There is equally little doubt in my mind that you made the jump from gathering together people who supported Obama, and who objected to racism, and who wanted confirmation that what they were seeing was real, and who weren’t going to take it lying down, into being one of the head cheerleaders for ugly, rampant, and often baseless Hillary hatred. And that you denied, at virtually every turn, the very real sexism that came from the mainstream media, Obama supporters, and Obama’s campaign.

Neither Obama nor his campaign ever intervened to temper any of that bigoted vitriol. It’s an intervention that Clinton and her campaign are equally guilty of not having made regarding the bigoted vitriol re: race.

As a Clinton supporter who will be voting for Obama in November, and trying to do outreach to disillusioned Clinton supporters who might otherwise stay home or vote for McCain, I just want to assure you that the kind of venom you’ve spewed, and the culture of uncritical bonding based on hatred you’ve helped to create and support, will be one of my–and Obama’s–greatest obstacles.

I appreciate the extent to which your post is a step in the right direction. I also hope that you’ll appreciate what I’m saying when I tell you that it may be too little, too late. And that you’ve got a whole lot more work to do towards healing the rift you’ve done so much to create.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t make all that much difference to me whether you do it as the result of sincere soul searching or as political calculation. One way or other, this crap has to stop–on both sides.

I’m an Anglo-Irish Hillary supporter. I am not American. I am not a woman and I am not black. I am a white Anglo-Saxon man. I will not go into my reasons for not supporting Obama (who I have seen on the political radar since circa 2003) but as he takes on the nomination I still have doubts as to whether he can win, but I hope and pray I am wrong.

First of all… you probably don’t know much about UK blogging but you Americans rock at it. Our pathetic efforts seems just like that compared with yours.

As much as I really thought it was an excellent post, it was a shame that the comments did not live up to the standards the author hoped to inspire.

Yes, its been an ugly campaign but it has been ugly on both sides and from both candidates. I can mention plenty of my female friends (both British and American overseas) who have been appalled by Obama’s dog-whistle sexism as well as the sexism shown by the American (and indeed British) media towards Hillary Clinton.

Senator Clinator has her faults – vast and numerous – of course and so does Obama. Clinton can be accused of stirring racism. And while Obama has never said anything directly sexist, he has made some questionable comments whose results have been to pigeon hole Clinton by her gender.

I am equally unsure exactly what Clinton has said that is directly racist?

1) The reference to Johnson and MLK was merely pointing out that the civil rights movement was given traction by a white man. Is that racist?

2) She never called for Obama’s to be assassinated. She merely pointed out that Robert Kennedy was assinated in June while he was *campaigning*.

3) Bill Clinton (not Senator Clinton) pointed out that Jesse Jackson had won primaries. This is the remark I have most problem with and can find no justification.

4) Geraldine Ferraro said that Obama would not be where he was if he was white. But isn’t that true? Its no bad thing. The black vote is hugely important as is the ethnic minority vote in general. To call this racist is unfair.

5) Senator Clinton has said that she commands a majority of white working class votes. Well, isn’t it true? Isn’t it a bit unfair to call that racist. Obama has a constituency (the black vote and the intellectual/liberal vote), Clinton has a consituency too. Obama has failed for the moment to win over the bloc.

Please judge Obama and Clinton by the same standards. They are both flawed. And while Clinton may have to make peace with America’s black community. Obama has to make peace with women as well.

It is to be expected (on both sides). We are from early age conditioned to see by their differences to us and sometimes when we are not on the receiving end of stereotypes we can be insensitive.

I do not think Obama is sexist nor that the Clintons are racist. Both were just unfortunate to be placed in such a sensitive competition. In my view neither of them has emerged from the process very well, “sweetie”. (I will not tell you what my American friend said when she heard that – although she does liek John McCain.)

Until Obama supporters acknowledge this, he will struggle to unite the Democrats.

