think any group has a franchise on racism. Some whites are racist, some blacks are racist, maybe some asians are racist. Why don’t KY and WV vote for Obama? I don’t know. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. Is there still racism in this country? There will always be racism. But don’t pretend it’s the exclusive province of whites. My gosh. I’m coming across as opaque as Webb, but I don’t mean to be.
Paul-Cincy on May 21, 2008 at 10:29 PM
Illegal immigrant? Here’s your affirmative action, your nice college slot, and your cushy job.
White American? Screw you.
indythinker on May 21, 2008 at 10:29 PM
How sweet of you. I grew up in NY and now live in southern Indiana, very close to Kentucky, and disagree.
mikeyboss on May 21, 2008 at 10:31 PM
Jim Webb is a Terrorist-Supporter who gives aid and comfort to the enemy and has betrayed his own sons.
He is also a contempt-filled, hateful LIAR.
He should be tried and executed for Treason.
grtflmark on May 21, 2008 at 10:32 PM
Including these people?
freevillage on May 21, 2008 at 10:32 PM
Ban.
malan89 on May 21, 2008 at 10:33 PM
Ah, Webb admits that the appeal of the Dem party is its populist politics; read that, entitlement mentality.
freevillage: It’s too bad that you think in cliches and stereotypes. WVa and Kentucky both have populations quite proud of their patriotism. The message of Obama is highly suspect to them in that his appeal is not oriented that way.
onlineanalyst on May 21, 2008 at 10:33 PM
Sigh. If I ran a FAKE NEWS show, I’m sure I could find a couple odd balls in just about any state in the union.
malan89 on May 21, 2008 at 10:34 PM
It is the same every time you listen to a Jim Webb interview. The guy does not think in a logical rational fashion and you can turn yourself into a pretzel trying to turn what he says into some consistent theory but in the end you either react to him emotionally–good or bad– or you just quit listening in frustration.
KW64 on May 21, 2008 at 10:35 PM
He did write a book on the area in 2005. And yes to answer the questions from above he has a new one coming out.
Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America
by James Webb
From Publishers Weekly at Amazon:
Former navy secretary Webb (Fields of Fire; etc.) wants not only to offer a history of the Scots-Irish but to redeem them from their redneck, hillbilly stereotype and place them at the center of American history and culture. As Webb relates, the Scots-Irish first emigrated to the U.S., 200,000 to 400,000 strong, in four waves during the 18th century, settling primarily in Appalachia before spreading west and south. Webb’s thesis is that the Scots-Irish, with their rugged individualism, warrior culture built on extended familial groups (the “kind of people who would die in place rather than retreat”) and an instinctive mistrust of authority, created an American culture that mirrors these traits. Webb has a genuine flair for describing the battles the Scots-Irish fought during their history, but his analysis of their role in America’s social and political history is, ironically for someone trying to crush stereotypes, fixated on what he sees, in almost Manichaean terms, as a class conflict between the Scots-Irish and America’s “paternalistic Ivy League-centered, media-connected, politically correct power centers.” He even excuses resistance to the “Northern-dominated” Civil Rights movement. Another glaring weakness is the virtual absence of women from the sociological narrative. Webb interweaves his own Scots-Irish family history throughout the book with some success, but by and large his writing and analysis are overwhelmed by romanticism.
patrick neid on May 21, 2008 at 10:36 PM
huh?
freevillage, grouping entire states into monolithic blocks? That’s not very progressive of you.
BadgerHawk on May 21, 2008 at 10:36 PM
Look, that misses the point. If 90%+ of black voters, vote Obama then you can’t complain that Hillary didn’t get the black vote. Whoever plays the identity card first – and here it’s black voters to Obama as Whoopi explained to us a couple weeks ago – a popular candidate, like Hillary, is going end up with numbers that are extremely easy to spin. Add the desire to spin it (and racism narrative is a MSM favorite with any criticism of Obama), film a couple of bigoted people (or hire for fake but accurate) and viola you have a skit for comedy central.
