Comments on: Open Thread: Will Senator Obama Suffer Racist Dirty Tricks?

By: godem

godem — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:38:49 +0000

Happy bithday

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By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:16:48 +0000

Does McCain pick up many Hispanic voters with his mostly pro-immigration record?

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By: Axel

Axel — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:40:46 +0000

The Latin Community wants a change, now that Obama is the presidential candidate and a minority, most of the hispanic will vote for him. I believe most of the big states like California, Texas, New York, and Florida will be a big factor for Obama to win this election.

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By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:09:31 +0000

Good comment, Dave. Obama is caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. He has to call our racist attacks, but by doing so he highlights for whites the point that he is assertively Black — and thus plays into the negative stereotypes in the old white racist frame. That frame is a killer of such campaigns, I fear.

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By: dave p.

dave p. — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:26:01 +0000

Good post, Joe. I don’t think there is any question that the right will play dirty pool in terms of race, but the main question will be in terms of how they do it. I expect a lot of localized tactics, exactly like the ones the Kiel excerpts describe above.

Any such tricks will come to light quickly — especially given Obama’s extensive online organization — so the key for McCain will be to make sure there’s no tangible connection. He will (weakly) denounce any such behavior, of course, while continuing to reap the benefits.

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By: Seattle in Texas

Seattle in Texas — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:33:11 +0000

I hope they will be more likely if they are even ever given the opportunity to do so…it seems the media just pretty much likes air trash and anything that brings in the most viewers…which seems to be mostly trash…. I think for this one the continued nationwide grassroots will be the key as it allows for interpersonal dialogue, questions asked and answered, interpretations of the dirty tricks while they are occurring/immediate intervention, etc.–but that’s just my thoughts…not giving up any hope here!

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By: admin

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:19:24 +0000

Good points. It might be useful to constantly talk about dirty tricks whenever Democrats have any access to the media. Most people still do not know about these dirty tricks….

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By: Seattle in Texas

Seattle in Texas — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:04:26 +0000

I personally think that now the primaries are over and Clinton and Obama are some what uniting, even if she will not be his running mate, makes everything much more clear for the voters (in terms of where trash comes from) and it is important to educate the public (as is being done here) but those we get registered between now and November about these types of things so when they encounter a phone call, or an Anti-Obama smooth conversation, emails, etc., they know where it’s coming from, why, etc.–then have solid, legitimate, and truthful resources to go back to when if and when doubt begins kicking in. We know now which way it’s coming from at least!

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By: Seattle in Texas

Seattle in Texas — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 15:43:56 +0000

It’s inevitable. They tried during the primaries too in a couple of different states using that recording trick, and even here in Texas (it was just a male robotic type voice though–or more like that guy who speaks for the emergency weather alerts and in the same boring, but offical voice down here–no not quite like Ben Stein). Oh some of the tricks in Texas over the last few months? Dirty. The problem then was we didn’t know for sure if they were from the Clinton campaign or the GOP folks. Nevertheless, most of the folks down here were too smart and it not impact the overall delegate count can caucusing in the end from the primaries to the state level, haha. The good thing about being in Republican state (for now at least–change is in the wind) is that the democrats, indepedents, and republicans crossing the fence know their game. It’s really sad what a joke our political institution(s) are and how things such as that is considered legitimate in terms of electing our officals. I personally think no religious, gender, political, etc. labels, names, or other identifying factors should be in place when people are running for political positions. There are ways it could be done and it would save so much money that could be better spent elsewhere…. But I am still hopeful that major changes are awaiting in the near future….

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By: Joe

Joe — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:50:39 +0000

Good points. A more subtle analysis of what you note as happening to Senator Obama and his policy positions should accent the old white racial frame in most white and other minds, with its A-to-Z negative stereotypes and emotions about black people, esp. black men. The white media see him mostly from that frame, and thus want to accent the Black man as “odd” (that is, not “us”), or as trickster or untrustworthy, or dangerous (Muslim) themes. This is just conventional framing in operation.

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