Sirotablog
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. David writes about political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties.
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April 23, 2008 6:36 AM
Pennsylvania & the Persistence of the Race Chasm
A few weeks ago, I published an article in In These Times showing how Hillary Clinton has been winning states almost exclusively in the Race Chasm - states whose populations are more than 6 percent but less than 17 percent black. The results of the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania - a state whose demographics fall squarely in the Race Chasm - continue the trend.
I have hypothesized that the Race Chasm exists because of racial politics. Specifically, in states where there is almost no black population, black-white racial politics has little traction because it isn't part of the political dialect. In states where there is a very large black population, the black vote can offset a racially motivated white vote. But in the Race Chasm, the black vote is too small to offset a racially motivated white vote.
So how prevalent was race as a factor in voting in Pennsylvania? The exit polls suggest that when Gov. Ed Rendell previously said race would be a huge factor, he was absolutely correct. Specifically, page 4 and 5 of the CNN exit poll show a whopping 19 percent of Pennsylvania voters said race was an important factor in their vote, with Clinton winning almost 60 percent of that segment. Broken down further, 13 percent of the white vote said race was a major factor in their vote, with Clinton winning 75 percent of that group.
These are big numbers, especially considering the fact that these numbers only represent voters who are willing to admit to pollsters they are voting on race. The real number is probably much higher, because some voters may not want to disclose such taboo voting habits.
Let me reiterate something I wrote in my original Race Chasm analysis:
Clearly, race is not the only force moving votes. Demographic groups -- white, black or any other -- do not vote as monoliths. Additionally, the Race Chasm does not mean every white voter who votes against Obama nor every black voter who supports Obama is racially motivated.
However, considering the exit polling and the fact that Pennsylvania falls squarely in the demographic Race Chasm, it is clear that those who continue to pretend race is not a major factor in this campaign are deliberately averting their eyes from a very powerful force in the Democratic primary.
UPDATE: I should have added this into the original article. Some folks say that even discussing the Race Chasm is good or bad for one or another of the candidates in the primary or general election. That may or may not be true - but I don't really care. Political junkies tend to forget that the whole world does not revolve around the next election - and that yes - I know it's hard for some people to fathom - but some issues like racism are much bigger and more important than whatever election cycle we may be in. Racism is something that has been a part of American life for, oh, two centuries. If this presidential race is becoming a vehicle to talk about and confront and expose that racism, then that's a good thing - regardless of whichever candidates some think it may help or hurt.
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About David Sirota
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Hostile Takeover. He lives in Denver, Colorado. His daily blog can be found at CREDO Action. He contributes regularly to the Denver Post's Web site, is a senior editor at In These Times magazine and is working on his second book. He has been profiled in Newsweek and the Rocky Mountain News and is widely known for his reporting on political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties. Sirota serves as co-chair of the Progressive States Network, a 501(c)3 organization that supports state legislators and that is a partner of CREDO.
You can subscribe to Sirota's e-mail newsletter by going to davidsirota.com and signing up in the lefthand corner. To find out more about Sirota, download his official biography or see his recent media appearances. You can e-mail him at sirota@credoaction.com.
The views expressed on this blog are his own, and do not necessarily represent the views of Working Assets (publisher of CREDO Action) or the institutions Sirota works for.
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Recent Sirotablog entries
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Discussion
So what does voting based on race mean? Does this mean that white voters are actually voting for Hillary because she is white and/or not voting for Obama because he is black? If so, this is a terrible regression, at least in my mind, of the American public. Shouldn't we call a spade a spade, call such voters racist white voters, and, conversely, racist black voters?
Is Hillary somehow inciting racism in white voters? Now, that would be an expose, and an interesting read--how is she doing this exactly?
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This claim of a race chasm is a lie. Sirota focuses on race but ignores gender. There is no "white vote". White men and women have voted differently. While Obama consistently loses the white female vote, he has won the white male vote in states like California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia - states with African American populations greater than 6% where there is supposed to be a "white backlash". Obama lost those states not because of a racial chasm, but because of a gender chasm. White men have supported Obama in states which have a significant African American population. It is false to assert that whites turn against Obama when large numbers of African Americans vote for him. Mr. Sirota has proven that there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics!! Stop spreading this nonsense!!!
This claim of a race chasm is a lie. Sirota focuses on race but ignores gender. There is no "white vote". White men and women have voted differently. While Obama consistently loses the white female vote, he has won the white male vote in states like California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia - states with African American populations greater than 6% where there is supposed to be a "white backlash". Obama lost those states not because of a racial chasm, but because of a gender chasm. White men have supported Obama in states which have a significant African American population. It is false to assert that whites turn against Obama when large numbers of African Americans vote for him. Mr. Sirota has proven that there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics!! Stop spreading this nonsense!!!
Tonymil - how is what Mr. Sirota said a lie? I think the numbers in the exit polls prove his race chasm theory very nicely. Also, unless I am missing something, I do not believe he has said that race is the only factor in this election process. You must have missed this, "Clearly, race is not the only force moving votes. Demographic groups -- white, black or any other -- do not vote as monoliths. Additionally, the Race Chasm does not mean every white voter who votes against Obama nor every black voter who supports Obama is racially motivated." You have offered one other factor that needs to be taken into account; gender. I dont think anyone will disagree that gender isn't a factor. However, you have done nothing to disprove that Mr. Sirota's race chasm analysis. I guess all of the major newspapers, and other news sources have got it wrong too considering they have all talked about race being a factor in this election. So please stop spreading your narrow minded nonsense!!!
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