I see a different struggle going on--a generational one. Gay rights is the best example of this, where research has shown that support for gay-rights-related initiatives is directly correlated to a voter's age. I think the same is true of race politics, though it's a lot less obvious. Yes, living in the rural deep south, I know that a lot of young people are still racists (indeed, living here I've discovered just how racist I can be), but I don't think they(we) are in the way their parents are. E.g., I think younger white folks around here objected more to the fact that Obama is a democrat than that he is black. (Though, they did object to both.) Older folks wouldn't have voted for a far right-wing, flag-waiving, cross-toting black candidate even if Ronald Reagan had risen from his grave and given this hypothetical negro his personal endorsement.
The Teabaggers and Faux News and such feed a lot off of retired folks. Yes, there is a very visible Young Republican element running around out there--indeed, there's a 22-year-old standing as the lone Republican candidate for parish president, here in rustic St. John the Baptist Parish. (Also the only white candidate, which should be a bad thing, politically, since the parish is overwhelmingly black--this was one of a handful of LA parishes to go to Obama in '08--but there are four black, democrat candidates, so "Buddy" will likely benefit from a seriously split vote. Though, I hope not. The democratic front runner is, AFAICT, significant more qualified and funded than her fellow democrats. A woman? Apparently not an issue, strangely enough. Indeed, I believe the deep-southern racist ideology ranks black women as preferable to black men--they're seen as more reliable, harder-working, and less like to steal our wimmins.)
But as I was saying, I think there is a lot of Baby Boomer death throes at work in current politics. The left should probably to try to get younger people back in the game by explaining that their fight will get easier over time. And start pointing out to the Democratic old guard that currently they are part of the problem, not the solution.
Oh, and I think you take the whole "minority" thing way too literally. "Minority", to what have become the Teabagger crowd, has always been a euphemism for "non-whites". Hell, the left used the term euphemistically too, since they threw in women with the "minorities." For them the term simply meant "the people not in power".
To be completely honest, though, I think it's all beyond repair. The ultra-wealthy have lost their collective minds, and have given up all pretense of ethical or socially-responsible behavior. The vast majority of Americans are just screwed, and the only idealogical difference that matters is whether or not you know you're fucked.
There's a political party I could get behind: "Fuck me? No, fuck *you*!"
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Date: 2010-Mar-24, Wednesday 02:34 pm (UTC)The Teabaggers and Faux News and such feed a lot off of retired folks. Yes, there is a very visible Young Republican element running around out there--indeed, there's a 22-year-old standing as the lone Republican candidate for parish president, here in rustic St. John the Baptist Parish. (Also the only white candidate, which should be a bad thing, politically, since the parish is overwhelmingly black--this was one of a handful of LA parishes to go to Obama in '08--but there are four black, democrat candidates, so "Buddy" will likely benefit from a seriously split vote. Though, I hope not. The democratic front runner is, AFAICT, significant more qualified and funded than her fellow democrats. A woman? Apparently not an issue, strangely enough. Indeed, I believe the deep-southern racist ideology ranks black women as preferable to black men--they're seen as more reliable, harder-working, and less like to steal our wimmins.)
But as I was saying, I think there is a lot of Baby Boomer death throes at work in current politics. The left should probably to try to get younger people back in the game by explaining that their fight will get easier over time. And start pointing out to the Democratic old guard that currently they are part of the problem, not the solution.
Oh, and I think you take the whole "minority" thing way too literally. "Minority", to what have become the Teabagger crowd, has always been a euphemism for "non-whites". Hell, the left used the term euphemistically too, since they threw in women with the "minorities." For them the term simply meant "the people not in power".
To be completely honest, though, I think it's all beyond repair. The ultra-wealthy have lost their collective minds, and have given up all pretense of ethical or socially-responsible behavior. The vast majority of Americans are just screwed, and the only idealogical difference that matters is whether or not you know you're fucked.
There's a political party I could get behind: "Fuck me? No, fuck *you*!"