Spirit of 1776 on May 21, 2008 at 10:41 PM
Webb is a Very Troubled Dude, and reveals himself as such every time he opens his mouth in public
He’s so Messed Up he’s having a Heavy Negative Effect on this thread, which is……odd and tending towards the Sick
Janos Hunyadi on May 21, 2008 at 10:42 PM
To rephrase – If Barack had reaching power beyond the black vote and the college-aged I’m swooning vote, this argument would be moot. But he doesn’t! His drawing power is weak, and since Hillary has the base of the democratic party it makes the base look prejudice. But that’s a faulty conclusion.
Spirit of 1776 on May 21, 2008 at 10:43 PM
Oh yes it is.
Grouping entire states, and (economic classes, and social classes, and racial/ethnic classes, etc., etc) into monolithic blocks is a very Progressive pastime.
Their stock-in-trade so to speak.
billy on May 21, 2008 at 10:46 PM
Your point is well taken. There are racists of all colors. For the most part however, white racism is paticularly potent because they are more likely to be in positions of power. A racist black living in the ghetto is less harmful to whites than a racist white manager or CEO is to blacks. No group may have a franchise on racism, but whites pretty much have one on institutional racism.
Anyway as for why whites didn’t vote for Obama in WVA…they pretty much told you. I think it was 20% that said race was a factor, and they voted overwhelmingly for Clinton.
crr6 on May 21, 2008 at 10:48 PM
No, they’re culturally conservative, the white blue collar and rural types might like protectionism, but they also like their religion, religious traditions, traditional social values and their guns, and will vote according to who is the lesser threat to that whole package. For now, Obama’s New Left threat to their gun rights and his pro-choice and liberal social views are the bigger threat than McCain’s more positive view of free trade. Similar trends exist in states like PA and Ohio.
doubleplusundead on May 21, 2008 at 10:51 PM
Obama has 5 natural constituencies — youth, blacks, the well-educated, men, and leftwingers. Because he’s young, black, well-educated, male, and a leftwinger.
Paul-Cincy on May 21, 2008 at 10:52 PM
FIXORD!!!!
jukin on May 21, 2008 at 10:53 PM
Webb’s new book
SnarkVader on May 21, 2008 at 10:54 PM
I, for one, welcome my new bumfuck, racist overlords.
wccawa on May 21, 2008 at 10:55 PM
Make that 6:
The Completely Clueless.
billy on May 21, 2008 at 10:55 PM
By the way, Michelle was right.
I haven’t had a bumper sticker on my car in twenty years, but I am SLAMMING that thing on the minute it gets here.
We are all FRIGGIN’ SCREWED!
I’m wccawa, and I approve this message.
wccawa on May 21, 2008 at 10:59 PM
I don’t see whites in power discriminating against blacks. I see them hiring blacks, and wanting them to do well. Where we worked, I’m telling you, we really wanted blacks to succeed. Whenever there was a supervisory vacancy and any black was eligible for it, he was picked. Almost all the new hires for the shop were black. This was from a lily white, fairly anti-black area of the city too. I don’t see “institutionalized racism”. It sounds like a crock to me. With all due respect. Also considering the many laws enforcing equal opportunity as well as programs promoting minority hiring and minority contractors. The whites I know and associate with want blacks to succeed.
Paul-Cincy on May 21, 2008 at 10:59 PM
That’s a fair point. I still can’t figure out the 1 in 5 people saying race played a part in their vote. Why would people be so open to admit that to a pollster? I’ve been in southern Alabama for 18 months and the only racist thing I’ve heard is from the Korean woman my wife used to work for. It’s hard to believe 20% of any U.S. population would be racist, which makes those exit polls confusing.
BadgerHawk on May 21, 2008 at 11:00 PM
Poor rural white Democrats with no direction.
If they had brains they would be Republicans.
AprilOrit on May 21, 2008 at 11:01 PM
All politics is local. Too bad the national democrat party and the Republican party!, are miles out of orbit with their local constituents.
SouthernGent on May 21, 2008 at 11:09 PM
That’s great. But I don’t think that reflects America, especially not the America of the recent past. My friend is in HR at a moving company, he had his boss tell him to change hiring his qualifications because the new movers were getting “too dark”. Its not even conscious racism all the time. People often want to hire other people who look like them and have similar backgrounds.
