Let me sum up the coming election and what the day-after map will show

[1-Old-Man]

Here is what we have, a very competent black man as President who is running against a lilly white guy who has next to no pertinent experience. The day after the election there will be maps aplenty showing us exactly which states went which way and what those maps will actually show is the state of racism in the United States as of this year. And the result you can expect to see? That President Obama will win the election, taking about 2/3 of the available electoral college votes, but that nearly half of this country is still held in the clutches of pure racial hatred. And you know which states they will be, the very same ones that gave us the civil war. We have advanced very little in the last 140 years. It is a cancer on the soul of the nation.

[madokie]

1. No doubt about it

This old man agrees with you 100%

[a geek named Bob]

2. sad to say...you hit it on the nose...

[Bucky]

3. I think that's ridiculously over simplified.

I don't agree with them, but there's other reasons why people might oppose Obama besides race.

When you say we have only "advanced very little in the last 140 years" you betray your lack of historical awareness. There is still racism, of course, but it pales in comparison to what things were like in September of 1872. The fact that the Democratic Party even nominated, and that a strong voting majority elected, Mr Obama should tell you that.

[PatSeg]

14. I agree with you

Though I know racism still exists, I know a lot of republican voters who are ill-informed, but not racist. Unfortunately they get too much of their "news" from FOX.

We most certainly have come a long way in the past 140 years.

[ReasonableToo]

16. Agree

While some are vehemently racist. Most are just sheep.

I heard on the history channel (for what it's worth) that some towns voted to NOT secede and sent a delegate to relay their vote but the businessman delegate voted the opposite of what the average citizen wanted.

The 99% have not been properly represented in quite some time.

Time to get some 99% candidates.

[rock]

24. Over-simplified, yes

But ridiculously over-simplified, no. I merit the old man essentially correct.

[hfojvt]

43. he's only correct

if SD, ND, Mt, Wy, Ne, Ks, and Ut were somehow part of the confederacy.

You know, the same states that voted for the incompetent George W. Bush over the much more experienced Al Gore and the war hero John Kerry.

Presumably for reasons other than race.

But now that our candidate is black, everything just MUST be about race.

[Yooperman]

59. I join those that see it more like you do....

No one can deny that racism still exists and in some parts of the country is more prevalent than others... but if Obama was a white man ... there would still be a large segment of the populace that would deny that he did any good as President just because he is a Democrat and they feel all evil is rooted in the Democratic party.

YM

[snappyturtle]

4. Yep. Advancement? We're now going backwards....w-a-y back. imho nt

[iemitsu]

5. yeah, i have been wondering if racial bigorty

or religious bigotry will take the day.
a year ago i would have bet that we were many years from being willing to elect a non-christian to the whitehouse.
yet, call a black man a muslim and you can get some to vote for a white mormon.
we will see what flavor of bigotry wins in november.

just for the record, i believe that many will be influenced to vote by misinformation provided by corporate america. this may skew the reality of how americans feel about race and or faith.

good luck to mr obama.

[porphyrian]

6. Believe it. For reference, here's the SPLC's Hate Map...

http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/hate-map

[Laura PourMeADrink]

8. Gee, not a one with zero hate groups. Hawaii?

[lonestarnot]

9. Does that just suck ass or what!

[slackmaster]

10. My sister-in-law lived there for several years as a child. There is PLENTY of hate in Hawaii.

If you don't happen to be a native Hawaiian.

[porphyrian]

12. Hawaii says 0 (you have to scroll over to it) and Alaska has 1.

Remember, these are reported hate organizations. There may be disorganized groups of racist individuals that are not accounted for here and possibly some organized groups that are very good at hiding or who don't openly operate.

[Blue_In_AK]

62. Alaska has a lot of right-wingers but not so much racial prejudice

except for some hard feelings between Natives and whites...enough animosity on both sides to go around...but there are no hate "groups" per se.

[Hutzpa]

63. That's because the number of ethnic minority in Alaska

is minimal.

[Blue_In_AK]

64. Not really.

At least here in anchorage, our school district is majority minority or approaching. Almost 100 languages are spoken by our students. We have a very large Asian and Pacific Islander population and an increasingly large number of African refugees from Somalia, etc. I think it's a pretty common misconception that Alaska is just made up of white people and natives.

See this link for ethnic makeup of ASD students

http://www.asdk12.org/aboutasd/

[slackmaster]

11. CALIFORNIA IS NUMBER ONE AGAIN!!!111!!!

ETA and Nation of Islam is Number One in California.

[porphyrian]

13. It's a big state with a whole lot of diversity.

That, in combination with liberal-leaning politics (real or perceived), raises hackles in some circles.

