In the Blog
Black women: which candidate should I vote for on completely superficial grounds?
We’ve already touched on how many media outlets have been playing the Hillary Clinton v. Barack Obama battle for the Democratic presidential nomination as Blacks v. Women, and how that leads to unproductive infighting. So consider this today’s antidote and a sign that not all is lost.
CNN posted a story earlier today about the tough choice black women voters in South Carolina apparently faced as the state primary draws near: “should they vote their race, or should they vote their gender?” Though the story itself says that “most women here say they plan to vote based on the issues,” the message of the story boils down once again to Blacks v. Women.
Not twelve hours later, CNN posted another story, this time about the backlash CNN faced in the wake of that article:
CNN received dozens of e-mails shortly after posting the story, which focuses largely on conversations about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama that a CNN reporter observed at a hair salon in South Carolina whose customers are predominantly African-American. (…) An e-mailer named Tiffany responded sarcastically: “Duh, I’m a black woman and here I am at the voting booth. Duh, since I’m illiterate I’ll pull down the lever for someone. Hm… Well, he black so I may vote for him… oh wait she a woman I may vote for her… What Ise gon’ do? Oh lordy!”
So thanks, Tiffany, for a hearty laugh at the expense of Wolf Blitzer and company, and for reminding everyone that people vote for candidates based on issues, not demographics.
