Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsElie Mystal: Democrats Are Ready to Abandon Black Voters, Again
Link to tweet
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/democrats-election-shor/
We have come to a familiar crossroads of American politics. Democrats, who cannot win national office without the overwhelming support of Black people, are facing rejection from perpetually aggrieved, poorly educated whites. These whites are poised to vote to defeat Democrats in upcoming elections. In response, a chorus of powerful Democrats has risen up inside the Beltway to tell Democrats that abandoning Black peoplethe very people who put them in power in the first placeand making performative efforts to win the support of racists, is the only way to stay in power.
And Democrats are, predictably, listening. Black people, our concerns, and our agenda, are always the first ones to be thrown overboard, even when were rowing the damn boat.
The issue has been all over the pages of The New York Times in recent days. Ezra Klein wrote an interesting profile of David Shor, a data analyst who became famous by warning Democrats that taking Black people seriously after George Floyds murder would lead to whites leaving the Democratic Party. He was right, of course, just like I was right in predicting that the initial white sympathy toward those protests would be fleeting and lead to no real change. You dont need a crystal ball or abacus to predict macro-level white behavior in this country; you just need a competent understanding of what a majority of white people are willing to do to maintain their status.
It turns out that Shor was able to parlay his helpful, data-driven analysis of what white people are really like into Democratic data guru status within the Biden administration. I do not personally know a single Black person who was surprised that the Floyd protests and urgent demands for justice were met by a whitelash once a majority of whites (and a not insignificant number of Latinos) remembered that keeping a violent police force with its foot on the neck of Black folks was what they really wanted. Again, I even wrote about it in real time. But Shor said all that stuff while white, so hes the guru with the ear of the president now.
*snip*
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 590 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (3)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Elie Mystal: Democrats Are Ready to Abandon Black Voters, Again (Original Post)
Nevilledog
Oct 2021
OP
onecaliberal
(32,486 posts)1. This better not fucking happen.
Celerity
(42,666 posts)2. Shor's main ideas, if adopted by enough elected Dems, will cause an internal mega brawl in the Dem
Congressional caucus.