Yeah, makes you wonder how many people voted that way and chose not to tell the pollster. I was equally surprised by the poll though, I figured even if people did vote based on race they’d be smart enough not to admit it. Then again, if they’re racist their probably not too bright to begin with.
crr6 on May 21, 2008 at 11:16 PM
I grew up within 30 minutes of the location of the Hatfield/McCoy dust up, so that should prove my street cred, and I have never heard “If you’re poor and white you’re out of sight” until now. However he did get it right about affirmative action I have never understood how it could be applied to all minorities if it was compensation for slavery, and if it isn’t, then it’s discrimination, and should be illegal.
DFCtomm on May 21, 2008 at 11:35 PM
Maybe they just don’t like what Obama says.
Then retracts.
Then rephrases.
Then explains further.
Then re-retracts.
Then lies about having retracted.
Then insults “typical white women”.
Then can’t remember what he voted for.
Then has a crazy racist pastor.
Maybe it’s simply perceptive of them to distrust this vapid, smarmy, pompous, venal weasel.
Or couldn’t Webb go there?
profitsbeard on May 21, 2008 at 11:36 PM
Webb’s paying the price for jumping into a party based on only his and their shared belief on a single issue, withdrawal from Iraq. His tome on the nobility of the Scots-Irish and how they helped make America what it is today is 180 degrees at odds with what the intellectuals and Obama supporters in general think about them right now, which is they’re a bunch of toothless, brainless, drooling racists. But he can’t last out at them, because he sold his soul for the Virginia senate seat two years ago. So you get this nonsensical dribble on the current political situation, since if you question Webb about almost anything other than troop withdrawal from Iraq, he has virtually nothing in common with his party’s pending presidential nominee.
jon1979 on May 21, 2008 at 11:38 PM
Can we get a ban or a warning for profanity, because if he doesn’t get one, then I’m going to have a field day telling him what I think, and I won’t expect to get one.
DFCtomm on May 21, 2008 at 11:39 PM
Hey Webb, the Navy called – they want their flight deck (aka your forehead) back.
thirteen28 on May 21, 2008 at 11:42 PM
You can call us racist, but I don’t hear about racial cleansing in KY or WV, but I do hear about it in California.
DFCtomm on May 21, 2008 at 11:45 PM
I can’t stand Jim Webb. He is a disgusting individual and the author of a book that could easily be considered child pornography. He has no business being a Senator.
Red Pill on May 21, 2008 at 11:46 PM
.
Bigot alert
Think_b4_speaking on May 21, 2008 at 11:52 PM
This has nothing to do with affirmative action or race or sex and everything to do, as you rightly put it Allah, with a conservative democratic base that wants nothing to do with a super liberal black liberation theologist.
NotCoach on May 21, 2008 at 11:54 PM
Jim Webb has advanced hydrocephalus and that is why he has so much precortical damage that his misfiring thought processes are like the weird little squiggly things that you see in a channel 4 test pattern after you chug seven whisky sours.
If the Scots-Irish had brains, they’d all be Republicans.
Oops – most of them are..
TexasJew on May 21, 2008 at 11:58 PM
He’s gonna be Obama’s VP choice, and he’s trying to reconcile the Hillary and Obama voters by creating a common foe, or a common resentment. See, the government just doesn’t take care of anyone the way it should, right?
funky chicken on May 22, 2008 at 12:02 AM
It’s very simple. The fact is that WVa generally is bumfuck country and more specifically home to many racists. Same applies to Kentucky. Most people would kill themselves rather than live there or even talk to many of their residents.
The Democrats can’t say that, though. Hence the awkward dance.
freevillage on May 21, 2008 at 10:27 PM
Aren’t you confusing those states with New Jersey?
TexasJew on May 22, 2008 at 12:03 AM
Obama is going to have to have some military-type guy with (pardon the Dan Rather expression) “gravitas”, since Obama is about as impressive and leaderlike to a lot of people (including me) as Steve Urkel.
In other words, he needs some kind of military lifer political ass-kisser pimp Wesley Clark-type. Melonhead Webb fits the bill.
TexasJew on May 22, 2008 at 12:09 AM
In other words, he needs some kind of military lifer political ass-kisser pimp Wesley Clark-type. Melonhead Webb fits the bill.
