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| Home Front: Politix |
| The Dems' culture war |
| 2008-01-23 |
| William Katz, "Urgent Agenda" Last night's Democratic debate was, if the ratings are accurate, the most watched debate in cable news history. It doesn't surprise me, and we must not assume that there's a sudden surge of interest in the wit and wisdom of Hillary Clinton. The Democratic contest has descended into a personal, bitter, racially tinged brawl, and that gets you an audience. Also, there's a good chance this brawl will go on, become even more bitter, and divide the Democratic Party as it hasn't been divided in decades. We don't only elect a president, we elect a culture. Consider a new poll of California Democrats. Where does Obama's strength lie? It lies among blacks, the educated, the affluent. Clinton's strength? Among women, Latinos, and lower-income voters. Roughly stated, it's a split between the historic, traditional Democratic coalition (Clinton) and the sixties coalition (Obama). I'd point out that the traditional coalition won elections. The sixties coalition won Brownie points in the Nation magazine. Clinton has become the Democrats' Nixon, depending on "the great silent majority." There is a cultural divide in the Democratic Party, and cultural divides, which often have racial aspects, are the hardest to heal. Who will win? The odds favor Clinton, but if the vote is close after the major primaries, we could see a surprise, and it harks back to something Charles DeGaulle once said. He remarked that the graveyards of the world are filled with indispensable men. He was saying, of course, that there are no indispensable men, or women. The raw fact is that the Democrats don't need the Clintons to survive. The party survived after losing Roosevelt, and later Kennedy. But they do need the black vote to survive. Without it, there's no Democratic Party capable of fighting a national election Black stay-at-homes can doom the party. There are party leaders, and superdelegates to the Democratic convention, who know the numbers. There are also Obama supporters, some powerful, who will not hesitate to engage in some blunt intimidation. The ugliness of that intimidation has already begun to show, with suggestions that one must not criticize Obama, that he walks on political water. If the contest is close, intimidation may win out. There is also an element within the Democratic Party that wants to nominate Obama to feel good about themselves, to cleanse themselves of the nation's past. They lose elections, but they love martyrdom. I still think Clinton will pull it out. But there are scars, and they may be permanent. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #1 Also from US INFOWIRE [repost?]> MILLIONAIRE PATRIOT WANTS AMERICANS ARMED AND TRAINED. Dr. Ignatius Piazza - spending his own $$$ to properly train, massively/well-arm ordinary America citizens per his beliefs for America. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-01-23 18:26 |