Oh, and three final things. Its 5am here and I’m knackered. I just wanted to post something on this site as I appreciated the original comment. I would appreciate it if I was not subjected to the general abuse that seems to characterise the blogosphere – calm down guys: freedom carries responsibility with it and freedom of speech is too precious to be abuse and shouted down.

Also, don’t gloat too early guys. I worked out from a poll of polls that at the moment its a much tighter race for Obama than it would have been if the positions had have been reversed. Obama might have beat the Clintons, but he is not yet President. A few years ago the best candidate was beaten by a non-entity from texas. I really have to thank you guys for that one by the way… (Oh. And before you point it out – I apologise on behalf of all of the United Kingdom for Blair, Thatcher and really bad teeth)

And also as someone who heralds from the emerald isle and also who has done work with HIV/AIDS in Africa, I’ll always take my hat off to those Washington insiders, the Clintons….

Who…just lost. And if the Great Winners got beat? Then maybe you can have a little faith in the team that beat them.

I just wanted to say thanks for your recent post, it showed some grace and humanity that I haven’t seen for a while, anywhere, about the divide in the Democratic nomination battle. Of course you and I don’t agree on everything, but i do respect your views. Thanks for reaching out across raw emotions and chaos, much easier to do when your side wins.

For the record I am a 31 year old white woman. And yes, I am a human being who is able to think beyond my uterus and my skin color. It’s nice to not be lumped in with some or no identity.

I read the blog because I want to understand people who don’t think like me. Groups poison themselves all the time by surrounding themselves with people just like them and then losing perspective- Republicans and Democrats are both guilty. Religious groups are probably the most guilty of this though.

I stopped reading JJP for a while because I just couldn’t stand the name calling, and not just Tonya Harding but also handkerchief-head and stuff like that. It’s bad enough that everyone gets reduced to demographic groups every four years to make someone’s job at CNN easier- the Jewish vote, the Catholic vote, the Black vote, the women’s vote, the values vote etc. Because no woman could also be Catholic or working-class or black married to a jew or have these elusive things we call values. It drives me crazy, and I just got sad to see JJP and many others resort to similar tactics. But it’s one of those four years when we all get lumped into groups.

I hate what this race has become. The Dems were supposed to have a hands-down victory but we are still fighting inside the party. Hello McCain…

The only way I will vote for Obama is if Clinton is on the ticket or at least given a job that gives her the respect she deserves. She won a shitload of votes, all the big states, and most of the swing states. Just please stop the gratuitous character assassination. If you think Obama can win without her supporters then fine… Let’s both just work for the McCain campaign instead of picking bones.

At first I thought Obama was all right, but early on I got concerned about his rockstar status in the Democratic party and among the media. Call me crazy but I get a little leery of cults of personality and stadiums full of swooning crowds. Someone who can deliver a speech well doesn’t sell me, I am not that thirsty for kool-aid.

Give me a real reason why I should vote for him- because he’s black? Because some kid in Pakistan will feel better because his middle name is Hussein? Because his record in the Senate is entirely unremarkable? Because he’s pro-choice? Come on, it looks like a house of cards that could so easily fall down.

I am surprised the Wright scandal didn’t take him out, and his speech on race in this country didn’t impress me. There is a lot more than black and white in this country and I don’t think that there’s a context for shared experience like there was in the segregated south, e.g. I don’t like to oversimplify people’s experience and I don’t need some politician to get teachy with me. We this, and we that… Dreams and hopes and change. And I can’t talk about policy specifics to save my life. He’s not my kind of politician, I want someone who can mop the floor in a debate and whose eyes don’t glaze over when talking about social security. And it worries me that his ego seems to love the crowds and the spotlights.

By the way, the democratic party hasn’t cracked yet and is only still alive and viable because of the Clintons. If Obama was going to win anyway, there was no need to slaughter both Clintons on the way to the door, seasoning the dish with rampant MSM collaboration and sexism. I admit it’s not all sexism, the media just loves to hate the Clintons and to punish Hillary for Bill’s mistakes until the cows come home. It’s a good thing poor Chelsea doesn’t have braces anymore, but they’ve gone after her too.