[bemildred]

15. CA used to be quite conservative, it's only in the last couple decades we've moved left again.

There was a long period from Gov. Reagan to Pete Wilson when the pubbies ruled things here and screwed everything up, we have never recovered really, but the Pubbies are toast here for a long time, and boy are they angry about it.

[George II]

22. I'd like to see the hate groups per capita data. Look at Montana and Idaho!

[hfojvt]

44. yeah, it says 3, 3, 2, 7, 3, 4

for ND, SD, Wy, Ne, Ks, and Utah.

All states which will be won by Romney.

And it says 37 and 28 for New York and Illinois

States that will be won by Obama.

[porphyrian]

48. It doesn't show population of each state or size of the organizations.

Did you intend to prove me wrong about something?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

7. Civil war map

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

28. There's one thing wrong with this map....

Every state involved, except my home state of Michigan is labeled! I mean, they tagged Rhode Island but can't do the same for the Great Lake State? What's up with that?

[Ghost in the Machine]

61. Two things, actually...

East Tennessee sided with the Union Army over the Confederates...

[gcomeau]

17. We don't need to be this intellectually lazy

A lot of people voting against Obama for stupid reasons? Yeah. ALL those people being "held in the clutches of pure racial hatred"? Don't be fucking ridiculous.

Remember Bush?

There is a massive portion of this country who will vote for an incompetent white Republican regardless of what color skin his opponent is. Declaring that they're voting for this incompetent white Republican just because Obama is black is nonsense. Is racism playing a factor in a PERCENTAGE of the anti-Obama vote? Yes. Does it entirely explain the anti Obama vote with one casually dismissive wave of the hand? No.

A very large portion of that vote is just plain old regular clueless ignorant ideologues.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

32. "regardless of what color skin his opponent is"

LBJ wasn't kidding when he said, "There goes the South".

Since then, the Republicans have told the people down there that the Democrats are "the party of black people" who want to make white people pay for slavery by giving blacks welfare. Just look at the comments from Right Wingers in places like YouTube. They feel they are heroes defending with all their heart the concept of working for a living as if it's under assault.

[TransitJohn]

18. This is a bad post

At the very least not very well thought out. Wyoming and Utah, two states where Romney will do the best, weren't even states during the Civil War, probably not even territories. Also, your post is geographically bashing.

[cordelia]

19. Agreed. A "cancer"?

[1-Old-Man]

25. That is precisely the word I wanted to use

[cordelia]

46. Unnecessary and divisive

on top of a poorly reasoned rant.

[Comrade_McKenzie]

20. I have heard many in Kentucky say they'd vote for Clinton if he were running again...

But they hate Obama and he's a better President. There's only one explanation for it.

[Heather MC]

21. This is a gross over statement

The fact is some people are Dem some are Republican, that's it
your statement makes it sound like all republicans are racist. As a Black Voter I can tell you some of my best friends are Republican. we even drink from the same cup imagine that.

I can't believe this post is latest trends this should be removed it doesn't help anything or anyone

[Swede Atlanta]

23. This is an over simplification of the situation....

I know there are racists among us. They exist in every town, city, county and state. They may be more visible in places that were historically racially segregated but not exclusively.

I was in Colorado this week with my conservative elderly Aunt and Uncle. We decided, in advance, not to discuss politics because it had previously caused issues between us. While we tried to avoid this topic it crept in from time to time.

What came of my observations, however, was a total lack of awareness on their part.

(1) Comment made that you don't see any news footage of Obama attending church as we have seen with all the "other" Presidents.
My response was is your assertion that he is a "failing" Christian because they don't attend or that you believe he isn't a Christian? They said they really don't know but the fact they don't see them attending church on the evening news is a problem.

(2) Socialism - I am going back to Sweden where I was an exchange student and worked a couple of summers, next year. The Aunt said "well they are socialist aren't they?" I responded they have a parliamentarian form of government headed by a monarch. I responded they have had a center-right coalition government for several years (comparable to a center-left here). Her idea was since they have such broad-based social programs they were socialist and her enunciation indicated she thought "socialism' is bad. Of course Christ (or his historical persona) was a socialist

(3) Government control of everything
They spouted the typical right-wing hatred of the ACA including government takeover, death panels, etc. I explained to them this was the biggest "give" to PRIVATE insurers in the nation's history and that the true death panels are the private insurers who deny coverage time and again.

They expressed hatred of HIPPA and I responded that I did not want my doctor or any provider to make confidential information about my health available to ANYONE without my consent.

