There has been a measurable rightward shift in the black electorate. In 2002 the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a liberal think tank, asked black respondents in its national survey to identify themselves as either Democrats, independents or Republicans. Although 63 percent claimed to be Democrats, the number was down from 74 percent in 2000. The decrease occurred in nearly every age group, including among respondents 65 and older (where the drop was from 82 percent to 75 percent). There was a significant increase in those calling themselves independents, especially between the ages of 26 and 35. Respondents identifying themselves as Republicans also increased: Between ages 26 and 35, the share tripled, going from 5 percent in 2000 to 15 percent in 2002.
None of this is coincidental. More African Americans now have college degrees, ushering them into the middle class, shifting their values and priorities while prompting them to abandon the "blacks-as-victims" theology. Many low-income blacks have gained an appreciation for the opportunities provided by the free enterprise system and are rejecting the notion of government as savior. Meanwhile, there has been an emergence of a new generation of African Americans that exists in a multiracial, crossover world.
There is one more reason for the changes in affiliations: Some African Americans have accused the Democratic Party of practicing "plantation politics." They say that although blacks repeatedly are depended on to keep the party in elected office, African Americans often are overlooked for key leadership posts. Link
Dims just can't admit the truth. They call fact, accusations and accusations, fact.
It's not an accusation that dims have been practicing plantation politics, it's a fact. Or is the writer saying that those who have gotten fed up with being played for a sucker are just stupid and have gotten the dim policy wrong? Perhaps the writer thought dims wouldn't keep reading if she put this nugget of truth in the story, so she saves it for the last paragraph.
If Democrats want to avoid an erosion of their African American base, they can start by opening the door for more and younger blacks to assume leadership posts, and by abandoning the outdated left-wing politics they seem intent on playing. Most important, they can stop navel-gazing and do what Republicans are doing: Pay attention to the evolving African American electorate.
This is what moves them off the Dem plantation, and into autonomy. It's no wonder the Dems are nervous.