Latino Journal: National Latino group tells candidates to stop immigration campaign rhetoric

Latino Journal (9/20/08)

National Latino group tells candidates to stop immigration campaign rhetoric

Following presidential campaign sparring between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama on immigration reform, Chairman Hector V. Barreto of The Latino Coalition issued the following statement:

“The Latino Coalition applauds Senators John McCain and Barack Obama for talking about immigration reform. However, the fact is that Senator McCain has demonstrated real leadership in addressing this highly controversial issue.

“Senator McCain risked his political career to find a comprehensive solution to our nation’s complex immigration problem. He has demonstrated a commitment to secure the border, create a guest worker program and to treat immigrants with respect and dignity.

“On the other hand, Senator Obama sided against bipartisan immigration reform legislation and instead with narrow, special interests intent on killing efforts to find real solutions.

“We hope that the next president and Congress will put away the rhetoric and act to fix our broken immigration system. Thanks to the efforts of Senator McCain, a foundation has been laid for meaningful reform. It is in the best interest of our nation, society and economy to complete the job.”

Moderate Voice: Poll: White Democrats’ Racism Could Cost Obama White House

Moderate Voice (9/20/08)

Poll: White Democrats’ Racism Could Cost Obama White House

A new AP-Yahoo News poll finds that white Democrats’ resistance to voting for a black man for President could cost Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama the White House

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And it raises a further, often unmentionable question:

Is it likely that, in the end, Obama will wind up the 21st-century-equivalent of Al Smith, the New York Governor who ran against Herbert Hoover in 1928 and lost in a landslide due to soon-to-explode prosperity and anti-Catholic bigotry? By mid-century a Catholic named Sen. John F. Kennedy, Jr. was elected President, but it was too early for Smith in 1928. In terms of bigotry’s impact on voting, will 2008 be more like 1928 or 1960?

Oliver Willis: Running Vs. History

Oliver Willis (9/20/08)

Running Vs. History

The big takeaway I get from this poll about racial attitudes is that we’ve got a long road to go still for people to be dragged into the 21st century and leave their prejudices behind. I mean, the idea that there are still some people who just go, yep, blacks are boastful, lazy and shiftless in 2008 is kind of sad. Real sad. Maybe the message some get is that the Democrats should have played it safe and nominated a white man.

And maybe Dr. King shouldn’t have rocked the boat… right?

Outside the Beltway: AP: Racists Could Cost Obama Election

Outside the Beltway (9/20/08)

AP: Racists Could Cost Obama Election

A bizarre AP-YahooNews poll finds that racism could be the difference in the election.

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As I’ve noted for months, the media have constructed a meme that, if Obama loses, it’s because he’s black.

Look, there’s no doubt that there are people who simply won’t vote for a black man to be president.  But polling on general attitudes doesn’t tell us much about specific behaviors.

Regular readers will recall a poll in February 2007 showing that Americans were more likely to vote for a black president than a Mormon, an atheist, or a 72-year-old.  94 percent of those surveyed would vote for a black man, whereas only 5 percent would not.  Conversely, a mere 57 percent would vote for a 72-year-old and a whopping 42 percent wouldn’t.

But, as it turns out, the contest will not be between a generic black man and a random 72-year-old.  Instead, it will be between two specific people who will be judged almost entirely as individuals.

USA Today: For Ole Miss, debate marks school’s progress

USA Today (9/28/08)

For Ole Miss, debate marks school’s progress

Two generations ago, bullets flew and tear gas canisters exploded among the magnolias as segregationists fought federal authorities over the court-ordered admission of the first black student to the University of Mississippi.

It was the flagship school in what was then the most defiantly white supremacist state in the union. Now, Ole Miss is a diverse university where racial conflict is a topic for history classes rather than a fact of everyday life, and it’s hosting the first presidential debate featuring a black nominee for a major party.

“I think what we have here is really a confluence of two lines of history, where you have a new Ole Miss, a post-racial Ole Miss, and you have a post-racial black candidate running for president,” said David Sansing, professor emeritus of history at the university. “Nowhere in America could these two forces reinforce each other as they do here at Ole Miss.”

South Florida Times: THE POLITICS OF BLACKNESS: Are black media fair to black Republicans?