TexasJew on May 22, 2008 at 12:09 AM
LOL… fitting
Travis1 on May 22, 2008 at 12:13 AM
freevillage
Still on your hate-the-South jag? Good to see that. Obama has made the world safe for progressives openly to mock those disadvantaged working class folk on whose behalf normally they would presume to speak. Any chance you could hook up with the Obama campaign? Your willingness to insult in the crudest terms is sure to assist his electoral chances in a country whose population is evenly divided between North and South.
Those people in those interviews, as dim as they are — how are they any different from Reverend Wright? One woman thinks Obama’s a Muslim — ill informed and silly, yet somewhat plausible — but Barack’s pastor thinks that Whitey engineered the AIDS virus to kill men with melanin — a thoroughly absurd if not wicked thesis. Advantage: West Virginia.
shazbat on May 22, 2008 at 12:14 AM
Doesn’t Webb have better things to do with his
time like writing childrens adventure novels,a hum!
canopfor on May 22, 2008 at 12:24 AM
Rewritten
…most blacks, leftwinger youth and well-educated.
profitsbeard, great summation, but you forgot Michelle O.
Entelechy on May 22, 2008 at 12:29 AM
Have people on this board lost their minds?
Why are people on this message board bashing a man who has spent his life serving this country.
James Webb was a highly decorated marine during the Vietnam War.
James Webb worked for Ronald Reagan.
James Webb wrote two of the best novels on the Vietnam War: Fields of Fire and Lost Soldiers
James Webb has a son currently serving in Iraq.
I no longer live in Virginia so I do not know what type of job he is doing as a senator. However, this man is a good man and a patriot.
Why has the level of debate sunken to this on Hot Air?
I like this site better when Michelle made funny videos.
arizonateacher on May 22, 2008 at 12:31 AM
People aren’t allowed to criticize him because of his service to his country? We can be grateful and honor that service while at the same time despising his politics. This sounds like the same ridiculous argument people would make when others criticised Murtha for his severe stupidity.
NotCoach on May 22, 2008 at 12:44 AM
He’s not ‘a good man’ but a dishonest and nasty-bitter partisan hack who is apparently mentally ill
What he did in Vietnam was 35 years ago and his books suck
Janos Hunyadi on May 22, 2008 at 12:47 AM
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) is backing the renewal of a $250 million-a-year program that will pay illegal immigrants’ hospital bills.
The very idea that McCain is again supporting a program that some view as rewarding illegal immigrants is certain to attract attention from the same conservatives he’s trying to win over for the White House.
The measure, which would reimburse hospitals for the cost of treating illegal immigrants, has broad support from both parties, including from some immigration hardliners and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.).
Even some of McCain’s toughest critics on immigration admit it is a relatively benign program. But McCain’s association with it underscores his rift on immigration with the right wing, which sees him as championing amnesty for illegal immigrants.
“It’s another reminder that he’s ‘Amnesty John,’ ” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, who nevertheless has no major objection to the proposal. “It’s another reminder of his role in promoting not just amnesty but promoting illegal immigration in the first place.”
An aide to McCain said the Arizona Republican stands by his position.
DfDeportation on May 22, 2008 at 12:50 AM
They’re not voting for him because he’s black…
DfDeportation on May 22, 2008 at 12:51 AM
The voters in Iowa are just a figment of your imagination…
DfDeportation on May 22, 2008 at 12:51 AM
DFCtomm on May 21, 2008 at 11:35 PM
It’s from the usual drift of self-entrenching bureaucracies.
The title “affirmative action” meant reaching out, but not lowering standards. For instance, if a town had three daily newspapers, a company advertising for shipping clerks shouldn’t just advertise the position to the upper-crust on the west side. Applicants from any area were then required to demonstrate adherence to timeliness standards, familiarity with weights and measures, packaging methods, etc. After a brief flirtation with this concept, it was noted that all the jobs were still going to those who were better educated and raised in privilege.
So the focus shifted from “equality of opportunity” to “equality of results”, and a bureaucracy was created to ensure that those historically oppressed were given placement opportunities to compensate for past oppression. It could easily be argued that such efforts were justified so long as the individuals compensated had been personally harmed…
But the bureaucracy set up for this purpose would then have to cooperate in its own demise. Instead, like most threatened bureaucracies, it found ways to extend its mandate. And so there was created the concept of an “oppressor class” from whom advantage was to be extracted — whether or not any member of the class had ever actually performed any oppression or whether the “affirmative action” recipient had ever been personally discriminated against.
