Obama Speech Fails to Assuage White Indiana Voters

[Skip Intro]

This isn't a hit piece on Obama, actually points out that these findings might not be as bad as they seem, but...it does go along with the poll I saw posted here today that had Hillary up by 10+, I believe, in IN.

For what its worth, here are a couple of snips from the article.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20080401/pl_bloomberg/alp6dprdtyo0

April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Andrea Helmer was interested in Barack Obama until she heard sound bites of his fiery pastor's sermons. Last week, she volunteered for Hillary Clinton's campaign in Indiana.

'`As things came out regarding some of the things his pastor has said, I got concerned,'' said Helmer, a 36-year-old respiratory therapist and mother of two in Evansville, Indiana.


...

Still, there are stirrings of unease among white voters, including those who fear the issue will hurt Obama in a general election. Pew also found that 39 percent of all white voters who had heard of the controversy, including Republicans and independents, said it made them less favorable toward Obama.

John Friend, an uncommitted Democrat and Evansville city councilman, said Republicans may use Obama's ties to the pastor much in the same way they attacked Democratic candidate John Kerry's patriotism in 2004.

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anyone doubt they would?

[IndianaGreen]

1. Another stupid woman, of which we have plenty of in Indiana

I'll bet she wasn't going to vote for Obama anyway.

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. A some stupid men too.

[ekwhite]

11. This was edited?

Crikey - I hate to see what it looked like before.

IndianaGreen - have you thought about joining the 21st century? You are not doing Obama any favors with posts like that.

[IndianaGreen]

16. Come to Indiana and I will show you what I am talking about

Women that are beaten by their husbands but they think Jesus wants them to remain in their marriage. Women that believe that the Earth is only 5,000 years old. Women that think that the "Democrat" Party is allied with Al-Qaeda and that Jesus Christ himself wanted Bush to be President.

[JayFredMuggs]

27. Maybe we could SELL Indiana back to the Indians?

I don't think Indiana is really our biggest battleground......it's a RED state.....let it lay there and die.

[IndianaGreen]

35. Indiana has strong blue areas, but not enough of them

I remember listening in horror as a bunch of Black pastors spoke to our legislature in favour of a Constitutional Amendment to ban same sex marriage, or any recognition of same sex partnerships. They quoted Bible and verse railing against a modern Sodom and Gomorrah.

Thankfully, the amendment was defeated. We need more Democrats in our legislature to prevent this sort of legislation from even making it as far as this one did. Having Hillary at the top of the ticket will hurt our chances in November, so I have a great personal stake in seen someone other than Hillary as our nominee.

[cliffordu]

38. Yep, and it was my understanding that Indiana was a hotbed

of Klan activity -

My father in law repeated this, proudly. If he were alive today I would bet he'd believe that Obama is the genuine Antichrist.....like, in the looney bin Southern Baptist sense.....

[IndianaGreen]

42. Shelbyville was the location of an infamous lynching

a photograph of which can still be found on the internet.

I will say that Marion County, where Indianapolis is located, is very progressive and tolerant of LGBTs. Travel a little ways, and things do change quickly.

[cliffordu]

47. Like around Austin, Texas....

[IndianaGreen]

Exactly, like Austin!

There are many places like that in this country. Even blue states have more than their share of "bad" places to be avoided.

[provis99]

51. Not to mention Martinsville, Valparaiso, and other redneck hotbeds

In Mississippi, we used to call Indiana the "Mississippi of the North". When I moved up there, the very first vehicle I saw with Indiana plates when driving through Kentucky to Indiana was a pickup truck with a gun rack and a rebel flag in the back window. I thought for a second I might have made a wrong turn, and wound up back in Mississippi somehow!

[IndianaGreen]

44. I grew up not far from Robert Welch's home, the founder of John Birch Society

Welch's home still exists on the Northside of Indianapolis.

