This is a direct pickup from Kos Diarists Olon:
In FiveThirtyEight.com’s article about early voting today, there was a comment that deserves higher status than a comment.
The user’s profile states that he is an Engineer in Atlanta. I found what he had to say about African American turnout in this election very insightful:
I’m pretty sure the fear we are seeing among down-ticket Republicans is an acknowledgment that the wedges they’ve used to peel minority votes from Democrats in the past just won’t work this year. Kenyada writes:
I suggest that the pollsters throw out all data for African American voting in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. This election is very different for AAs. In previous elections, the majority of us voted against Bush, but there was a wedge created by the Repulsicans when they appealed to the black church, and paid off black preachers. Particularly in 2004, where the pulpit of the black church became just another campaign stop for high level Repulsican candidates, including Bush.
In 2008, however, there is a ground swell in the black community, and silence from the megachurch leaders, lest they suffer the price of empty collection plates. In the past, we always had to choose the better of two representatives of the status quo. Change was not an option. This year the choice is as clear as a bell. You should see the lines in Atlanta for early voting. And the faces of the people waiting in lines stretching 60 to 100 minutes in length tell the story. “This one is for Florida in 2004!”… “This one is for Fannie Lou Hamer in 1964!”… “This one is for Katrina!”
I’m not sure you understand. This vote is 400 years in the making. Pollsters don’t seem to take that into account. My 82-year old mother had to be rushed to the hospital last Sunday – congestive heart failure. One of the first things she asked when the oxygen mask was removed was “Will someone please get me an absentee ballot. I don’t want to miss the election.” Committed? Nah, black folks are passionate about this one. This is not only a vote for a candidate; it is a vote for America, the America we heard about from our parents and their parents, across the generations. Freedom and Liberty sound so trite these days, but I remember those words spoken by my Dad on his way to the March on Washington. January 20th will be a dream fulfilled. And if you are expecting only a 95% response on Election Day, you are misinterpreting the sound of the drum.