All of this was couched in "taking away my freedoms". And of course they threw in "no one is taking away my guns". I asked them if Christ ever owned a gun or a firearm or suggested the use thereof. They mumbled. I reminded them NO ONE is suggesting taking away your guns (must have a tiny penis and clitoris) including the PRESIDENT.

(4) Government Programs
They chastised the "giveaways" to those who didn't need it, etc. Interestingly enough their son is now on Medicaid at age 58 because of his alcoholism and drug abuse. Additionally my Uncle is on Medicaid. They have always hated taxes and hated "government handouts" and now they suckle at the government teat. I downplayed this when I was there but tried to point out that while there was abuse, most government programs are appropriately administered to people LIKE THEM.

This is an example of the skewed mindset of the right wing voter. They do not engage in critical thinking. They sit and watch FAUX News all day.

Oh another thing on the "doesn't attend church" comment. I offered the view that I would rather look to a politician's policies rather than their outward or visible signs of their "Christianity". I obliquely compared Obama's belief in supporting the disadvantaged through extensions of unemployment, food stamps, mortgage modifications, etc. and the ACA and his interest in regulating the excesses of the market with Dodd-Frank, etc. with RMoney's. I offered information of which she wasn't aware of his Bain history, of Ryan's plan which would decimate her now beloved Medicaid support, etc.

It is unfortunate they see things through a prism that is so skewed from reality.

Bottom line is, the Red State/Blue State line cannot be simplified to racism. There is much more to this than pure racial differences.

[n2doc]

26. Obama is going to take Virginia and Florida

And maybe NC. What would ol' Robert E Lee have thought of that?

And Indiana will likely go for Rmoney. Wonder what Honest Abe would have thought of that?

[Kolesar]

29. Virginia is going to succeed from the Confederacy

Or so I heard. There are a lot of women who work for the federal government who live in Virginia.

In all fairness, President Obama is still getting a lot of support in Georgia. It's more of a red-leaning state than a "Solid South" Republican state.

[Rozlee]

30. I wish I were as confident as you about Florida.

If voting purges are allowed there, Obama's lead over Romney will have to be quite large. Right now, it's just a few points. A voter purge can easily obliterate hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of African-American, Hispanic, poor and youth votes and hand the state to Romney.

[n2doc]

35. After the debates Rmoney will be toast

He has shown no ability to put on that folksy, aw shucks sort of demeanor that might get people to like him. I am pretty certain that he is going to come off as defensive, evasive, and petty.

Rmoney can only win with voter purges if his voters bother to vote. And I am thinking they are going to stay home or vote some other name in protest if it is clear Obama is winning. Anyway, we shall see.

[unblock]

27. the *mind-set* that gave us the civil war, perhaps, but not exactly the *states*

obama is likely to win florida and virginia, and may well win north carolina.

plus, a number of states with strong right-wing support weren't states at the time of the civil war; think idaho, wyoming, etc.

it's also been pointed out a number of times on this website that texas may be a blue state within a decade due to changing demographics.

finally, there are racists in each and every one of the states, and that's more where the problem is. fortunately they don't carry the day in a good number of states.

[Hells Liberal]

42. Testify, unblock!

I heard the word "nigger" a lot more growing up just outside of Yale University in New Haven, CT., and in Berkeley and Oakland, CA., than I ever did in 27 years here in Florida.

[BlueCaliDem]

51. Just because you didn't hear it, doesn't mean they don't believe and live by it.

Think Bible Belt, the Christian AlwaysWrongRight and compare that to the completely baffling stats that in those very states, online porn is a huge hit compared to the other states.

[Hells Liberal]

65. @BlueCaliDem

I never said it doesn't exist here in the south. My point is that it's everywhere. And to put the blame entirely on the south is hypocrisy. I really think many northerners need to get their own houses in order and speak out about racism, sexism, anti-Semitism and homophobia in their own midst and stop pretending that it's only a southern problem.

[BlueCaliDem]

66. Nobody contends that those "isms" are solely happening in the south.

We know it's happening everywhere, yep, even in so-called progressive California. I hear it all the time, especially in Orange Country, the San Fernando Valley, and pockets in the Inland Empire. But considering the politics of this state and that of those in the south, it's at least clear that the majority side with Democrats even after LBJ caused the Democratic Party to lose the south. Question is, why did signing the Civil Rights Act into law make the Democratic Party lose the south?

[uwep]

31. I agree that racism is not the only reason, but

I live in Texas and it is a big reason here. Fox news is in almost every restaurant and bar.

I did business with a company and the customer service person was very good. This person was very pleasant and friendly. I even gave the company work that I knew was more expensive than I could do it. I really liked this person.