I still remember how important they are- Bill Clinton simply mentioned the word HIV/AIDS and he revolutionized how we treat people, test people, research the disease, and educate people- just one example. Listen, the Clintons are not angels but name a politician who is.

Anyone still standing at this stage in the race has the audacity to think he or she should lead the free world- they are all politicians. And they will all do whatever they have to for election. I am not wowed or astounded by what people will do or say to get elected, they are the most ambitious people in the world. I am suspicious of any candidate who tries to sell ‘new politics’ and moral cleanliness.

I think that Obama’s promise of a ‘new politics’ is bull, because there are no new politics. If there were then Mike Dukakis or John Kerry would have thought of it. I just don’t think Obama can win in the fall, and i like Clinton’s policies better. Obama’s foreign policy kinda weirds me out- let’s get rid of all the current policies that umpteen presidents have employed and do everything in a different way? I don’t buy it, I don’t trust him, I don’t know him, and he’s green.

I am not a racist crazy person, and everytime JJP talks about so-called racist working class whites in Appalachia I will bring up the Democratic weirdos who go to caucauses in Idaho and Wyoming- not exactly the mainstream of the Democratic party. They all get to vote, but they should be proportionally represented by their delegates and Iowa and New Hampshire shouldn’t get dibs on who we elect as President.

I really hate most of the system, like the Texas one- primary _and_caucus?. Every time i hear someone from the Obama camp complain about Clinton wanting to seat the delegates from FL and MI I want to scream. Is it really a good idea to piss off voters in big swing states that have cost entire elections before? They were making a good point…. Iowa, farm subsidies, ethanol, and NH should not be able to rig elections. Ethanol is tearing the global economy apart, making food (even beer) more expensive, and making Brazil want to tear down as much of the Amazon it can. Pardon my French but fuck Iowa.

Howard Dean should make a rule- no caucuses, only primaries. And then he should establish a rotating calendar for which states get to vote when. My suggestion- one day a month in an election year, 10 states vote. Five months go by and then it’s over- no matter where CA and NY fall in the cards. If NH always wants to be the first state, and if we want to avoid amending the constitution, then fine. But nine other states will vote the same day, on a rotating basis. I know primaries are more expensive than caucuses but they’re not nearly as expensive as having a dumb-ass president for 8 years. And sure, group the states geographically if it means that the candidates can save some money by advertising to DC, MD, and VA at the same time. Or NY, NJ, and CT, or whatever.

I am not a Democrat who likes to lose, which seems to be pretty easy in the last couple of decades. I want to win for crying out loud and i don’t think Obama can do it. One thing about republicans is that they are good at winning, and we are good at losing. And we can’t blame Karl Rove or the John Kerry windsurfing ad- we just suck at this. Except for the Clintons.

Bests,

Ms. Irish

I wholeheartedly agree that Obama and his camp should help out in the healing process, but I’m also glad you pointed out that the initiation of healing needs to come from the Clintons, because their egos drove them to do the most damage and caused the most divisiveness in the Democratic Party.

You have given me inspiration for a post on the CBC, now that Obama has secured the nomination. It’s time to get on with the business of defeating John McCain, and I, for one, will be glad to reduce Hillary Clinton to a mere footnote in this saga.

The point being made here is the similarity between the reactions of Clinton *supporters* and that of Obama *supporters*, and the fact that they were reacting to similar insults — albeit in the case of Clinton supporters, insults NOT coming from Obama but from media operatives, and frankly Republican media operatives in many cases.

The writer makes very clear that Obama and Clinton in fact behaved very differently from each other — and exhorts us to follow Obama’s lead, not Clinton’s. It’s a good piece or writing.

Wow thanks for stopping by with that youtube link. I didn’t see it so much before but I can now see why Clinton supporters closed ranks around her and got much more defensive. I don’t agree with all of it (like the 99 problems song, “periodically”, monster and the pictures of Obama looking down on Hillary and some other things seemed exaggerated to me) but I am sure Clinton supporters disagree with some things Obama supporters perceived as racist.

