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The Big 'What If' (How will Black Americans react if Obama is defeated?)
WaPo ^ | 9/14/2008 | Randall Kennedy

Posted on 09/14/2008 10:00:22 PM PDT by mojito

....Never before have my emotions been so exercised by a political campaign. For one thing, never before has a candidate so fully challenged the many inhibitions that have prevented people of all races, including African Americans, from seriously envisioning presidential power in the hands of someone other than a white American. With intelligence, verve and elegance, Obama has opened the public mind to the idea of a black president and made that idea broadly attractive.

The senator's progressive politics, cosmopolitan ethos and pragmatic style have turned me into an enthusiastic supporter, and I savor the prospect of his triumph. But I'm watching this election very closely as I teach a course about it this semester. And I know that the conclusion to this electoral drama is far from determined. Yes, political gravity would seem to favor the Democratic candidate after two terms of Republican control of the White House. Yet the possibility is very real: Barack Obama could lose.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2008; blackamericans; blackvote; obama; obamabiden; randallkennddy
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To: Windflier
I am Italian. I would never in a million years vote for Mario Cuomo because 1)he is a flaming liberal and 2)he is an embarrassment to my heritage.

My Grandparents and Great Grandparents were treated like scum when they came to this country in the late 1800’s. They worked for everything and asked the Government for nothing, as did my Parents. When I was born in 1953, we lived in a two room cold water flat in Brooklyn. My Parents have always been Republicans, and we were as far from “rich” as you could be. But they always knew what was right, and they understood, as my Father always told me, “NOBODY OWES YOU A LIVING”.

Why is it different for Blacks? Don't ideas matter? Doesn't self respect and responsibility for Family count anymore? Why do people celebrate victim-hood, rather than reject it? When did this become the norm in our society? Did I miss something along the way?

Sorry to rant, but the more words I type, the more frustrated I am. If Barrack Obama actually wins this election, I might join Michelle Obama in being ashamed of my Country. At least for a moment or two.

81 posted on 09/15/2008 12:44:19 AM PDT by Kickass Conservative (Obama / Biden, the new Ebony and Ivory.)
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To: ottbmare
Only conservative blacks and women can garner the trust of middle America, who would be appalled, threatened, and repelled by the politics of a liberal black, with all that baggage, or a liberal woman . . .

Now, you all may logically ask, how can I say this when nearly half the US is planning to vote for Obama, the most left-leaning of senators? I think it's because many of the people who support him don't look past the inspiring rhetoric to realize how extremely liberal he is. It's our job to educate them. Some liberals will never change, as he really does represent their views, but many others support him because they just don't know. If they did, they'd be shocked and frightened.

82 posted on 09/15/2008 12:59:17 AM PDT by ottbmare
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To: mojito
Here come the threats... “Oh no, they may burn down thier own neighborhoods and piss in their own drinking water if Barry loses”...
83 posted on 09/15/2008 2:57:21 AM PDT by AmericaUnited
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To: mojito

If OJ Simpson hadn’t gotten away with murder, how would blacks have reacted?

Perhaps the media, if they are so worried, should start bracing for this outcome. BIG WHAT IF? How about WHEN Obama is defeated.


84 posted on 09/15/2008 3:17:59 AM PDT by EnquiringMind
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To: Dilbert San Diego

Isn’t it an insult to the vast majority of African-American people to hint that there could be violence if Obama doesn’t win this election?
NO , it’s reality. Not only the blacks will go crazy but so will the left in general.These people believe that Obama MUST win , it’s a fanatic group there.


85 posted on 09/15/2008 3:23:16 AM PDT by sonic109
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To: mojito

I would have to care.


86 posted on 09/15/2008 3:26:07 AM PDT by bmwcyle (Vote McWhatshisname and PALIN)
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To: Ramius

Either way there will be problems. Riots are a tool of the far left.


87 posted on 09/15/2008 3:28:12 AM PDT by sonic109
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To: Dilbert San Diego
Isn’t it an insult to the vast majority of African-American people to hint that there could be violence if Obama doesn’t win this election?

No! Where you been since the 60's?
88 posted on 09/15/2008 3:29:43 AM PDT by Beckwith ('Typical White Person')
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To: Gemsbok

And don’t forget Percoset and Vicodin.


89 posted on 09/15/2008 3:35:02 AM PDT by Recovering Ex-hippie (GOD BLESS GEORGIA! SAVE GEORGIA, OUR ALLY, NOW!)
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To: Windflier

For me, who stood up for equal rights in the 70’s, the Obama run has been very sad. All that work, and here we are in 2008 with Rev Wright making money keeping blacks in the “victim’ mode and away from their true rights to move forward and take the opportunities and demand decent education choices. And Obama splitting us AGAIN along racial lines.

I predict that Michael Steele will be a force yet to be reckoned with in politics.


90 posted on 09/15/2008 3:40:47 AM PDT by Recovering Ex-hippie (GOD BLESS GEORGIA! SAVE GEORGIA, OUR ALLY, NOW!)
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To: dennisw
It seems pretty clear that the largest problem with Obama is that he is a result of affirmative action.

He got in the right schools, met the right people, but has done little to have a real record of deserved achievement to stand on. As a result he is a blank slate or a empty suit.

