I'm listening to Warren's interview on Maddow, and she's repeating something tonight that she said in her speech last night that I really didn't like. The only thing that I really didn't like.
"We won't get anywhere by being afraid. Democrats win by fighting being bold bla bla bla..."
Warren, do not condescend potential voters. This is the type of messaging that's aimed at voters for whom voting was always an allowance. This is a fight message for white people.
You have to understand that for black people, particularly older black people, participating in the political process at all is an act of bravery. It wasn't too long ago, that white supremacists were posted outside of polling places of majority black districts with attack dogs. It wasn't too long ago that black folk were being beaten for daring to exercise their right to vote. For black people, voting AT ALL is brave. Believing in the process AT ALL is brave. Gathering, organizing, and going out to vote for the VP of the First Black President is not going to be seen as the weak, fearful, or even uninspired thing to do.
It's really bad messaging if you're hoping to eventually peel black voters off of Biden. And, make no mistake, if Biden ultimately wins? It'll be because he held on to his black support.
At the same time though, considering what's been at stake and what sort of actions
should be carried out in 2021 in the event that Democrats take back the White House and the Senate (packing the SC, nuking the filibuster, adding Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico as states to gain 4 more Senate seats, arresting Trump once he's out of office), I have to side with Warren here. We do need to be brave.
You're not at all wrong that it's brave for any black person to participate in the political process and that absolutely needs to be acknowledged far more readily by the rest of the Democratic base. However the responsibility is on the Democratic Party
as a whole to take a stand somewhere along the line. The Democratic leaders in Congress have been afraid for the past year, despite taking back the House. For instance, we were all just bemoaning in this thread how unprepared and useless the hearing today was a few hours ago.
Also as far as messaging for black voters to transition over from Biden to Warren goes, hasn't the common consensus among most folks here been that that would only really happen anyway if Warren wins early states like Iowa and New Hampshire to show that she's a genuinely viable candidate with electability?
Granted, I recognize and relent that I myself am a white man.
