Thursday, 22 May 2008
Painting Kentucky Racists
« People Upset Over Lack Of Cross Party Voting | Main | Lunsford Fails Economics 101 »The Courier Journal today had an article on how Kentucky's racism accounted for Obama's beatdown in Kentucky. They used Oregon as a counterpoint.
In Kentucky and Oregon, nearly nine of every 10 voters Tuesday were white.
But the results in the two states' presidential primaries were very different.
Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois got 30 percent of the vote in Kentucky; in Oregon he received nearly 60 percent....
It's difficult to escape the conclusion that Kentucky's racial attitudes played a significant role in the outcome of Tuesday's primary.
"This was so overwhelming of a win, and partly it was an endorsement of (Sen. Hillary) Clinton. But partially it was a rejection of Obama," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "And I think race is part of it."
It is has to be racism which is the difference. Or it could be that Oregon is far to the left of the center politically while Kentucky is right of center politically. I think this plays out by the fact that Clinton beat Obama in a group he usually carried.
In Kentucky, however, she also won a majority of voters with college degrees, a demographic group that has generally appealed to Obama in other states.
Stir into the equation the fact that Hillary has consistently done well with Kentucky's largest demographic, blue collar workers without an education, and you have the makings of a blow out of large proportions. Which is exactly what we saw unfold on Tuesday.
Many of Hillary's core voters are "Reagan Democrats" so don't be surprised if many of them move to McCain this fall. They more naturally align themselves politically with McCain than the elitist liberal, Obama. I expect the "racism" meme will be the excuse the liberal media use when Obama gets trounced in November. And not the fact that he is just another McGovern/Carter replay.