South Florida Times (9/20/08)

THE POLITICS OF BLACKNESS: Are black media fair to black Republicans?

And now, since the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee is a black man, not only does the black media totally concentrate their time and space on that candidate, but also viciously demean those black folk who are not in lock-step.

All one has to do is listen to nationally-syndicated black radio and TV hosts to hear the vitriol launched at the Republican presidential and vice-presidential candidates, not to mention the hate-filled comments hurled toward black Republicans during this campaign season.

If black Republicans want to get any positive news about Sen. John McCain or Gov. Sarah Palin, they have to look at FOX News, listen to WIOD or read articles on websites like Townhall.com or RealClearPolitics.com.

Not only can they not read anything positive in the black newspapers or on the black websites, they can’t even call in to black radio programs without getting vehemently attacked or blasted as being traitors or Uncle Toms.

What’s worse is that the black community never gets any good news about black Republicans.  They don’t know that there are some great black commentators like Star Parker, Larry Elder, Harry R. Jackson Jr., Ken Blackwell, Michael Steele, Angela McGlowan, Thomas Sowell, Walter E. Williams, Armstrong Williams, etc.
Gregory Kane is one of the only black conservatives you can read on Black-AmericaWeb.com.

And if you want to hear black conservatives on black radio, for the most part you can’t.  Radio hosts like Michael Baisden, Warren Ballentine, Tom Joyner, etc. are anti-conservatives.  According to The New York Times, black radio is the Liberal Left’s answer to Rush Limbaugh.

Booker Rising: AP-Yahoo News Poll: Racial Prejudices Steer Some White Democrats Away From Obama

Booker Rising (9/20/08)

AP-Yahoo News Poll: Racial Prejudices Steer Some White Democrats Away From Obama

Here are the full poll results. Hold up. There are a couple of methodological flaws that already jump out at me, and I haven’t yet carefully gone through the survey. Agreeing with the statement that “blacks can try harder to succeed” is not necessarily indicative of racial prejudice. It could easily be indicative of a self-help / personal responsibility attitude not linked to race, but yet this possibility is not tested. The survey also indicates that competence is a bigger issue for Sen. Obama with white Democrats and independents than even race, but does not test the possibility that the two indicators are linked.

Wall Street Journal: McCain Camp Says Jeremiah Wright Now Fair Game?

Weekly Standard (9/20/08)

McCain Camp Says Jeremiah Wright Now Fair Game?

Don’t be shocked if you see the McCain campaign pull the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright out of mothballs in new attacks against one-time parishioner, Barack Obama.

McCain advisers say that they see “attack by association” as fair game now, arguing that Obama’s campaign has been using that technique to go after McCain. In particular, the Obama campaign has hammered McCain on the stump and in TV ads on the number of one-time lobbyists working for his campaign. (The McCain campaign is also angry about a Spanish-language TV ad that ties McCain to Rush Limbaugh on immigration, without ever saying that McCain took on Limbaugh and others to fight for comprehensive immigration reform.)

“They played it one way, we played it another way,” said one of McCain’s top advisers, Mark Salter. “Now we’re both going to play it the same way.”

RedState: Racist Democrats may cost Obama the election

RedState (9/20/08)

Racist Democrats may cost Obama the election

The Associated Press speculates that if Barack Obama loses this upcoming election, racism may be the factor the factor which tips the balloting toward John McCain. That racism, they assert, will have been exhibited by Democrats against a Democrat.

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It is the 21st century, yet the same political party which prances a “progressive” dance still harbors some horrible attitudes. And there are plenty of reasons why no one should vote for Obama/Biden; race should not be on the template.

What of the Republican racists? Oh, they’re still out there, but most of them would not vote for a quasi-socialist one-worlder regardless of his race, creed, or color. And we might see in eight years whether or not these people would vote for a woman for President.

New Mexico Politics: Republicans Rush to Denounce C’ de Baca’s Racially Tinged Statements (Updated)

New Mexico Politics (9/20/08)

Republicans Rush to Denounce C’ de Baca’s Racially Tinged Statements (Updated)

Members of the Republican Party are rushing to denounce the statements of Fernando C’ de Baca about Hispanics “won’t vote for a black president” and basically saying Hispanics are racist because the Spanish came here as conquerors while blacks came here as slaves.