Yes...this is about "blackness"...and Hillary is courting the bigots - Part 2

***UPDATE***

I condensed the two parts and made it into a Daily Kos Diary. It's getting quite a response!

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(Part 1 link)

Now, the Clintonites have stepped up the racial rhetoric. Ms. Ferraro decided to join those Hillary surrogates who are "playing the race card." From DKos:

More classiness, from one of Clinton's top surrogates, Geraldine Ferraro.

If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.

Ferraro isn't some unknown lower-level or obscure advisor, but one of her top fundraisers, member of Clinton's finance committee, and a former Democratic vice presidential nominee.

And in case folks think this was "just a slip" here's Ms. Ferraro during an interview two weeks ago - from DKos:



I was actually much more offended by the way Ms. Ferraro disdainfully said "the blacks" when she discussed Mr. Lewis changing his Superdelegate vote to Obama.

Thanks again to the intrepid bloggers at Daily Kos, we find that Ms. Ferraro has had that little gem in her toolbox for a long time. From The Washington Post April 1988:

And former representative Geraldine A. Ferraro (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that because of his "radical" views, "if Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race."

Asked about this at a campaign stop in Buffalo, Jackson at first seemed ready to pounce fiercely on his critics. But then he stopped, took a breath, and said quietly, "Millions of Americans have a point of view different from" Ferraro's.

Discussing the same point in Washington, Jackson said, "We campaigned across the South . . . without a single catcall or boo. It was not until we got North to New York that we began to hear this from Koch, President Reagan and then Mrs. Ferraro . . . . Some people are making hysteria while I'm making history."

These are not slips, these are not "senior moments" these are intentional. It is intentional like the "blackening" and "widening" of Obama's face. It is just as intentional as not acknowledging that Obama is and always has been a Christian and not a Muslim, or insinuating that Obama is African not American.

And looking at the exit polls, we can see the polarization:

The state has a larger proportion African-Americans (36 percent, according to the 2000 census) than any other state in the country. And black voters make up nearly 70 percent of registered Democrats.

But Mississippi white voters overwhelmingly backed the New York senator, supporting her over Obama 72 percent to 21 percent.

According to the Associated Press, only two other primary states were as racially polarized -- neighboring Alabama, and Clinton's former home state of Arkansas.

The exit polls also indicated roughly 40 percent of Mississippi Democratic voters said race was an important factor in their vote, and 90 percent of those voters supported Obama.

In Ohio, roughly one in five voters said race factored into their decision. About 60 percent of those voters picked Clinton over Obama.

Hillary spent tons of money and time in Ohio and Pennsylvania while vitually ignoring Mississippi. She claims it was because of the large delegate count. I believe as many do that, like Ohio, the demographics are in her favor...mostly white, blue collar, less educated. My addition - more likely to be racist. I say this as an educated woman coming from a biofamily of uneducated Ohio factory workers who (along with their friends) have mostly rejected my daughter.

Don't take my word for it, let's get some backup from the Wall Street Journal.

Demographically, Beam writes, Pennsylvania is “nearly identical” to Ohio, which Clinton won: “86 percent white, compared to Ohio’s 85 percent. Same with its African-American population: 10 percent compared to Ohio’s 12 percent.” But within that picture, it really is three states: The west, dominated by Pittsburgh; the east, dominated by Philadelphia, and the “wide-open, rural” areas of the center dominated by Republicans. Clinton has the support of 13 of the state’s super delegates, Obama four, with nine still undecided. Clinton has been endorsed by the mayor of Philadelphia and Gov. Ed Rendell, who, “while perhaps not the state’s most important endorser, is certainly the loudest.”

Hmmmm...what does Clinton endorser Gov. Rendell have to say about his state? Oh...he says that Pennsylvania is "too racist" to vote for Obama!

“You’ve got conservative whites here, and I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate,” he said bluntly. Our eyes only met briefly, perhaps because the governor wanted to spare the only black guy in the room from feeling self-conscious for backing an obvious loser. “I believe, looking at the returns in my election, that had Lynn Swann [2006 Republican gubernatorial candidate] been the identical candidate that he was –well-spoken [note: Mr. Rendell did not call the brother “articulate”], charismatic, good-looking — but white instead of black, instead of winning by 22 points, I would have won by 17 or so.”

I spent my High School years in Philadelphia during the build-up to the Move members house being bombed by the police (5 children killed). Pittsburgh, formerly a factory town, now has the dubious distinction of having on of the poorest, most segragated black population in the country.

Like in Ohio, it doesn't look to me like a lot in Pennsylvania has changed...at least not fast enough. We always knew that she was targetting the bigger states - however, I'm not sure we always knew or at least discussed ALL of the reasons why.

Everything that I have ever heard or seen regarding the Clintons portrays them as savvy, brilliant, cutthroat politicians and campaigners and that very little is tossed out there without discussion and practice. I believe an overwhelming amount of evidence is there to point to the Clinton rhetoric specifically targetting racial bigots in order to garner their votes. I also believe THAT is one of the BIG REASONS that so many African American voters are more polarized than ever towards Obama.