Republicans and Democrats are more divided on race today than in 1985

The Obama era began amidst the hope that American politics was finally moving beyond its old racial divisions. Five years later, something closer to the opposite has happened: partisan politics has cut new racial divisions into American life.

There's a 44-point partisan gap on whether some racist oaf should be forced to sell the Clippers. There's a 38-point partisan gap on whether a searing film about slavery should win an Oscar. There's a 48-point gap on a Florida murder trial.

It wasn't always this way. In 1984, when Bernhard Goetz shot four young African-American men he thought were going to mug him, there was no difference in the way Democrats and Republicans responded. Even the OJ Simpson trial didn't lead to a large partisan cleavage:

http://www.vox.com/2014/5/2/5671792/race-and-obama

Another race thread!?

The left's experiments are failures.

you're right. he had next to nothing to do with it. he actually ran hard against the individual mandate during the primaries in 2008.

it should be called nancy-pelosi's-legislative-aid-care.

a 44 point gap on Sterling. That is insane!!!

Sterling does have cancer in his balls! I bet it made the leading questions he answered look like a racist!

(05-02-2014 10:38 AM)Machiavelli Wrote:  a 44 point gap on Sterling. That is insane!!!

The gap is misleading since everyone agrees he's a racist slumlord. I think whether a not a organization can force someone to tell someone is touchy for the right reasons. Because he has been a racist slumlord for quite some time and no one seemed to care about it.

I might not like the Klan or the Confederate Naval Flag but I don't want anyone creating laws or engaging in social witch hunts to minimize that option for people. While the NBA is a private organization and it appears that the by-laws allow for such a move, many are right to question whether this type of 'media mob rule' will begin to erode the basic civil liberties we all enjoy.

The point is that we are more racially divided big time since his re election. Why?

Obama is deeply divisive. This isn't a hard question.

(05-02-2014 11:28 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  Obama is deeply divisive. This isn't a hard question.

Exactly.

There are many other leftist activities in play as well.

(05-02-2014 11:20 AM)Machiavelli Wrote:  The point is that we are more racially divided big time since his re election. Why?

1. Economic downturn. It adversely effected minorities more (by percentage) than whites. Also the perceived culprits were Wall Street execs who are predominately white males.

2. Perceived marginalization. Blacks are being displaced by Hispanics as a percentage of the population and whites believe that this influx, coupled with low birth rate in the US could possibly result in an unrecognizable America to all three ethic groups.

3. Active instigation. This isn't even on a national level but is shown routinely on the local 6PM and 11PM news. With gentrification underway in many metro areas, the crimes and corruption displayed on TV stoke the ire of the three racial majorities in the US.

4. Tribalism. The US has tried to do the impossible; over-write human biology by asserting the our 'tribe' is an idea or a place as opposed to the look of a people. And when times are good, such transcendent connections might be able to take root. But such bonds are fragile and can be easily torn asunder during strife and turmoil.

(05-02-2014 11:30 AM)DrTorch Wrote:  

(05-02-2014 11:28 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  Obama is deeply divisive. This isn't a hard question.

Exactly.
There are many other leftist activities in play as well.

There is one other big problem. A lot of the racial animosity divides along economic grounds. There is a huge barrier between the middle class and the poverty class, in the form of our welfare system. Between the poverty level and two times the poverty level (roughly the start of the middle class), for every additional dollar someone makes, s/he loses 86 cents to a combination of taxes and disqualified benefits. That's an average over all 50 states. In some states the "effective tax rate" in that income band is over 100%.

It's easier to envy than it is to fight through that.

(05-02-2014 11:28 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  Obama is deeply divisive. This isn't a hard question.

That certainly is a contributing factor but I think the answer is more nuanced.

First, I don't believe that the country, at its core, is more racially divided now than it was before Obama.

What has happened is that some people have chosen to wake-up the "quiet" divide and make it more obvious.

For example, Democratic politicians, the main stream media and knobs like Chris Matthews, have chosen to frame all opposition to any Obama policy as racially motivated, which is without doubt, false. Republicans were just as obstinate over Hillarycare as they are with Obamacare.

Frankly, I believe that the Democrats have willfully exacerbated the divide to cover for their political failures.