[provis99]

54. Welch was in north Indy? Too bad

I used to love those little neighborhoods around Butler University. I pretty much stayed out of the redneck areas in the south and southwest parts of Indianapolis though.

As for the rest of the state, I liked Monroe and Brown counties. But the rest of rural Indiana was as backwards as any part of rural Mississippi.

[VolcanoJen]

13. Exactly.

She sounds like my wingnut concern-troll coworkers in Cincinnati... which, of course, borders Indiana.

[EmilyAnne]

14. I wouldn't say that she is a "stupid woman." Some people are just scared of the unknown and Obama

is less of an unknown to this woman than Clinton. Hopefully, people will get more and more familiar with him and start to feel better about him. I just don't think we'll get anywhere if we call Clinton supporters or people who are critical of Obama "stupid."

[RaleighNCDUer]

52. I think that it's pretty safe to say that if she changes her vote

based on a 2 minunte clip of a rant by someone who is NOT the candidate, that qualifies as 'stupid'.

[rodeodance]

18. stop with caller voters stupid when you know nothing about them--other than

that support Hillary. Very immature of you

[IndianaGreen]

19. Come to Indiana and I will show you lots of examples of stupid voters

not to mention hateful people! I am tired of the whole lot of them.

[americanstranger]

20. The lesson would be lost on that poster, IG.

(It does not want to be convinced. Just wants to ankle-bite.)

- as

[DerekJ]

29. Do you still believe the sniper fire story is true?

:rofl:

[elixir]

24. Thanks, Chauvanist Pig.

[anonymous171]

25. IndianaGreen is a woman, I believe.

lrn2checkprofiles

[TahitiNut]

34. "he licks her" isn't concerned with such minutiae when name-calling

slack-jawed simian feces-flingers rarely are. :shrug:

[IndianaGreen]

26. You haven't met a woman who thinks Jesus wants her to get beaten by her husband

I have, on more than one occasion in a shelter for battered wives in which I have done volunteering over the years. They voted for Bush too!

[anonymous171]

2. lol. And we'll talk about McCain's traitor pastor's endorsement.

Snipergate>Pastorgate

McCain is not good on issues like race. He is (or seems to be) really good at foreign policy discussions.

[anigbrowl]

3. I'll take Pastor Wright over missing Bosnian snipers, thanks

Being wise to GOP tactics is one thing. Letting them define our electoral campaign is another.

[Skip Intro]

9. We may see how that works out.

I'd say a rev wright + a Michelle who's never been proud of America before now + a vid of Obama not placing his hand on his heart for the National Anthem, while all those around him did = the trifecta for repuke slime in the fall. A freight train coming our way, so to speak.

Personally, you can have the racist rev and his hatemongering. Completely outside of politics, I want no part of that bs.

[TLM]

23. ANd with Hillary....

It will be sniper lies + Ireland lies + schip lies + monica + hillary care part II ... blah blah blah.

The difference is that the attacks on Obama that will appeal to that racist segment of the population that's afraid of the "scary black man"... aren't going to hurt him, because that segment of voters wasn't going to support him anyway. It isn't a loss to offend or scare voters that were never going to vote for you in the first place.


Whereas the attacks on Hillary won't just appeal to sexists who were never going to vote for a woman anyway.... the attacks on her resonate with voters across the board. As such they hurt her far more and make her far more vulnerable in the GE.

[Skip Intro]

32. Beg to differ.

She's got backup on the Ireland claims, and Monica and Whitewater are sooo over and done, the elctorate will give up a giant sigh if that comes to pass.

And Obama's got a universal health care plan too, does he not? Or doesn't he? Subject to the same attacks, I'm sure.

Thing is, attacks on Obama's patriotism won't be seen as racist. God Damn America is a pretty powerful statement that will be, if it's not already, tied to Obama. Ask Cleland or Kerry about the effects of attacks on patriotism, freakin' war heroes slammed by it.

Sorry, the comparisons are apples to oranges, at best.

