In a remarkable interview with USA Today Clinton made it clear why she thinks she should be the Democratic nominee for president in 2008- She’s White. Obama isn’t. She can win over “hard working White Americans.” Obama can’t. Case closed. Apparently there is no road too low for the Clinton camp as long as it leads to the nomination.
Clinton is correct when she points out that she has been stronger with White working class voters than Obama has. But Clinton’s point now isn’t simply that she outperforms Obama with this crucial party demographic. Her point is that Obama “can’t win” this block of White voters because he’s Black. By insisting on touting herself as the “white” candidate who can win the working class she risks alienating some of the most loyal voters the Party has. These voters include Blacks, college educated progressives, and young people.
We’re constantly reminded that the Democrats can’t win a national election with the above coalition and that’s true. Obama will need White working class votes as well as independents to reach 51%. But we should also remember that Democrats can’t win if 40% if its coalition is missing in action. As it turns out feminists and the White working class base of the Democratic Party can’t even deliver Clinton the nomination by themselves much less the presidency. All constituents have options. If Clinton is successful in stealing this nomination from Obama Blacks and young people could stay home. Educated progressives could defect to the Green Party in numbers that could be decisive in a close election like they did in 2000. And remember, Clinton’s cross over appeal with moderate Republicans and Independents is very limited given her high negatives with these groups.
Blacks only make up about 30% of the Democratic Party electorate. If Obama was only attracting black voters and lazy white voters he would have been out of the race long ago. Obama beat Clinton with White voters in such liberal elite strong holds as Wyoming, Kansas and Colorado. Does Clinton really think that all those White voters in Iowa, Virginia, North Dakota, Utah, Alaska and Idaho who voted for Obama were a bunch of Ivy League educated slackers? She knows better which makes her comments about how she’s the candidate of White working people particularly disgusting.
Clinton has labeled Obama elitist for not pretending to be someone he’s not. But her assertion that Obama can’t win White working class voters indicates that she thinks that her blue collar sisters and brothers are too bigoted to vote and support a Black candidate. Who’s the real cultural elitist? Roger White May 8, 2008