Monday, October 27, 2008

Locally, race is an issue in upcoming election


Rep. Cory Mason talks candidly about race.

Mason, a Democrat from Racine, has been campaigning door-to-door for Barack Obama this fall. Many older voters he talks to, he said, are having a hard time coming to terms with voting for an African-American.

“Some voters just say they can’t imagine," said Mason, who is running uncontested for Assembly. "They say, 'I just simply won't vote for a black.'"

Some people are more hostile and use stronger language, he added.

Mason, who is white, says people who have a problem with Obama's race tend to be in their 70s and 80s. “For them it’s a radical departure in their worldview to have an African-American being president,” he said.

Mason was among the first in Madison to come out and support Obama, and spends a great deal of time in Obama’s Racine office working for his election.

While there are racist voters, there are also new voters excited about the possibility of an African-American president. They're volunteering, learning about the issues and voting early.

“He (Obama) really is a different candidate, his ability to bring new people in,” Mason said. “We just have to hope that it’s enough new people to counter act the folks that that can’t imagine voting for a black man.”

Craig Oliver, a local political strategist, suggests racial prejudice is not just a Republican thing. For example, he said, local unions declined to support Theresa Cotton-Kendrick, a highly qualified African-American. Cotton-Kendrick is legislative secretary for the Racine County Board of Supervisors and a County employee for over 24 years.

“I believe the race factor is obvious in both campaigns (Obama's and Cotton-Kendrick's), and I believe it is a reflection of the racial divide and not the underlining, but the overt racism that exists in Racine county and the City of Racine,” Oliver said.

In spite of the obstacles his candidate faces, he feels strongly Cotton-Kendrick and Obama will see victory on Election Day.

Oliver notes Cotton-Kendrick’s chances of winning the clerk’s position are greater being a presidential election year. “Her experience coupled with Obama’s campaign will bring in new voters, which will boost Theresa’s opportunity immensely,” explained Oliver.

Local observers feel Obama, and the tendency of Democrats to vote a straight ticket, could help Cotton-Kendrick win. In the 2004 election, 25,304 residents voted straight Democrat compared to 23,749 voting straight Republican.

Efforts to encourage minority residents to get registered and vote early could also offset racial prejudice. Over 4,000 city residents have voted early, and another 2,000 voters have been sent absentee ballots.

Tony Simmons, 47, is disabled and had not voted since the last presidential election. “I voted for Kerry, but they stole that election and I hope it does not happen this time for Obama.”

He says Obama is talking about the issues and what people want to hear. “McCain is talking about the past, we think about the future,” he said. “The price of groceries is going up and people are living month-to-month, week-by-week, trying to make ends meat, and they want to see a change.”

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Some people "can't imagine voting for a black man" while others are "new voters excited about the possibility of an African-American president." Both sets of people are voting based, in part at least, on race. You should condemn all race based voting. Denis Navratil.

Anonymous said...

It is as wrong to vote for Obama because of his race as it is to not vote for him because of his race.

A good number of Obama's black supporters are just plain racists.

Anonymous said...

"Efforts to encourage minority residents to get registered and vote early could also offset racial prejudice."

How do you "offset racial prejudice" by encouraging racial prejudice? As the previous two comments pointed out, voting based on race IS racial prejudice.

I'm white. Grew up and lived in mixed neighborhoods my whole life. Moved into a predominantly black neighborhood in Racine 10 years ago. WHOA! Never have I encountered so much hatred and hostility based upon race. My first thought was that I'd landed in some 100-year-old time warp. Reaching out to my neighbors was like sticking my hand into a pit of rattle snakes. The verbal abuse and insults were overwhelming.

Again, always lived in mixed neighborhoods, all over the country, never any trouble, until I got to Racine. Something is very, very wrong in this city and encouraging people to vote based on race is NOT going to help things.

Enjoy your toxic atmosphere.

Anonymous said...

2 thoughts to add:

A lot of Irish Catholics voted for Kennedy because of his background - were they all roundly condemned or was ethnic prejudice an okay thing then?

Obama has never injected race into the campaign himself.

Anonymous said...

Craig Oliver is one of the most blatantly racist people I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. I agree completely that racism does not belong anywhere in this society, however that applies to everyone, all races.

Gail's Tails said...

It is way too easy for members of a non-oppressed class of people to say we should just forget racism and ignore race in the decision making process.

JayWarner said...

Jesse Jackson, Jr. is correct. "Race is always an issue." In this presidential election, it was not so great an issue to keep Obama from winning. Thank you, voters, and thank you, America. We really need him now.

JayWarner said...

Jesse Jackson, Jr. is correct. "Race is always an issue." In this presidential election, it was not so great an issue to keep Obama from winning. Thank you, voters, and thank you, America. We really need him now.

Anonymous said...

And I quote from this article “The price of groceries is going up and people are living month-to-month, week-by-week, trying to make ends meat, and they want to see a change.”

Was the word "meat" spelled incorrectly or did Dustin mean to write "meat" because he was writing about groceries? LOL!

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