As a mixed (black/white) woman, I thought I was seeing both sides but the alienation I felt by the misuse of the word woman to mean middle class white women must have cut me off from seeing those tings. I also live overseas so don’t have much access to American MSM. It does however look like there was much less attention in the MSM on the sexist attacks than the other way around. Can other people back this up? That’s the way it’s looking.

I must admit through most of it, I was wondering why Clinton wasn’t speaking out against the racism (when it wasn’t coming from her…) but yeah, where was Obama on speaking out against sexism?

I guess the lesson is divide and conquer works! This whole thing is just really, really sad.

And the emotionalism around it is quite frightening – that we can get whipped up into a frenzy like that. I was fortunately able to snap out of the frenzy some months ago but probably because I live overseas so again don’t get the same exposure to MSM. For me the media and Clinton’s use of racism just didn’t match with the overwhelming numbers of white people (and others) who were voting for Obama. That doesn’t mean that racism doesn’t exist, it just signalled to me a lot of people aren’t invested in it as much as before.

I am left feeling very cynical about American politics in general but particularly disillusioned with the Dems. If there were actual differences between the candidates, I think there’d be a lot less silly.

Maybe conversations like this will lead us back to our right minds though but it won’t fix the political system unfortunately. Thanks Jack for starting this conversation!

It’s also like having your white coworkers be astounded to find out that you don’t care much for Rice as a Secretary of State, even though they know where you are on the political spectrum.

Here’s a link to a video documenting sexism FROM the Obama campaign:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke64670GkZ8

(Pretty sure it’s made by a Clinton supporter)

My experience as a Clinton supporter is that I’ve lost all sense of perspective…I used to blog about racial/ethnic, economic and gender inequality; poverty; affordable housing; and Katrina recovery, until this election took over my life. And that’s just one example of how captive to this whole thing I’ve become. I think that many of us on both sides are projecting all sorts of feelings and desires on to these 2 candidates – that they’ve become figureheads (and not very good ones, in their centrist, insider ways, IMO) for the cultural and political battles we personally fight day in and day out. I think I’m most disappointed in my own loss of cynical criticism of the overall political structure in this country in my zeal over a female contender.

And the timeline on the hardening of and b/w supporters is so short. I supported both candidates financially and vocally last fall, voted for Clinton on 2/5, but have only become convinced her righteousness in the last couple of months. Please. I have come to believe more strongly in the last couple of months that she’s the stronger candidate, but I’m ashamed of myself for making her candidacy my particular fight du jour, when I’m so normally focused on policy battles, community organizing, local economic development, and attempts to hold our politicians’ feet to the fire. It’s been a fascinating but cognitively dissonant ride, that’s for sure.

Maybe I am wrong, but I think the Clinton supporters who simply preferred Hillary for reasons other than racism and some weird anger displacement won’t even need convincing or reaching out. They would rather see Obama win than McCain since Obama’s policies are closer to Clinton’s.

I think absense of Obama hate would be how you could spot a person who supported Clinton simply because they preferred her politics and personality. Supporting Clinton didn’t require hating Obama because he didn’t attack her in a dirty way. Yes, he twisted facts to his favor but unfortunately that’s politics and it usually doesn’t make you jump parties.

But maybe I am wrong. I’d love it if someone interviewed Clinton supporters so we’d understand how they saw it. I just don’t buy the media sexism = Obama sucks, I am voting McCain

I’ll gladly try and convince anyone I think can be convinced to support our nominee, but I don’t see the point in wasting time and effort on those “Democrats” who would rather see a Republican president than a black one.

It’s just like at work, a “well meaning” white women will want to introduce the black part-time Pinkerton security guard with the gold tooth to her college educated professional track black female coworker. And the white woman will say, “he’s tall, he’s black, y’all will hit it off.” And then she wonders why her black female coworker is not thrilled with this match. She figures, he black, you black, so you two should hit it off.

