Friday, September 18, 2009

Racists? Or Opposed to Fundamental Transformation?

adj. fun·da·men·tal - of or relating to essential structure, function, or facts



Are those that openly protest against Obama's health care legislation racists, or opposed to fundamental transformation?

Let's tackle this head on. Let's forget about comments like, "Look at them... they're southerners and they're white, so they must be racists." Let's actually look at some numbers. Some proof (if it exists).

A number of weeks ago, I heard Chris Matthews on MSNBC suggest that since only 11% of Mississippi whites voted for Obama, and 52% of New York whites did the same, those that did not in the Mississippi must be racists. Did he even consider that most whites in Mississippi are conservatives, and wouldn't vote for any liberal, let alone the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate?

So as I watched Mr. Matthews use and misuse statistics (by the way - a great book and required reading for anyone with political aspirations), I asked myself, "what data would actually demonstrate his claim?"

Within a few seconds, it occurred to me that one would have to examine the voting record of white democrats in the north vs. the south. We have a natural control group here. Dems ususally vote for dems. If, in 2008, southern white dems did not vote for Obama while their northern counterparts did, it's a lot easier to suggest that the reason is because of race (still not a slam dunk, but easier than the logically unsound gopher ball Chris Matthews threw over my plate).

What I did.

To get at the answer, I looked 2008 exit poll data for democrats in seven contiguous southern states, and compared them to the same for seven contiguous northern states. (I couldn't find the data for 'white' democrats alone. If you have it, I'd be grateful... but these data should not be skewed that much as blacks largely voted for Obama - black democrats at an even higher rate). I gathered my data from the New York Times (http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html)

What I found.

In the following southern states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee - the percentage of self declared democrats that voted for McCain were 14,12,9,11,9,8, and 13 respectively (obviously a bunch of red neck racists, right?).

In the following northern states: Connecticut,Maine,Massachusetts,New Hampshire,New York,Rhode Island, and Vermont the percentage of self declared democrats that voted for McCain were 7,10,13,8,8,8, and 3 respectively (northern bigots, the whole lot, no doubt?).

(It would be interesting to compare these departure rates against previous Presidential elections!)

So there it is. Southern democrats "out-bigoted" northern democrats 10.9% to 8.1%. Almost 3 points. Proof positive that they're racists. Right? After all, what other reason would a democrat have to vote for McCain (or more recently, oppose Obama-care) other than the color of Obama's skin?

So, Mr. Chris Matthews. Why don't you just ignore the fact that southerners tend to be more conservative - that they are more often than not are opposed to government intervention (even black southerners by the way).

Why don't you just put aside the fact that every House or Senate bill I've seen to date has been written by a white man, but the current administration made a calculated move to cash in political capital, and coin the phrase "Obama-care".

Mr. Matthews, ignore those among us that are neither southerners, nor white, but also don't want a "public option" or "socialized medicine".

Mr. Matthews and your like, please put all of these things aside. Go ahead and assume the worst of our fellow American, and call him something that is hard to prove and even harder to refute. Do so, and do it on a national stage. This way, you can shame him into silence. He dare not where that "Against a public option" t-shirt or go to his town hall meeting, lest he be called a racist.

And as you tear apart the few seems that had been mended by electing a black President, please measure the impact of your decisions.

And you dare call me and my like ideologues that don't care about practical matters? Shame on you.

Monday, September 14, 2009

I’m Coming Out of the Closet

I’ve made a decision. I’m coming out. I’m no longer afraid of the conversation. So here it is…

I’m a conservative. Openly and honestly, a conservative.

That’s it? Was that so tough?
Well, kind of… I guess it was tough. If it weren’t, why would I ‘hide’ my political ideology? Why would I avoid the conversation?

Last week, while on an eleven hundred mile domestic flight, I sat next to a very pleasant man that was returning home from a church mission trip. We sat and chatted about several topics for at least 2 hours. The conversation was engaging and enlightening. Some of the topics were ostensibly political, yet decidedly one sided. One sided, in that I did not show my cards. For example, on the topic of the exodus of American manufacturing jobs to China and India, I’d ask, “What do you think is the role of The Union in our loss of jobs in this sector?” I’d then digest his response and respond with a comment something like, “Interesting, very interesting”.

Or in a conversation about blacks moving into predominantly white neighborhoods, he’d say, “No way I’d live there… they don’t want us there… the cops are racists there”. And I’d say, “Wow. Interesting opinion”, instead of saying, “Hmmm. We have a very different world views…. the reasons you’ve cited are among the very reasons I’ve purchased 2 homes in predominantly white neighborhoods. I don’t think my race, bigoted opinions, or a cop’s ignorance should influence where I live” (by the way, the biggest factors in my choice of neighborhood have always been convenience and cost). Of course I could not, and did not say anything like that!

But why? Why so shy, Fred? How is it that right said fred, so vocal on this forum, could be ideologically emasculated to the point of passive denial? Truthfully, I’m not sure. But I have some ideas.

First of all, it’s not easy. It’s not easy to explain to someone why I feel the way I do. I’m much more comfortable doing so in print than in person. “Liberty and freedom should not stop at the city limits” is one of my personal mottos. It takes a long time to explain, and is so much easier when you have time to write down your retort.

Another reason… respect?
I guess so. This guy was older than me. He is also truly an African-American, where as I’m a naturalized African-American. I’ve been told (and it’s true), that I don’t have slave blood in me, and therefore, I can’t understand (not true). Anyway, the way I was raised, I must respect older, wiser folk. And that may mean not offending them.

I’ve got a lot of soul searching to do on this one. But no longer will I bite my tongue. Get ready, America – I’m out, and proud of it!