[Marxism] Crossover white vote rallying to Clinton in Indiana

[Fred Feldman]

The article that follows these comments comes from the New York Times and
MSNBC.

In my opinion, we dare never forget that a racist campaign is being waged
against Sen. Barack Obama. This is regardless of what he says and what he
specifically stands for. He is under attack because to a significant degree,
he comes out of the broader US Black community and has won its support. And
because, whatever may have gone on sporadically (and except in the Black
townships in the US, Black representation has always come only from the
Black townships: Newark, Detroit, Philadelphia, and other like "Black"
cities. Name me a two-term Black governor. There have been two Black US
Senators since Reconstruction. Three Black mayors of a really multiracial
towns (Goode in Philadelphia, Bradley in Los Angeles, Dinkins in New York)
and LA has not had a Black mayor since -- nor has New York.) Does Cleveland,
where Stokes became the first Black mayor of a major city since
Reconstruction.) 

In my opinion a lot of comrades tend to be complacent today about the scope
of Black representation within the bourgeois politics of this country, and
this makes the idea of a Black president seem like a rather minor, and not
really worth having. Rather like the dismissive way some treat the end of
white political power in South Africa, as though what is it worth since the
economic and social problems have worsened for the masses. As a result, a
note of nostalgia for the Good Old Days tends to appear in comments on 
South Africa (back in those days, they didn't have to pay for water). The
tone looks backward rather than forward, and thus is completely alien from
the core mood of the Black masses, who are not ready to dismiss what they
won and are looking for a way forward, not backward to the good old days
when there was no AIDs and life was easier.

I too prefer that Obama rather than any other candidate won this election. I
would even more like Cynthia McKinney to win but, except for propagandistic
education which I value greatly and will cast my own vote on that basis, she
is NOT a contender and cannot be. The racial issue, which is being posed
sharply point-blank and repeatedly in this campaign, cannot be ignored by
anybody except at the price of placing oneself outside anything resembling
real politics in this racist country still ruled by a racist state machine.
Not in contrast with being imperialist, but as a fundamental consequence of
its imperialist character.

We shouldn't devote all our time to lambasting Obama for his wrong stand on
Wright. I've said my piece on this and I take nothing back. Obama and Wright
are both being subjected to a racist political witch-hunt, and they both
deserve defense. Under ferocious pressure, Obama has responded to the
witch-hunt the way that liberals customarily do, that is by joining the
attack on someone else. (Remember the liberal stand on communists in the
McCarthy period.) In doing so, he has made things easier (I think) for the
racist attack on himself, which is being extended in North Carolina and
Louisiana, at least, to anyone who supports him.

Fighting this racist campaign in all its components has to be a priority for
the left, period.

Black people and an unprecedented number of white allies, including in the
working class, are trying to accomplish a change in US politics which,
contrary to what was becoming customary complacency in US politics,  is an
uphill battle against powerful enemies. These issues are bringing the Black
nationality to the center of US politics in a way not seen for a long time.
It is straining the unity of the Democratic Party in almost unprecedented
ways.

Above all, we should not confuse the deep national feelings of the Black
masses with racist sentiments (even ones we defend as justified). Noone in
this country is so desperate to get beyond racial divisions as the Black
masses in this country -- not the "nonracialism" of Clinton and McCain in
which the attitudes of the whites become the gold standard of nonracialism
to which all Blacks must aspire to assimilate.  Why didn't you walk out of
that church when he attacked "America," and so on. While Clinton has
breakfast with her antigay, anti-abortion, "middle American" white cleric
once a month.	




NYT: GOP crossing over to vote for Dems 
Economy, discontent over Bush policies drive some; spoilers out there too
By Larry Rohter
The New York Times
updated 3:01 a.m. ET, Sat., May. 3, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS - Until now, Shirley Morgan had always been the kind of voter
the Republican Party thought it could count on. She comes from a family of
staunch Republicans, has a son in the military and has supported Republican
presidential candidates ever since she cast her first ballot, for Richard M.
Nixon in 1972.

But this year Mrs. Morgan exemplifies a different breed: the Republican
crossing over to vote in the Democratic primary. Not only will she mark her
ballot for Senator Barack Obama in the May 6 primary here, but she has also
been canvassing for him in the heavily Republican suburbs of Hamilton
County, just north of Indianapolis - the first time she has ever actively
campaigned for a candidate.

"I used to like John McCain, but he's aligning himself too closely with what
Bush did, and that's just not what I want for this country," Mrs. Morgan,
who is 56, said when asked to explain her rejection of the presumptive
Republican nominee.

Since the start of the primary and caucus season in January, Republican
voters have been crossing over in increasing numbers to vote in Democratic
contests - supplying up to 10 percent of the vote in states that allow such
crossover voting - and they are expected to play a pivotal role in the
fiercely contested primary here. What is less clear, however, is the
motivation for their behavior: are they genuinely attracted by the two
Democratic candidates? Or are they mischief-making spoilers, looking to
prolong a divisive Democratic fight or support a candidate Mr. McCain can
beat in November?