This melded the “universal outreach” concept from the earliest incarnation with the “redress for wrongs” concept — despite the fact that the larger models that such concepts were part of are fundamentally incompatible. Sandra Day O’Connor noted in one of her later opinions as part of the Supremes that the current situation could not indefinitely continue, and suggested 25 years as an outer limit….then promptly retired.
cthulhu on May 22, 2008 at 12:52 AM
arizonateacher on May 22, 2008 at 12:31 AM
The day he started pimping for Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the rest of the Democrats, he went headfirst into the toilet. And it had to be a big toilet, considering his fat head.
The America-hating libs need ambitious ex-military schmucks like him for “beards” to hide behind while they gleefully trash this country. They conspired to destroy Allen with all that endless “Macaca” crap in the Washington Post, so Webb peddled his tuchis to get this MSM-produced job.
The ugly freakish scumbag.
TexasJew on May 22, 2008 at 12:55 AM
I heard the term Appalachian whites today for the first time. I thought it was a more gentle pejorative of Hillbilly.
BL@KBIRD on May 22, 2008 at 12:56 AM
Typical Obama supporter.
Obama ‘08: Change you can believe in. Hate you can see with your own two eyes!
SuperCool on May 22, 2008 at 4:33 AM
Typical.
Home run. Typical.
hillbillyjim on May 22, 2008 at 4:38 AM
arizonateacher on May 22, 2008 at 12:31 AM
Based on the statements you make, some of which are exaggerated, you must have been responsible for electing this partisan, arrogant hack. The man has been an embarrassment since the day he was sworn in.
oldleprechaun on May 22, 2008 at 5:29 AM
My theory is that West Virginians will not vote for a racist and marxist, unlike the goosesteppers from Oregon.
saved on May 22, 2008 at 5:49 AM
The Democrats are rapidly exhausting their supply of feet and ammo
when the next state of the Union speech is given all the suits walking in limping to the left – those are the Democrats
EricPWJohnson on May 22, 2008 at 6:47 AM
I think people are missing the political significance of what Webb seems to be saying – that there should be no affirmative action for anyone but blacks. If he ever proposes legislation to this effect, look for him to be branded as a “racist” by La Raza and every other non-black grievance group (and probably the NAACP as well, as they know AA is endangered once it’s only for blacks). The rest of them dems will run from this as fast as they can.
If Obama picks him as his Veep, this could be huge. The Clinton folks like to tout polls showing Hispanics are reluctant to vote for a black president. Throw in a veep who wants to end Affirmative Action for everyone but blacks, and you could have a major black/Hispanic schism on the left.
BuzzCrutcher on May 22, 2008 at 6:49 AM
Webb’s problem is as far as his Senate run, he made his name in Democratic circles by attacking the Iraq war, but they used both his past military service and his book on the honorableness and importance of the Scots-Irish in American history as grounds for deflecting any attacks on him. But the people Webb championed — many of whom live in West Virginia and Kentucky — are looked down at with even more disdain than the Kennedys looked at LBJ and his Texas brain-trust and supporters during the 1960 campaign.
Right now he’s attempting to square the circle and make himself viable as a vice-presidential candidate while not abandoning the image that got him past Allen two years ago. And if Obama does tap Webb to be his VP pick and he has to support all of Barak’s positions out on the campaign trail, he’s going to make Joe Libermann’s twists and turns in 2000 to support Al Gore’s positions vs. his own past stances look like the model of consistency (I would love to see a few Reagan vs. Obama questions tossed Webb’s way, though unless he went on Fox, I wouldn’t expect that to happen).
jon1979 on May 22, 2008 at 7:11 AM
a repeat from another thread…
It’s about race and division. They may all be crackers(just kidding, relax) but they have seen the videos, they have heard the messages and sermons from Wright’s pulpit, they have read and heard Michelle’s not proud of America quips as they look out in the yard at their family plot with fathers, uncles and brothers buried, killed here and overseas the last few hundred years.
