Anderson@Large

Who Voted in 2010

As day follows night, black voters are blamed when Democrats lose an election. The 2010 midterm election was no exception.

Election after election, reports show African Americans turn out on Election Day. Democrats’ problem is with white Democrats who don’t show up or white independent voters who abandon them as they did in 2010.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports African Americans increased their share of the electorate, from 11 percent in 2006 (the last midterm election) to 12 percent in 2010. It is noted that black turnout was “not statistically different from the record high in 1998.”

In 2010, the overall turnout rate was 45.5 percent. White turnout was 46.7 percent compared to 43.5 percent for blacks.

There was a gender gap in black voter participation. Black female turnout was 43.5 percent. For black men, the turnout rate was 37.2 percent.

Hispanic and Asian turnout was 31.2 percent and 31.7 percent respectively.

As for Hispanics being “the largest and fastest growing minority,” those numbers don’t mean a thing if they can’t swing an election. And if you can’t vote, you don’t count.

The Census Bureau reports that 33.8 percent of Hispanics age 18 and over are registered to vote.

Tellingly, of the 32,457,000 voting-age Hispanics, 21,285,000 are citizens. Of those eligible to vote, 51.6 percent – 10,982,000 – are registered to vote.

Read more: Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2010 - Detailed Tables

Rep. Waters: ‘Tea Party Can Go to Hell’

Last week, Rep. Maxine Waters asked for permission to “unleash” on President Obama. But she needed no one’s permission to unload on tea partiers.

During a “Kitchen Table Summit” in Inglewood, Calif., Waters said, “As far as I’m concerned, the Tea Party can go straight to hell.”

Mark Meckler and Jenny Beth Martin, co-founders of Tea Party Patriots, fired back. They said in a statement:

We’ve had Democrats calling American citizens “terrorists” and “hostage takers,” and now an elected Democratic representative says that we can “go straight to hell.” The president and all leaders of the Democratic Party, who have called for civility in the past, are neglecting to censure their own. Is civility only required from their opponents? Perhaps it’s time for a new-NEW era of civility. ... The president’s silence on these latest violations of civility has been deafening, but not surprising.

By now, folks should know tea partiers don’t take no mess.

Young Black Voters Turned Out in 2010

A newly released analysis of Census data by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement found that young black voters had the highest youth turnout rate in the 2010 midterm elections.

CIRCLE reported:

In 2010, young African Americans voted at a rate of 27.5%. This was an increase from the 2006 Midterm elections, when 24.0% of young African Americans had voted. The relatively strong showing continues a trend from 2008, when young African Americans showed the highest turnout rate among any youth racial/ethnic group since 1972. Despite lower levels of turnout all around, young African American voters are still relatively engaged politically.

As Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, reminds us, “Don’t believe the hype.” In every election, black voters show up and turn out.

Read more: The Youth Vote in 2010: Final Estimates Based on Census Data

From Cairo to Madison

On Saturday, union members and their allies rallied from coast to coast. Hundreds turned out in Philadelphia's Love Park to show solidarity with the people of Wisconsin.

The speakers at this evening's panel discussion, “Covering Egypt: The Media and the Revolution,” would likely dismiss any comparison between Madison and Cairo.

The program will feature a keynote address by Riz Khan of Al-Jazeera English. If you have never heard of Al-Jazeera English, it's probably because the network is largely unavailable on American cable systems.

The panel discussion will focus on the trending topic of digital media and the popular uprising in Egypt. The panelists will include Jeffrey Ghannam, author of a new report, “Social Media in the Arab World: Leading up to the Uprisings of 2011.”

The event will be streamed live here, beginning at 6:30 pm ET.

CPAC 2011

I am switching gears from all things social and heading to DC for the 38th annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

CPAC will be bookended by two favorites of the Tea Party movement – Rep. Michele Bachmann and Rep. Allen West. Bachmann will speak at the opening plenary session. West, one of two African Americans elected to Congress last year, will deliver the closing remarks.

West tweeted:

I've been asked today to have the honor of giving the closing keynote address at CPAC Saturday. I'm humbled.

I'll be there. This is the second year that I have received a media credential. For real-time updates, follow me on Twitter.

You can view the livestream, beginning at 9 am ET.

Tweet This

A new Pew Internet report found that in the run-up to the 2010 midterm elections, 22 percent of online adults were “political social media users.” They used social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to get involved in a campaign, share political news and information, or encourage their friends to commit to vote.

And unlike in 2008, Democrats do not have an advantage:

Overall, Democratic and Republican voters are equally likely to use social networking sites (among internet users, 58% of Democrats and 54% of Republicans do so). This is a notable change from the 2008 campaign, in which Obama voters were significantly more likely than McCain voters to use these sites, and reflects recent overall trends in social networking site adoption by older adults (who tend to lean Republican in their voting habits). Similarly, both supporters and detractors of the “Tea Party” movement each use these sites at roughly similar rates (54% of internet users who agree with the Tea Party movement and 60% of those who disagree with the group use these sites, a difference that is not statistically significant).

Aaron Smith, a senior research specialist at Pew, said in a statement:

The social networking population as a whole has grown larger and demographically more diverse in recent years, and the same is true when it comes to political activity on social networking sites. These platforms are now utilized by politically active individuals of all ages and ideologies to get news, connect with others, and offer their thoughts on the issues that are important to them.

Read more: 22% of online Americans used social networking or Twitter for politics in 2010 campaign

House Under New Management

As expected, Ohio Rep. John Boehner was elected speaker of the House.

In his opening remarks, Speaker Boehner said:

Let us now move forward humble in our demeanor, steady in our principles, and dedicated to proving worthy of the trust and confidence that has been placed in us. If we brace ourselves to do our duty, and to do what we say we are going to do, there is no telling what together we can accomplish for the good of this great and honorable nation. More than a country, America is an idea, and it is our job to pass on to our posterity the blessings bestowed to us.

I wish you all the very best. Welcome to the people's House. Welcome to the 112th Congress.

I am sure Democrats and late night comedians were disappointed that Boehner did not break down and cry as he delivered his remarks.

Against all odds, a former small business owner who grew up with 11 siblings in a two-bedroom house and one bathroom is in control. Boehner should tell Democrats and assorted haters:

It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to, cry if I want to
You would cry too if it happened to you