Election Day is 14 days away.
Democrats are in a panic and are looking to their most loyal voting bloc, African Americans, to beat back the Republican wave. They are not too proud to beg and plead for black voters’ sympathy even though some have casts votes that were not in the interest of African Americans.
Jamelle Bouie at The American Prospect writes:
I’m a little amused by this. Despite representing large numbers of black people -- an average of 25.4 percent -- these lawmakers have consistently voted against President Obama’s major initiatives. With the sole exception of Rep. Tom Perriello, each has opposed -- or actively disparaged -- policies supported by a large majority of African American voters. As far as their immediate self-interest is concerned, these voters have no real reason to support their incumbent representatives.[…]
As a matter of long-term politics, though, I worry about this categorical support for Democratic candidates; the longer Democrats don’t have to worry about losing African American voters, the longer Democratic representatives can take advantage of their black support. Unfortunately, there’s not much of an alternative. Republicans don’t need black votes to win, and as such, have no real stake in advancing African American interests. The only conceivable strategy is for black voters to sit out an election, but that’s just as likely to inspire enmity as it is to force engagement with their interests. African American voters are in a tough spot, to say the least.
As a longtime advocate for African Americans getting a fair return for the investment of their political capital, I am not amused that black voters and their leaders are in the same old trick bag.