The last conversation with this person floored me because of the animus that was shown for President Obama. The way he said his name was straight from a lot of Fox programming. The response to gay marriage was straight from the Fox play book. The reason that was stated was from a bible study group.

These are southern religious teaching encouraging racial, ethnic, and life style bigotry. I was very sad to hear this from a person I thought was so pleasant.

Here in Texas, conversations among older white men are very racial at times. I am older and white. I have been around men like these, but not for very long. I do not have very many friends because I will no participate in these conversations. I want to make it clear that this does not apply to all older white men in Texas, I have met some that do not share this mind set.

[Harriety]

33. My husband is a big civil war buff...

and sometimes he me reads excerpts from history books about what was happening during that war. (I also have watched Ken Burns Civil War countless times). Anyway from what I gather, back then, the wealthy plantation owners wanted to have their slaves and resented the fact that the north was going to take that away that privilege. They would not be able to make their bottom line if they had to hire real workers.

There also were many struggling farmers, and settlers in the south too who just tried to take care of themselves and their land. What they fought for then were the principles instilled in them influenced by these wealthy people, who made them feel they needed protect what little they had from those nasty northern invaders who would take away their land and their rights. Many of the rich folk vamoosed and left the country because they other had homes in Europe or elsewhere.

It is ironic now that people who are a still just trying to make ends meet are still being manipulated my the upper 1% just as they were back then. That hasn't changed.

[uponit7771]

36. ****DING DING DING**** Post of the morning! I've always thought how in the world did a bunch

...of poor people get talked into fighting for a bunch of rich peoples stuff!!

Conservatives are lied to today just like they were lied to back then

[uponit7771]

34. WOW!! If you're a person of color stay the HELL out of Georgion rural areas!!

[brooklynite]

37. I'm going to disagree...

...that the outcome will be driven by racism. If Hillary Clinton were the President, do you really think Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky et al would be in play? Or the she wouldn't also be tarred as an Eastern Liberal Elitist Socialist?

There is certainly SOME latent racism in the South; but there's also a lot of Conservatives who think, rightly or wrongly, that Democrats mean higher taxes, more intrusion in their business lives and demonic secularism.

[MatthewStLouis]

38. I partially agree; many who will vote against Obama are "southern sympathizers".

These are people who openly wish the South had won the war, say the civil war wasn't about slavery (it was states rights), and they pretend they aren't racist. Many of them are poor, working class, who resent people on welfare (getting stuff for free), they resent people with good union jobs (why should they get paid more than me), and they don't like to pay their fair share of taxes (roads and schools are free, right?). A good chunk of them aren't even of southern heritage. As all the good jobs are shipped overseas, they are looking for something to rage against. Sadly, the right wing has plenty of hate to peddle.

I also know there are many people who vote GOP for other reasons. Many are against government regulations (regulations do have costs, but they also have benefits that aren't always apparent). Many are against progressive taxes (they think everyone should pay the same amount, even it that means starving your children). Many are social conservatives (anti abortionists). Many are libertarians (every man for himself).

So while I agree some GOP voters are racist; I also think some are greedy and many are easily fooled.

(Ok, I'm done rambling now.)

[Hells Liberal]

39. Let me guess?! The South is nothing but inbred racists!

Sorry, 1-Old Man. I have no doubt President Obama will likely lose most southern states. But it's not just because of racism and it's not because northerners are all such saintly non-racists.

I grew up in the shadow of Yale University and I heard the word "nigger" a lot more in my youth up there than I ever did in my 27 years here in Florida. Come to think of it, I heard "nigger" and "spic" more in my two years in Berkeley and Oakland, CA., than I ever did here in Florida.

I knew so many Ivy League intellectuals who talked a great game about tolerance and acceptance. But if the house down the street went up for sale, those same intellectuals would shit their pants in fear that the new neighbors might be black, Hispanic, Jewish, gay or (Horror of horrors!) blue collar workers.

I can't count how many of my old high school classmates from Connecticut I've dropped as Facebook friends because those oh-so-tolerant northerners are screaming about having a black-Muslim-Nazi-Socialist in the White House.

The fact is, no part of the country has a monopoly on racism, so get off your high horse.

[JoeyT]

40. Indeed it is, good sir.

And I think we all know who will go for Romney the hardest: Old people.

Wait, that wasn't what you meant? Strange how our perception of what's ok to say changes depending on whose ox is doing the goring and whose is being gored.

[caseymoz]

41. Actually there has been an advance

Racism is a dirty word, even in those states. They have to come up with other excuses to make it socially acceptable. Few people are openly racist. Some are unconsciously racist or racially paranoid. Many of them will say "Racism is a thing of the past." Sincerely, they can't even see it.

