Comments on Socs vs. Greasers

Democrats are worrying about this too much. At my caucus on Saturday, there were way more old people and middle-aged women than college students and web designers, but Obama still took away 70% of the vote.

Fuck. Edwards and Obama meeting scheduled for today canceled....

So, I’m bummed out that the Democratic frontrunner, Barack Obama, is emerging as the Whole Foods candidate while Hillary Clinton is getting the Safeway vote.

Would you tend to lump African-Americans into this Whole Foods consituency?

i think this is a meme that is pushed hard by the clinton camp that is really just not true.

clinton's supposed lock's on the safeway set and latinos will fade away in the same way that her supposed locks on other constituencies has faded: once people in these demographics get sufficiently familiar with obama, his stances on the issues and his character, they have moved to his side. though i have no data, i think it's safe to say that for better or worse, higher-educated, richer democrats tend to be much more informed on the candidates and issues than their less-educated, poorer compatriots, and to my mind that's the reason that they've switched to obama first.

There's a number of problems with this whole "the working class is supporting hillary" line.

First, it assumes black workers are not part of the working class.

Or, if you just say "white working class", the presumption is that the black working class is somehow voting against its economic interests in the name of identity politics, whereas somehow the white working class is smarter and voting for Hillary based on bread and butter issues.

Identity politics seems to be operating on both sides, especially with Edwards out of the race, since, substantively speaking, their economic policies really don't differ very much. And the fact is that Hillary's actual record, especially when put together with her husband's, offers little for working class people regardless of race. Support for NAFTA, the WTO, and "ending welfare as we know it"? Please.

As for how Obama would fare against a Republican or in the heartland, have you noticed that the only states Hillary seems capable of winning are traditional Dem strongholds, and even those are slipping? Idaho, Nebraska, etc-- places where Republicans tend to dominate-- vote HEAVILY for Obama because those Democrats know how hated Hillary is, how unlikely she is to appeal across partisan divisions.

Anyway, neither Clinton nor Obama will be able to deliver on "shoring up government services that working people depend on," because neither one will even so much as mention the fact that Bush's latest proposed budget would increase military spending to levels we haven't seen since the total war days of WWII. Democracy at home= democracy abroad. If they won't reduce our reliance upon military engagements abroad, Democratic Party promises to working people about creating a more just economy will always be empty.

If Obama sweeps tomorrow as he likely will, I think these sentiments can likely be put to rest.

I think that Obama is more than just a "Whole Foods" candidate. There have been many accounts from this weekend's caucuses where lifelong Republican voters have come out to vote for Obama. They weren't just repudiating the crop of GOP candidates but were FOR Obama. This is something very unusual. Hillary did well early on with working people and the under-educated mostly because of name-recognition. Now that Obama has proved he can win across the country, people are giving him a second look and swaying most of them.

Also having recently moved here from New York City, I have to point that, while Hillary did win "easily" both times (after Rudy dropped out because of cancer late in the race in 2000), working class folks in New York State tend to vote blue more than you'd think. People have a misconception that from Albany north, everything is red-statey, and that simply isn't true. My husband is from Buffalo, and their local government heavily favors democrats. The governor of New York State is a democrat.

My point is, New York State is not a microcosm of the United States. So don't make generalizations about "working class" voters across the nation simply because New York supported Hillary 4 and 8 years ago.

Of course Hillary did well in NY. She is their senator, and has been nothing if not diligent in constituency work. Why would they vote for a senator from IL?

But after the results in ME I think the Whole Foods vs Safeway logic looks ever more tenuous. There is precisely one Whole Foods in the state, in Portland. Most of Maine is backwoods & blue collar. Obama didn't have a problem carrying the state.

if hillary carried the working class white folks vote, how did obama walk away with so much of the midwest? are the people of those states not working class?

It may surprise you to learn, but not everyone likes Obama.

Just sayin ...

Safeway vote?

Um.

No.

Obama's winning them too - at least in this state.

"Health care for all would be nice, too." We're not going to get that without a Democratic president who will fight for it, which Obama is not.

Josh, your contrarianism is getting the better of you here. Give it up.

HRC underperforms for a D in NY.

Rick Lazio is just as lame as Alan Keyes.

WFMI was up 5% today. SWY closed flat.

or he could just have michelle obama drop another celebrity and leave them behind too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl9By1OZWE8

For whom are QFC customers supposed to vote?

The pundits say Obama doesn't appeal to blacks. Then he targets blacks and wins them over. They say southerners don't like him, but then he targets them and they come around. They say rural whites don't like him, but then he wins over rural whites in Nevada and Nebraska and Maine.

This shit pisses off the pundits. Here you are, trying to tag Obama as the non-Safeway candidate or the Latte-sipper ghetto candidate, and right when your Op-Ed piece is going to print, Obama rolls in and blows your stereotypes to pieces.

Sorry, pundits.

He talks about offing the Bush tax cuts for the rich at every rally and every debate, at least that I've seen and I've seen a lot.

Trader Joe's is 100% Obamatrons. Central Market too. HRC is toast, now.

@12

Hasn't Jamie Pedersen taught you anything?

There are some things (like Universal Healthcare and full Marriage rights for gays) you just are not going to ram through the legislature.

Take what you can get to start, then add to it later.

It's an old problem solving trick.