Even in his political endeavors, his handlers merely wiped out the opposition for him and he sailed in to win.

I see this as one of his bigger problems and a real reason he is a poor campaigner. He was invented.

91 posted on 09/15/2008 3:52:15 AM PDT by dforest
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To: mojito

One of the best quotes I ever heard from a politician was just after Jeb Bush was re-elected Governor of Florida he was asked what he planed to do special for Florida blacks?
His answer was, “not much”.


92 posted on 09/15/2008 4:28:08 AM PDT by Joe Boucher (An enemy of Islam)
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To: mojito

If the marxist loses, guilty Whites will obsess, whine and moan about the country being completely “racist”. That will be taken by many as permission to demonstrate their “anger” against America.


93 posted on 09/15/2008 4:44:05 AM PDT by BooksForTheRight.com (Fight liberal lies with knowledge. Read conservative books and articles.)
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To: mojito

“But I’m watching this election very closely as I teach a course about it this semester.”

I’d bet his class looks like a commune of hippy drop-outs with a large dollop of Marxist bums.

The professor probably keeps the class under nominal control by throwing out buckets of alfalfa sprouts and Ripple.


94 posted on 09/15/2008 5:27:38 AM PDT by sergeantdave (We are entering the Age of the Idiot)
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To: mojito

If Obama loses, the gypsum sheetrock industry should be booming. Obama fans will punch holes in the walls, McPalin fans will punch holes in the ceilings.


95 posted on 09/15/2008 5:49:39 AM PDT by Big Giant Head (I should change my tagline to "Big Giant penguin on my Head")
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To: mojito

Quite the slam to black voters, IMHO.

What if McCain/Palin lose? Will all of us bitter, white women shave our ‘formerly-coiffed-like-Sarah’ heads and switch to contact lenses versus glasses?

That should be the REAL story here. *Rolleyes*

It’s all so absurd. And, as usual, the Washington COMPost foments violence amongst the proletariat. They are PRAYING for it.


96 posted on 09/15/2008 5:55:10 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (Save The Earth. It's The Only Planet With Chocolate.)
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To: Windflier

My girlfriend tells me the same story you do. She has many clients who are middle-aged, experienced, educated black professional or business people and are on the same page as you, but they all seem to be closeted when it comes to their political beliefs. Would there be any point, or would it be productive in any way, if you were to all band together into a black conservatives’ group online? As things are now, each one individually feels that it’s hard to stand up and make his views known because of the social pressure he’d receive, but perhaps together you would have more of a voice.


97 posted on 09/15/2008 8:00:55 AM PDT by ottbmare
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To: ottbmare
Would there be any point, or would it be productive in any way, if you were to all band together into a black conservatives’ group online?

Do a quick google, and you'll find all sorts of black conservative and Republican groups on the web. There's a growing movement afoot of conservative blacks, though it's well below the radar right now.

I became curious about this myself some years back. When I looked around, I was surprised at all the black right-wingers I found.

But, unlike black left-wingers, blacks on the right don't individuate from the larger group. It's because we're the real "post-racial" folks.

As far as such groups being "productive", the only real reason for their existence is to spread the conservative message among blacks on the left. So, yes, they can be of benefit.

98 posted on 09/15/2008 10:32:16 PM PDT by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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To: Recovering Ex-hippie
...the Obama run has been very sad. All that work, and here we are in 2008 with Rev Wright making money keeping blacks in the “victim’ mode...

The race hustlers and poverty pimps simply copied the modus operandi of the type of parasites who've been entrenched in the black community for generations. All they had to do, was change the con to concepts like "hope and change", etc.

Selling the marks on their victimhood was the first step in the game.

But, fear not. Not all blacks have fallen for the Obamas and the Rev Wrights. We're out there.

99 posted on 09/15/2008 10:39:01 PM PDT by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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To: Kickass Conservative
...my Father always told me, “NOBODY OWES YOU A LIVING”.

Why is it different for Blacks? Don't ideas matter? Doesn't self respect and responsibility for Family count anymore? Why do people celebrate victim-hood, rather than reject it? When did this become the norm in our society?

It's a problem of perception. What you don't see, and what the media won't show you, is that a very large percentage of blacks feel exactly as you do, and have learned the same lessons from their parents as you did.

The media seems to delight in only showcasing the worst of the black community. It's politically incorrect to show blacks who are intelligent, speak well, are patriotic, do not have a chip on their shoulder, are not hung up on their race, are successful, professional, affluent, well-adjusted, conservative, etc, etc, etc.

The reason for that, of course, is because the media is complicit with the left in promoting stereotyped images of blacks as being downtrodden, disenfranchised, and victimized.

Promoting this stereotype re-inforces agreement, and contributes to keeping blacks herded into the liberal voting and dependency plantation.

Blacks are just as much in slavery today, as they were before the Civil War. They just don't see it. They are the liberal left's single most important key to maintaining their power in this country.

Without the monolithic vote of American blacks, liberals would lose all influence in politics and government because they would not have the numbers to sustain it.

There wouldn't BE an American left without blacks, and liberals intend to keep it that way, by keeping blacks in their reduced condition for as long as it takes.

100 posted on 09/15/2008 11:01:40 PM PDT by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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