In other words, in the South it has gone as imbedded in the culture to culturally shameful.

This goes to show that, once established and institutionalized, racism takes a long time to get rid of.

[DaveJ]

45. Yep, it's bigotry in general, not just racism.

Since I grew up in a Republican household, I could have easily ended up one of them, so here are my observations:

I strayed from the prescribed formula for bigotry by experiencing different aspects of life. Left college before I was done, journeyed the U.S. a bit, before finishing. I saw too many things really, and cannot imaging being ignorant of all that's out there. But many people never had those experiences, and would (understandably) never want them. They are close minded to what's going on. Since I've seen what's going on, I understand the need for open mindedness.

I don't think it's an urban/rural phenomenon. It's the way humans are wired. We can't change the way the human mind works. When the mind is not challenged and people lack experience, they also lack character, and end up becoming close minded. I'm close minded to starvation in other countries, for instance, hardly anything I do is sensitive to that, just as Reppublicans are not sensitive to those who have personal struggles here in this country. It's the way we're wired.

I'm sure there are solutions to this problem, but they are too vast to write about here.

[99Forever]

47. Guess what, 1-Old-Man.

There are racists in the states Obama will win by a comfortable margin.

..and...

There are people who aren't going to vote for Obama for reasons other than his race. In fact, there are people who would vote against Obama if he were whiter than Mittwitt.

[Shampoobra]

49. Herman Cain: the teabaggers loved him

The tea party types are among the most conservative Republicans, and Cain was (with the possible exception of Michelle Bachmann) probably their least informed candidate.

The most radical Republicans wanted to elect one of the worst candidates on their stage, and they didn't care that he's Black.

[Odin2005]

50. Birtherism is concentrated in the South. That tella me everythingh I need to know.

[southernyankeebelle]

52. I live in a red state and I wasn't brought up a racist. Remember that is a broad brush some are

pushing around.

[loyalsister]

53. "the very same ones that gave us the civil war"

That's a pretty depressing view. Two more states would join. One which was a strong abolitionist state during the civil war.
Kansas and Missouri fought their own civil war, and one could argue that that is where it started. KS was a strong union state. MO didn't secede, but there was a shadow government that identified with the confederacy. They set up shop in TX.

[ileus]

54. Yup....what you'll fail to see is

in all but a few states the vote will be pretty evenly split...

So take Virginia for instance, it may go 5 pts Obama or 1 pt mittins.

If Va goes 1 pt mitt then there's 8 million racists? If it goes 1pt Obama there's not a single racist?

Good analysis...

[creon]

55. Oversimplifying

Yes, racial prejudice is alive and well. It is one reason why people will vote against PBO. But, not the only reason.
But, there is also: partisanship.
Also:religion; which comes in when people say that he is a moslem.
And, this business about 'liberals' or 'socialists'.

There has been lot of progress since 1968.

[dmallind]

56. Did "lilly white" Bill Clinton get a significantly different map? Would "lilly white" Hillary?

Of course there is still racism - in all zipcodes too. But it's not the single pivot on which elections balance.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

57. We Have Advanced Plenty

If you would have told most folks America would have an African American president and Wisconsin would have a openly gay senator forty years ago people would laugh at you.

[jackbnimble]

58. i dread it for hazard ky if myth robme wins

these people are so poor here most of them get food stamps and disability or ssi and they need it, now if myth robme actually pulls it off then this place will be a war zone because they don't have the job base to feed the people who will get the boot, these people are awful, i tried posting on a local forum board and they are just nuts here, you cant talk to these people, even when you insult them back they cant understand it, i was a marine for over a decade and these people turned on me like i was an enemy just for trying to tell the truth and not being conservative

i am trying to get the word out so other liberals and democrats can read what these people say, i am only one of like 3 posting democratic messages on that board and i am sorely outnumbered, i am really glad i found this forum to post on

it was a good thing i posted anonymously or i would really be in danger by these nuts, if anyone wants go check it out, wsgs.com, then click on message board, i posted in 3 threads called gimmie gimmie gimmie, romney's 47%, and hilary apologizes to thugs

see what these people are like in hazard kentucky my god this place is doomed and its in the poorest part of the state and they think they are rich, sorry for any typos but it gets my blood boiling lol

[Blue_In_AK]

60. I predict Romney will take Alaska

And it has nothing to do with race. A democratic presidential candidate hasn't won this state since LBJ, and it becomes increasingly difficult for Democratic candidates to win here as Big Oil continues its corrupting influence.