They know racism when they see it. They have been there, done that. They don’t care if Obama personally is as clean as driven snow it’s the people around him that creep them out.
These folks, unlike the partisan party faithful, have voted as a block for both repubs and dems all through their recent history. My guess, Hillary votes aside, these Jacksonians will be voting McCain. They vote the person. If there ever was a bedrock Americana they are it. The original Scot-Irish bad boys.
here’s a link to the voting pattern maps
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/17/opinion/17blow.html?em&ex=1211169600&en=7cd28dfc57cb1df2&ei=5087
patrick neid on May 22, 2008 at 8:04 AM
I get it.
Racism is just a lazy word. You can dislike someone for showing up at your house to babysit and that sitter has tats all over her body, a cig dangling from the lip, you make a judgement based on what you see.
Now if she happens to be black, then you would be called a racist, if white you would be called smart.
Obama makes many stupid remarks, he is a weak leader, and happens to be black. So at any time, under any issue, racism can be called, and a flag thrown.
People are identified by a visual or audio characteristic. Who doesn’t imitate Clinton’s voice, with Obama the outstanding characteristic is that he is Black. The first real candidate for Pres. that is. So naturally that is how he is identified (and he doesn’t shy away from it). Dole had his “hand”,Edwards his hair, Ford stumbled, Hillary cackles, Bush mis-pronounced, Obama is black with big ears…and so it goes.
right2bright on May 22, 2008 at 8:14 AM
This tool is the number two reason I cannot wait to move from Virginia (the number one reason being nickel & dime taxed to death). Geographic location does not automatically confir intelligence or lack thereof.
That’s the nicest thing I can say right now.
the goddess anna on May 22, 2008 at 8:54 AM
There is nothing funny about the Bataan Death March. The slime that think so should be shot without a trial.
Today, even the Japanese are ashamed of what they did to our soldiers, and would never make light of it. Every year, hundreds of Japanese make the trek to the Arizona Memorial and CRY for the dead Americans.
None of them were even ALIVE when the deed was done.
America has the best of everything – including the absolute bottom.
platypus on May 22, 2008 at 8:55 AM
Webb is an f’ing moron and an embarrassment.
I can’t begin to describe my disgust at the fact that my fellow Virginians voted him in as our Senator. But I partially blame George “No, really, macaca is a term of endearment!” Allen for that.
Vyce on May 22, 2008 at 10:14 AM
OK, so many things to respond to. So without further due in no particular order…
1. Why was the Bataan Death March brought up? While we’re on the topic, there’s absolutely nothing the modern Japanese should be ashamed of. They haven’t participated in any atrocities themselves. Why be ashamed? Are you personally ashamed of white racism? Unless you are a racist, you have no reason to be. I have no idea why I’m expaining to supposed conservatives why collective responsibility is not a workable formula, but hey… it’s not like there’s many true conservatives here.
2. Now back to my accurate description of WVa and KY as bumfuck country. You can’t simply dismiss the Daily Show report as fake news because they cite real news. Extensively. The vote in those states was to a very significant degree about race, and that alone should alarm you. Of course, Teh Ed already talked about this problem on this very site, but since he (stupidly and baselessly) insinuated that it was somehow a purely Democratic problem, nobody had a quarrel with that.
3. Lastly, what’s most astonishing about those ladies shown in the Daily Show report isn’t that they are stupid racists. It’s that they have obviously never felt any outside pressure for their views, and so they feel free to state them out loud. Which is a characterization of the local society at large and its culture. I recall the recent “OMFG can’t I even say his middle name?” debate. Those bigots did feel like they are under pressure, which is why they couldn’t, in the words of Allah, own the argument and say directly that they had a problem with a person with Muslim roots being President of the USA (my own view btw is that this is a legitimate issue if presented clearly and carefully much like Russian roots clearly should have been an issue (although not an automatic disqualifier) 30 years ago… and I’m a Russian). These women didn’t feel any reservations to say what they thought on TV because in their world those views are normal. And I have every right to make a note of the latter fact.
freevillage on May 22, 2008 at 10:27 AM
Real mature…curse and name call…..please save that for the Huffington Post. Webb is a good man.
arizonateacher on May 22, 2008 at 11:46 PM
Comment pages: