Excuse Me, Bernie Bros But Black Voters Supporting Hillary are neither "the Establishment" nor their Lackeys
The midst of a highly contested presidential primary is not the most teachable moment. But some lessons can simply not await a more opportune time. Contrary to the growing chorus of comments by exasperated Bernie Sanders supporters, black voters are neither members of the Establishment nor their lackeys. I was confused at first, when Sanders' advocates kept insisting that the only reason they were losing was because of "the Establishment". A black vote differential in South Carolina of 50 points was blamed on "the Establishment" in the same breath as Hillary's lion share of superdelegates. Well, I could see some folks jumping to the latter conclusion, but the former was outrageous and insulting. And then the realization struck me. If poor blacks were clearly not the privileged class, then who else could they be but the Establishment's humble, unpaid servants.
I have in a previous post laid out 8 of the most obvious reasons why black voters are rejecting Sanders. But let me also add the following observation. In American electoral politics, diverse demographics come together under the same party umbrella in order to win, They are different groups of people, with different priorities, but who are able to show mutual respect or at the very least, silence, in the face of one another's preoccupations. We are today witnessing the unraveling of the Republican Party because billionaire, reality-TV star, Donald Trump, has succeeded in wrenching the white supremacists and evangelicals from the corporatists, free traders and warmongerers.
There is no reason why black voters and white millennials cannot fight together for the same goal, which is to keep neo-fascists Trump and Ted Cruz out of the Oval office. I have never heard black voters trashing Bernie Sanders. He is seen by all as a decent, principled man with well-meaning intentions. But in order for this coalition to work it demands mutual respect even if one group's choices are not readily grasped by the other.
I have in a previous post laid out 8 of the most obvious reasons why black voters are rejecting Sanders. But let me also add the following observation. In American electoral politics, diverse demographics come together under the same party umbrella in order to win, They are different groups of people, with different priorities, but who are able to show mutual respect or at the very least, silence, in the face of one another's preoccupations. We are today witnessing the unraveling of the Republican Party because billionaire, reality-TV star, Donald Trump, has succeeded in wrenching the white supremacists and evangelicals from the corporatists, free traders and warmongerers.
There is no reason why black voters and white millennials cannot fight together for the same goal, which is to keep neo-fascists Trump and Ted Cruz out of the Oval office. I have never heard black voters trashing Bernie Sanders. He is seen by all as a decent, principled man with well-meaning intentions. But in order for this coalition to work it demands mutual respect even if one group's choices are not readily grasped by the other.
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