That’s the same mentality that’s going on with this campaign. None of these bobbleheads are bothering to ask black people WHY they are voting for Obama over Clinton, they are just assuming, “He black, you black, so that’s why you’re voting for him.”

That’s basically what Bill Clinton said back in South Carolina.

That’s straight up what Geraldine Ferraro’s been saying since February.

And if you as a black person spell out why, you’re labeled a hater or a racist.

None of these people, the white female coworker, Clinton, Ferraro, the MSM etc. want to see or accept what they are doing, which is telling me what I’m thinking because I’m black.

And it’s not just black people they are doing it to, they are telling “hard working white Americans” what they are thinking because they’re “hard working white Americans,” and they are telling Latinos what they are thinking because they are Latinos.

As a mixed (black) woman, I agree with the other black women here that the attacks on Hillary were not attacks on women – they were attacks on well off, educated, ambitious white women. Black women are completely ignored and if we happen to inconvenience anyone by putting a toe in the spotlight and get attacked, we aren’t treated like hysterical women that need to get back to caring for our husbands and children – no we get the “nappy-headed hos” treatment with ALL that implies.

So while the educated, ambitious wealthy white men in those clips were attacking other educated, ambitious, wealthy white women to cut down on the competition, I as a mixed woman felt nothing but some sympathy for the white women (because I am not cold-hearted) but I knew it had NOTHING to do with me as a mixed woman. Nothing.

So I think it is very positive that you have become more aware of the bs that gets thrown at successful white women. I would like more focus on the severe underrepresentation of women of color.

I agree with the other women of color her that it is violence to erase us. This campaign and the media’s use of the word “woman” makes Sojourner Truth’s speech “Ain’t I am woman?” almost as relevant today as it was in 1851 and that is sad. Here’s a link to it: http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/genwom/sojour.htm

I changed my stance for a moment after she attempted to call for violence against Senator Obama in delivering the assassination code word to the lunatic fringe. A few days after I’d gotten over being absolutely appalled at her cruel, win-at-any-cost words and deeds, I went back to maintaining that she should remain in the race until the last primaries were over. Now that day is here and she’s still unwilling to step aside, still trying to do whatever she can to discount his winning the nomination.

Being a black woman born and raised at the beginning and through the height of both the black and women’s rights movements, I understand her perfectly, however; I do not agree nor can I countenance the language or the methods that she and some of her white feminist supporters have used to denigrate Senator Obama because she lost so much and so often when she thought she would win.

Now we’ve come to the end of the long, long primary season and it is clear that she cannot win, and I find that I still do not like her refusal to acknowledge that it is over for her campaign.

I do not like that she continues to challenge his right to be the nominee despite the olive branches he continues to graciously offer to her in the form of apologies for others’ words of truth, among other instances of absolute grace. No matter how conciliatory and gracious he is to her, she tries to turn it against him, to make him the monster that she is.

At this time, I do not have the ability to ‘understand’ her extremely poor manners and obnoxious behavior.

And you know something else? As I type this, Senator Obama only needs 35 more delegates to clinch the nomination. Yet I am certain that she’s lied to his campaign, maybe even to him, that she will concede tonight but has instructed her surrogates to refute this through corporate broadcast media.

I do not believe that the AP is getting this wrong; I’d stake my life on it that she agreed to concede with the Obama campaign. She’s still lying, attempting in every way she can to destroy his credibility and his moment as the official presumptive nominee.

She is nothing nice and neither is her lying husband, Billy Jeff.

So no, I cannot attempt to understand her at this time.

All of your frustrations with the Clintons is understandable and in the heat of the moment, it is hard to keep civility.

During the recent “FL/Mich voters are being suppressed, we are winning the popular vote,” crapola, I find myself yelling at the TV while Obama surrogates kept calm and above the fray.

Of all the post HRC election obits I have read so far, the conclusion of her annoymous advisors is they messed up the Caucus systems and Super Tuesday strategy was a dud.

While I agree with those points, I think her pro war stances gave Obama an opening in a 2008 Democratic contest.

