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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May 13, 2008 10:38 AM
West Virginia and the Race Chasm
Some folks have asked me today how West Virginia fits into my Race Chasm theory. It's a valid question considering Hillary Clinton is expected to win resoundingly, but the state is just 3% black (ie. outside the Race Chasm). My original article explained this:
Primaries are now looming in a critical group of Race Chasm states--Pennsylvania, Indiana (8.8 percent black), Kentucky (7.5 percent black) and West Virginia (only 3 percent black, but a place influenced by the Ohio, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania media markets, which undoubtedly makes race politics more customary than in other mostly white states).
A state's political culture is defined in many ways by its media markets. West Virginia's political culture, therefore, is a mishmash of Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia - the media markets that dominate the state. In that sense it actually presents the worst of both worlds for a black candidate. Racial politics exists in the political culture, but there is almost no black population at all to counter it.
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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
- The Real Center vs. the Fake Center
- The View From the Grassy Knoll
- NYT's Egan Discovers The Race Chasm - Then Seems to Justify It
- Lou Dobbs & the Double-Edged Sword of Populism
- GOP Brags That McCain Will Continue Bush's Economic Legacy
- Paterson makes great move on food stamps in NY
- The Homogenization of American Politics
- Getting Rolled Is A Wake-Up Call For Progressives
- More on McCain and right wing health care "reform"
- McCain's latest great idea: throw more money at a broken system
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More David Sirota
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This Modern World
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July 15, 2008 -
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June 24, 2008 -
June 17, 2008
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Discussion
I wonder if there is another element to the equation: states with overt racism and segregation in the recent past (The South) vs. those with more tacit racial politics.
What do you think of Josh Marshall's analysis of Obama's "Appalachia problem?"
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/194870.php
It answers a lot of questions about the demographic disparity between Obama and Clinton.
What do you think of Josh Marshall's analysis of Obama's "Appalachia problem?"
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/194870.php
It answers a lot of questions about the demographic disparity between Obama and Clinton.
Join the Discussion