[anonymous171]

37. Remember Kerry "the invincible, vetted" candidate?

Yeah, he worked out real well. Real fucking well.

[TLM]

56. She's proven to have lied over and over....

"She's got backup on the Ireland claims, and Monica and Whitewater are sooo over and done,"

LOL!!!! Yeah tell the right wing that. It will be wall to wall... clip after clip of her lying.



" the elctorate will give up a giant sigh if that comes to pass."

Yes, they will... when faced with more of the same old garbage, they will stay home in large numbers. That added to her alienating black voters and young voters, she'll be hurting. Hillary is a weaker candidate.


"And Obama's got a universal health care plan too, does he not? "

You missed the point.... I referenced Hillary care because it is an established and effective attack on her that's already well etched into the minds of the electorate. That was the attack on her first failed health care reform plan.

"Thing is, attacks on Obama's patriotism won't be seen as racist. God Damn America is a pretty powerful statement that will be, if it's not already, tied to Obama. Ask Cleland or Kerry about the effects of attacks on patriotism, freakin' war heroes slammed by it."

sniper.... done.

She's over.

[Zhade]

48. Don't forget the "Chelsea 9/11" lie!

NT!

[rodeodance]

15. They will do it and you can not stop them.

[Zhade]

49. You almost seem to welcome it.

NT!

[rodeodance]

57. No, I would not welcome it at all--should he be the nominee. But BO used poor judgment

in keeping up this association for almost 20 years.

And sadly--if he is the nominee, It will come back to haunt him.

[DarienComp]

4. Obama supporter, and I won't flame you...

but I will say that I think it's pointless to wring one's hands over what the Republicans will do to attack our candidate, whomever it is. Of course the Republicans will attack Obama over Rev. Wright! Of course the Republicans will attack Hillary over her Tuzla misstatements! I thought that the Swift Boat Veterans proved that you need to respond to attacks swiftly. Does anyone doubt that Obama or Hillary won't do this?

edit: I just thought of an interesting parallel. It's like when Dubya states that we can't leave Iraq because "Al Quaida will declare victory!" Well, so what? Who cares what a bunch of terrorists think?

[VolcanoJen]

17. Great post.

This heading-for-the-fainting-couch approach over the coming General Election hysteria that will be thrown at our nominee from Upper Wingnuttia is just silly.

When did we become such shrinking violets? How did Rove/Atwater tactics work out in the 2006 midterm?

2000 does not equal 2004 does not equal 2008. We've had murderous wars, killer hurricanes and a depression-like economy since then. They'll bring it, all right, but it's not going to sting the way it used to. And I think both Obama and Clinton have shown they can take a punch and come back with a knockout.

[DarienComp]

22. Imagine if we behaved that way after Kerry mangled that joke about "getting stuck in Iraq" in '06.

Instead of running around like chickens with our heads cut off, we laughed in their faces, and in the end, made utter fools of them.

[cliffordu]

46. The 2006 midterm is an excellent reminder of how to look at all this.

I have no doubt that our nominee will be just fine.

Hillary is basically made of stainless steel and Obama is completely unflappable, as far as I have seen. Has he even broken a sweat yet????

I mean, except for bowling-gate.....

:patriot:

[RaleighNCDUer]

53. Yes, please, let's not forget 2006

when there was MORE election fraud than in either 2004 or 2002. There were more disenfranchised voters, more lost ballots, more 'malfunctioning' voting machines, without which we would have carried at least 3 more states, and as many as 3 million more popular votes - we'd have won at least 1 more senator, and 20 more congressmen.

The republicans CANNOT allow a democratic victory which would ensue in investigations of the Bush regime. That's why we must have an uncheatable lead in the GE, to keep it from being stolen.

With Hillary's unsurmountable negatives, she cannot win by a sufficient margin to prevent it being stolen out from under her. That's why Obama MUST be the candidate.