The most overlooked factor that I have not seen discussed in the MSM is Hillary’s complete alienation of the African American Community.

People forget the media writing articles before Iowa pondering if Obama was “black enough,” and then all of sudden he is pulling 90 percent of the AA vote in every contest.

I long ago thought the 2nd test of Obama’s after Iowa would be convincing black women in South Carolina to vote for him. The Clinton’s had mad respect and long ties in the AA community.

He not only had a strong showing but the Clitnons totally miscalculated and threw away the AA vote for no real good reason other than to convince white voters into thinking Obama was a scary black guy.

The AA community noticed these Southern Strategy like campaign tactics and took it out on the Clintons in the voting booth.

They were voting not only for Obama but also against the Clintons, who willingly and purposedly dissed them after overwhelmingly helping Bill/Hillary attain political power for years. It was painfully obvious by “MLK, Roll the Dice, Drug Dealer, Jessee Jackson.”

I do not understand how any reasonable person can not see the truth of Clinton’s racial divide tactics.

Sex and the Sissy

My favorite passage among MANY:

So, to address the charge that sexism did her in:

And because the charge of sexism is all of the above, it is, ultimately, undermining of the position of women. Or rather it would be if its source were not someone broadly understood by friend and foe alike to be willing to say anything to gain advantage.

Thank you so much.

::

rikyrah, I just call it as I see it and I saw it from DAY ONE when they emerged on the national scene.

And I didn’t need to do any research.

I think this speaks to adam’s point. Those who were bamboozled by the madness of their royal couple will be the last soldiers to wage an offensive against them.

::

That’s not rational support. It’s reactionary support. Which is no support at all because it’s a projection.

It’s false.

I don’t need to understand a person who would say that.

She doesn’t understand herself.

Besides which, the “sexist media coverage” of Nixon’s campaign is pure bull.

I cannot put the blame on the Republicans for this one.

This one belongs to the Clintons and their crew.

I’ve often wondered why Bill Richardson ran over to the Obama side and why he looked like had just been freed from some shackles when he got there.

I’ve concluded that Bill Richardson looked at the Clintons with horror and thought to himself, “What if I was the front runner? What racial games would they play on me?”

If Bill Richardson was the front runner, would the Latino vote be dismissed? Would the Clintons have tried to link Richardson with illegal immigrants? Would Fox be running videos of illegals jumping over the border 24-7? Would Hannity be crying about La Raza and trying to link Richardson with Latino activists?

And then when Richardson did go over to the Obama side, the attacks on him were much more violent than when Robert Reich went over to the Obama side? I wonder if his suspicions about what the Clintons would have done to him if he were the front runner were confirmed.

Why am I talking about Bill Richardson? Because the same thing that happened to Barack Obama because he’s black would have happened to Bill Richardson because he’s Latino, the same racial attacks and suspicions.

Hillary Clinton and her Crew basically said “If you are not white, you need to fall back and wait your turn, and the length of your wait is to be determined by US. If you don’t, we are going to make sure white people don’t vote for you.”

I wonder how many black politicians/candidates are wondering if somebody is snooping on their churches, trying to dig up dirt on them through their place of worship?

And if you are Muslim or not the right kind of Christian (i.e. Romney) you need not apply at all.

I don’t think Hillary Clinton and her enablers need to be soothed and coddled. They need to be blasted and called out and the Democratic party needs to be called out for the spineless wimps they are. IMO they’ve fractured this country along racial, religious and class lines just for personal gain and I’m not sure that political damage is going to be repaired, at least not any time soon.

Whenever I think about her campaign, I think about Bush and his relationship with the Religious Right.

Simply put, he played them for votes.

His campaign played into their fears and promised that when he was president, America would be “pure” again.

Did it happen? Nope.

And slowly, the evangelicals began to realize they had been played and are now (some of them at least) considering supporting Obama.

Sen. Clinton did the same thing, playing off people’s fears in a ridiculous quest to win an election she lost in March.

Once the smoke clears and her supporters realize they were played for fools, the real backlash against her will begin.