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Did I Miss Something? Is Pennsylvania Racist?
I just read this article featuring the (apparently now famous) quotation from James Carville that, Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with a great "Alabama" in between.
I've been to Pennsylvania once or twice, but don't know the first thing about its demographics or political leanings. But, the article (and recent chit-chat a la Ferraro) makes me wonder two things: 1) Is the Pennsylvania electorate typically considered to be racist, and 2) If so, is it possible that HRC and her campaign are letting the Ferraro mess hang around in order to get the racist Penn. vote? After all, I don't think Pennsylvania (or the grand expanse of "Alabama" within Pennsylvania) has the huge AA turnout that SC has, so the controversy won't have the same outcome in Penn that it did in SC.
I'm asking this just to learn more - like I said, I don't know the first thing about Pennsylvania other than what I've seen from the turnpike, so I'm curious to hear what others think. Mostly I want to know - if 1 and 2 are true, does this bother anyone in Pennsylvania to be played like this? I'd be really offended if a politician changed up his/her rhetoric on the assumption that I'm a racist and it's what I want to hear...to what extent do folks think it will work (if in fact Pennsylvania is full of racists, which I'm NOT saying it is)?
Comments (8)
Pennsylvania has an older, poorer, less-educated electorate, from what I hear, and Hillary Clinton is DEFINITELY going after the Archie Bunker vote.
Unfortunately, Clinton has decided to campaign like a Republican, and that means dividing people and scaring them. They see racism as a perfect opportunity. Disgusting, isn't it?
March 12, 2008 11:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Uh... that isn't what she's doing.
But even if it was, it'd be more respectable than going after the Hallmark card loving Oprah watching vote.
March 13, 2008 1:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well, ONE of the candidates did buy an hour of airtime on the Hallmark channel..
March 13, 2008 1:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
"More respectable" I don't get you... what's with these Clinton supporters.
March 13, 2008 1:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
I was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Pittsburgh and never thought of Pennsylvania as being a racist state. Of course, there are always those kind of people anywhere, but Alabama in between? I just don't think so... I've traveled through the state a lot in my days and what I remember is how scary it was traveling with a PA license plate down South. Back in the 60's Southerners seem to still remember Gettysburg and their defeat there like it had just happened. I heard this comment about Pennsylvania earlier and felt ill by it. My home state racist? It has an older population that maybe might support a candidate that they've heard of more like Clinton and of course her being a Senator of New York helps, but I don't think Clinton will win the state because of race.
March 13, 2008 1:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's what I thought! I mean when I think of states that aren't kind to minorities, Pennsylvania never shows up on the list. So, does it then bother you that it seems like one of these campaigns is trying to exploit a perceived closeted racist streak to score some votes? Carville was pretty blunt in his meaning...
March 13, 2008 9:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, it does bother me. I heard some conversations about it tonight in regard to Ferraro's comments on Dan Abrams and I thought they were valid. This might not be so much to play on a direct kind of racism as much as a way to equate Obama with affirmative action which I do imagine has negatives in some of the less educated Irish and Italian communities that have had job loses. I qualify this statement: I wasn't saying that the Irish and Italians are less educated in general, but there are those in certain areas unfortunately that are. A misconceived idea, but no doubt a portion of this population believes this.
March 14, 2008 12:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Another thought that came to mind... in Ferraro's defense of herself she stated that she was a victim of reverse discrimmination. What a loaded term that is when you think about what some of these groups believe about affirmative action. Food for thought?
March 14, 2008 1:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
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