Local Republican Party leaders in Indiana concede the attraction of the
Democratic candidates to some of their party members. And interviews with
roughly a dozen Republican voters in central Indiana suggest that they are
driven mainly by concerns about the economy, with discontent over Bush
administration policies driving their involvement in the Democratic race.

"Much as I like John McCain as a war hero, I am fearful he does not have the
depth of experience to fix the economy," said Darlene Boatman, 62, a
just-retired sales clerk who favors Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. "We're
all struggling here to make ends meet. I haven't had health care coverage in
about 10 years and jobs are fewer and farther between. The economy is my
biggest concern, and I think Hillary has the best understanding of how to
pull off the recovery we need."

Clinton's share of crossover vote growing
The drift has given some comfort to Democrats worried about the searing
divisions in their party. Surveys of voters leaving the polls and official
vote tabulations indicate that both Mr. Obama, of Illinois, and Mrs.
Clinton, of New York, have benefited from the Republican crossover vote,
though to different degrees and in patterns that vary by state. 

Initially, Mr. Obama seemed to be getting the bulk of the vote, attracting
moderate Republicans who quickly came to be known as Obamacans and lacing
his stump speech with references to them. But more recently, Mrs. Clinton's
share of the crossover vote has grown. 

In Wisconsin's Feb. 19 contest, for example, Mr. Obama got about
three-quarters of the votes cast by those identifying themselves as
Republicans. In Texas' March 4 primary, though, he and Mrs. Clinton split
the Republican vote almost evenly, while in Mississippi on March 11, she
outpolled him among Republicans by a three-to-one margin.

Even some states without open primaries seem to have experienced crossover
voting. In the Pennsylvania vote on April 22, voter surveys indicated that
about 5 percent of those voting in the Democratic primary were Republicans
who switched their party registration; they split their vote almost evenly
between the two candidates.

Here in Indiana, both Democratic candidates are sending surrogates to
campaign in traditionally Republican areas they might have ignored in years
past, including in Hamilton County, Indiana's fastest-growing and most
affluent county.

"We're getting a lot of inquiries from Republicans asking how do you do it,
how do you cross over," Dan Parker, the Democratic Party state chairman,
said in an interview here. "It's been our No. 1 request for the past two
months."

Rush Limbaugh's campaign clouds the picture
Clouding the picture, however, is a campaign by Rush Limbaugh, the radio
talk show host, urging his listeners to cast their ballots for Mrs. Clinton
"if they can stomach it," in order to prolong the Democratic race and weaken
the eventual winner. 

"They're in the midst of tearing themselves apart right now," Mr. Limbaugh
said in an interview with Fox News just before the Texas and Ohio primaries
on March 4. "It's fascinating to watch, and it's all going to stop if
Hillary loses."

But Republican voters interviewed here said that Mr. Limbaugh was not a
factor in their decision to vote in the Democratic primary, and that it was
the issues that propelled them. 

"I disagree with the Democrats on things like abortion and immigration, but
I feel that the Republican Party I grew up in is out of touch with the
middle-class family," said Dave Nichols, 40, the owner of a small
memorabilia business in Fort Wayne, who has heard of Mr. Limbaugh's effort
and is supporting Mrs. Clinton.

Mr. Nichols said he had no health insurance and lived on a block where three
houses were in foreclosure. "McCain doesn't have an economic plan," he said
"We're in a recession and need relief now, but he wants to keep spending all
that money over there in Iraq when there are so many things we need here at
home, from infrastructure to health care." 


Will votes carry over to November?
Republican officials like Murray Clark, the state party chairman in Indiana,
say that the extent of the crossover phenomenon has been "greatly
exaggerated" and that in any case it does not serve the party's interests,
because it draws potential Republican voters away from deciding other, more
local races. 

Mr. Clark acknowledged what he called "heightened interest" in the
Democratic primary, but argued that Republican-leaning independents, rather
than "reliable and consistently Republican voters," accounted for the bulk
of the shift. 

"It's probably a stretch to call it a crossover vote," Mr. Clark said. "This
is a unique situation. The circus is in town, and people want to go. This
provides them an opportunity. But when the circus leaves town, we'll have
six months of opportunities to contrast their candidate with ours."

Indeed, some of the crossover Republicans here who back Mr. Obama said they
would vote for Mr. McCain in November if Mrs. Clinton ends up getting the
Democratic nomination, while some of those supporting Mrs. Clinton said the
same of Mr. Obama. But others said they simply could not imagine gravitating
back to the Republican camp in this election.

"I would probably not vote, or maybe look at a third party," said Becky
Kapsalis, who lives in Carmel, Ind., and describes herself as "a 70-year-old
white woman for Barack Obama." 

"I respect McCain for what he's done, his patriotism and devotion," Ms.
Kapsalis said, "but I just don't think he has the heart to lead us, and he
doesn't speak to my heart the way this Barack Obama man does."

This article, Republicans Crossing Over to Vote in Democratic Contests ,
originally appeared in The New York Times.


Copyright C 2008 The New York Times 
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24437039/