It’s not about race
A report out today suggests that the intense anger about President Barack Obama from conservative Republicans is not race-based, it’s ideological. The report was based on focus groups conducted by Democracy Corps (run by James Carville and Stan Greenberg) and analyzed by research and consulting firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research.
The report says the media need to “get over” ascribing the furor to racism. From the report:
Instead of focusing on these intense ideological divisions, the press and elites continue to look for a racial element that drives these voters’ beliefs - but they need to get over it. Conducted on the heels of Joe Wilson’s incendiary comments at the president’s joint session address, we gave these groups of older, white Republican base voters in Georgia full opportunity to bring race into their discussion - but it did not ever become a central element, and indeed, was almost beside the point.
The report also said that conservative Republicans feel like an oppressed minority. From the Democracy Corps website:
The self-identifying conservative Republicans who make up the base of the Republican Party stand a world apart from the rest of America, according to focus groups conducted by Democracy Corps. These base Republican voters dislike Barack Obama to be sure – which is not very surprising as base Democrats had few positive things to say about George Bush – but these voters identify themselves as part of a ‘mocked’ minority with a set of shared beliefs and knowledge, and commitment to oppose Obama that sets them apart from the majority in the country.
It’s worth a read. The entire report is here.
Jamie Riley is the P-D letters editor and gatekeeper of the letters blog. Before joining the editorial page in May 2005, she was a reporter and page designer. Jamie lives in University City with her husband, Charles, daughter, Elise, and the world's best Jack Russell terrier, Logan, better known as Stinky. 
The left’s disdain for J.C. Watts, Joe Clark, Clarence Thomas, Walter Williams, Larry Elder, Michael Steel, and many other moderate and conservative black leaders reveals the faults with playing the race card to smear any who dare oppose Obama’s Marxist vision.
If the race card was working, James Carville would be leading the pack trying to play it. The tactic is just worn out and over-exposed.
Damn it!! I was hoping to use the race card a bunch more over the next few years.
The taking over of banks. The taking over of GM and chrysler. Spending 9 Trillion dollars we don’t have. Cap & Trade. Govtt. run Health Care. New taxes on anything and everything.
If anyone doesn’t willingly go along with this insanity they’re racists? Heck yes they are. They must be. God forbid anyone disagree with the actual issue. Obama and Axelrod have been playing the race card since day one. “Oh, by the way… did they tell you I’m black”.
What better way to marginalize 50% of the voters by calling them racists.
It’s not “50% of the voters” yapper!
It’s about 10-15% as a very vocal far right wing neocon fascist coporatist Brown Shirt weblog echochambering yobbo yapper minority!
And, I’m sure people in a room are just going to volunteer that they are a bunch of racists but, have only “pure” motives in opposing Obama, eh?
http://dangerousintersection.org/2009/04/09/rush-limbaugh-is-a-%e2%80%9cbrainwashed-nazi%e2%80%9d/
Tim;
Psst. Hey buddy your Hammer and sickle are showing.
Seriously, how can you ever expected to be taken seriously with that line of drivel? I do hope that you did not use these lines when in front of a judge.
Talk about a looney-toon Leftist Elitist Liberal lapdog.
THanks, Jamie for linking this important report.
I actually went and READ IT.
It says, in essence, that about 20% of the electorate which makes up about 2/3 of “committed Republican Voters”, has these hard nosed views about what is going on in Washington.
They see primarily a hidden agenda to bring about a Socialist state, led by shadowy power interests with Obama as the front man.
So, no, they aren’t racists. They feel silenced because everything they say is trumpeted AS RACISM in the media. To be honest, I happen to think the race issue is way overblown. Racism is a convenient way to silence those you don’t like. And it works, so why not keep doing it?
However, the important things to remember, to me, are these:
1. They still only make up about 20% of the voters overall.
2. Therefore, they are a minority….but an important one. They need to be heard and listened to.
3. The Republican party has a big problem. These voters make up a significant percentage of the republican voters, but they tend to repel those who might otherwise vote republican who are on the ‘edge’.
Based on a lot of the commentary in this space, I’d say this group is over represented here. How about it guys, have I summarized it well? Most important, can you accept that you guys ARE a minority? And your screaming doesn’t tend to attract people to your cause?
Where are the racists holding the monkey see, monkey spend signs? Whatca talkin about willis? Not about racism? Where were the teabaggers during Bush’s reich?
A tillion is ten thousand millions. Why should we not be upset, we spend that in six months? No borrow, from China and others. A good idea? Not about race its about what is right and wrong. I for one do not want to see the end of the USA. No way we can pay off such a dept. Heck a million would go a long way in East St.Louis, maybe get a fire department or trash service. I guess Obama does not care for those kind of people.
“Tiny Tim”…..
Dude… we all can tell when you’ve missed yer meds….
The “race card” has been played to the point obsolescence. Liberals live by it because they always lose on the facts. This misuse of the race card will speed the end of such anachronisms like Affirmative Action. Most people don’t even care about it anymore.