[anamandujano]

21. Bush can't leave Iraq until he finishes stealing all their oil.

I don't think that fits your analogy but I just wanted to mention it.

You are basically conceding that the Repukes will go to town on whoever gets the nod. I agree. This takes all the polls on the high negatives out of the equation. Further, the Repukes have been working on creating a negative image of Hillary for over a decade. They just started on Obama and he's getting up there.

Just for the record.

[DarienComp]

30. this is all true.

Of course couldn't one argue that because the GOP has had a 10 year head start on creating Hillary's negative image, it's more ingrained in voters minds?

BTW, thanks for the reasoned response. I know that I do a lot of trash-talking in this forum, but it's nice to actually have a conversation once in a while.

See DU? Obama and Hillary supporters CAN talk to each other like human beings.

:hi:

[BlooInBloo]

5. That's ok. Nothing would calm them down, in a state of sundown towns and klansmen.

[anonymous171]

31. You should read the article. They are polling in the southern areas of Indiana

And interviewing people in a conservative area. No wonder the responses are mostly negative!

[BluegrassDem]

6. These jokers were never gonna vote for Obama anyway

[Larkspur]

8. The Republicans have spend millions and 16 plus years

building an arsenal of half-truths, distortions, and lies to overwhelm Hillary. They're cocked and loaded to attack her. That's why they want Hillary to win the Dem nomination. Obama's surprise campaign would rend their millions invested in destroying Hillary's general election campaign a waste of money.

Racism or the "Southern Strategy" is always an arrow in the Repukes quiver. If Rev. Wright didn't appear, they'd make something up. Obama has to fight back with humor and wit but most importantly he needs to do that every day.

[BlooInBloo]

33. Yup. It always has to be wit and humor. A black man who shows anger scares white folks.

[Beacool]

10. The 527s in the GE will be something else................

:popcorn:

[NJSecularist]

12. Don't worry. We have the USS Forrestal in the GE. n/t

[JayFredMuggs]

28. No doubt they will

When was the last time Indiana voted for a Democrat in the General Election?

[zulchzulu]

36. No shortage of twits

If someone seriously takes what Reverend Wright says as somehow being part of Obama's message, chances are they are too half-witted to vote anyway. Also, I'd love to hear this Andrea Helmer doing her volunteer work for Hillary and bring up the Wright crap as a pitch for her candidate. That will turn off more people than not.

[Skip Intro]

39. But doesn't it matter when it comes from his spiritual mentor of twenty years?

I mean, I didn't write the article, but it would seem to suggest that it does matter.

[zulchzulu]

43. If the Wright issue mattered so much, why is Obama spiking in the polls?

Maybe you've missed the memo...Hillary's lead in PA is sinking. Her national poll numbers are floundering. Superdelegates are seeing the light that the Faux Heroine of Tuzla is a phony.

An article where somebody bought into the Wright crap is certainly not a trend... chances are the woman was already a Clinton supporter or doesn't know very much else.

And as I said, if she wants to be a volunteer for Hillary Clinton, she can do just that. Hillary will have dropped out after losing in PA anyway.

[GoldieAZ49]

40. no doubt whatsoever

and the press is still covering it in upcoming primary and surrounding states.

http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20080330/NEWS/564458582/1015/OPINION02/NEWS/Two_wrongs_make_a_Wright_for_Obama

http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm?newsid=19441967&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8

[Pernambuco]

41. Hillary's lead in Indiana is only 9%, and it has shrunk recently

I remember seeing an Indiana poll a few weeks ago in which she led Obama by almost 20%. Now the lead has shrunk to 9% according to the Survey USA poll you cite.

[Zhade]

45. Sure, Helmer - take up for the proven liar when you got uncomfortable with a little truth on racism.

That makes a ton of sense.

:eyes:

[Zynx]

50. Having been in Indiana a lot I can't say this surprises me.

[CalGator]

55. I've always considered Indiana a southern state for certain reasons. nt