by
dominique DiPrima
Many of us celebrated the finding in the new Wall Street Journal poll that Mitt Romney was carrying 0% of the Black vote. The survey found that 94% supported President Barack Obama and approximately 6% are independent or undecided. Of course with the margin of error and undecideds Romney will still get a few African American votes But the number is a testament to Black unity and a glorious unmasking of the bigotry of the Romney campaign which has even less Black support than John McCain did in 2008 (he got 4%)
This election is ours to win…or lose.
Before we get overly happy about Romney’s lack of Black support, lets’s review. Despite the fact that Latino voters prefer President Barack Obama over Mitt Romney by 63% to 28%, and despite the fact that Republicans appear to be doing their best to alienate women voters of all races, the election remains incredibly close.
And while many analysts believe the Romney campaign has made a decision to write off Black voters (relying instead on voter suppression tactics to minimize our impact, ) the campaign is pouring money into courting the Latino vote. Super Pacs are aggressively going after hispanic voters with big dollars in key states with big Latino populations like Florida, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico. Top Romney advisors have admitted to having a goal of garnering 38% of the “hispanic vote” a number seen as a threshold to defeating the president. George Bush won in 2004 with 40% of the Latino vote and so that is seen as a benchmark.
But even without African American or Latino support the Romney camp believes they will win if they get 61% of the white vote (thus Romney’s birther “joke,” the selection of Ryan as a running mate and the not-so-subtle racist undertones of the campaign.) In 1984 Ronald Reagan took 64% of the White vote in 1988 the first George Bush carried the block with 59% support, both of course, won their elections.
But here’s a point some of us are missing. It doesn’t matter if Mitt Romney gets zero Black support and zero Latino backing if we stay home from the polls! In 2008 President Obama won 96% of the Black vote and African American voters turned out in record numbers to elect the first Black president. And, quiet as it’s kept, in 2008 Latino voters showed up in much bigger numbers than usual too. But now that the novelty has worn off, and jobs are still hard to come by that turn out will be tough to match. When you factor in the Republican voter suppression campaign on top of that (which disproportionately targets African American and Latino voters) it could be a perfect storm.
Right now Mitt Romney is only polling at 56 points among white voters according to CNN’s latest poll. That is well below his target of 61% – the level his strategists believe will allow him to win without significant Black or Latino support.
That means this election is in our hands. If we show up in droves on election day there is no way Mitt Romney can win. But if we stay home and fail to vote, no matter how much we love the president, no matter how many pollsters we declare our undying support to, Mitt Romney will be our next president. 94% of nothing is nothing. The real number that matters is the number of us who register, overcome the voter ID obstacles, and cast our votes to reelect President Barack Obama in 2012!
August 26, 2012 at 5:50 pm
I believe the largest number of blacks whn refuse to vote are those who are receiving Government assistance. You have religious groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses who encourage their membership to not vote. That is a major problem.
August 27, 2012 at 9:56 pm
Any church that tells their congregation not to VOTE then the PEOPLE should STOP putting MONEY in the collection plate, They indeed don’t have the community best interest at heart, and only interesting in benifiting off the misery of their people.
August 31, 2012 at 11:16 pm
Amen!
August 28, 2012 at 6:52 am
It’s all a manipulation..
Obama the “saivor” has saved noone but his satanist allies. Weither Obama wins the election or not we’re STILL headed backwars as a people, as a nation.. Freedom is quickly becomming a thing of the past..
August 29, 2012 at 5:46 am
Why don’t you leave the U.S. then? Love it and fight for it or leave . Obama-slamming is not well received… I read Mormons believe that the shade of Black folks are based on the sins in their prior life, I don’t know if it true or not, but is this the idiot you want in office?
August 30, 2012 at 4:21 am
..and go where??
The same tactics are being used throughout the world.. This is what I’m talking about. It’s not JUST an Obama/USA thing. It’s a GLOBAL thing. Do you not see what’s going on in the world today?? The world’s economy is in shambles, wars being ENGINEERED over oil, drugs and money. The housing crisis just to name a few and I ask you, “Who’s left paying for it all??
Hmmmmmm…
August 30, 2012 at 4:35 am
Obama(like the rest of them) has PROVEN to be a LIAR!!!
I see absolutely no inroads through his 1st four yrs. in office. What I DO see is the vast majority of policies set by the Bush administration being continued. What I DO see is lots of speeches followed by little or no action. What I DO see is a man enjoying rockstar praise and adolation from you and I but the benefits and relief of his presidency being given to the banks, big oil and others. WhatI DO see is a MAN RAISING UNPRESSIDENTED sums of money and he channels none of it back to the people but to big business.. THAT’S WHAT I SEE!!
Granted, Obama has been blocked damn near every step of the way by the republician controlled side of washington.. Was this all in the plans all along??? Did “They” forsee this?? Hmmmmmmmm..
August 30, 2012 at 9:30 pm
I honestly believe that President Obama has gotten in over his head and that one term is enough! Had he approved the keystone pipeline,I would have gave him another shot even jn spite of Obama care. Unemployment has been at 8% for 42 consecutive months and not to mention blaming Bush constantly! There are other issues as well!