It is no secret that many Sanders supports, myself included, genuinely believe that Clinton is a dishonest corporate stooge. We’ve waited for years for a Democratic candidate willing to abandon Clinton DLC triangulation and move the party back left. We sincerely believe that Sanders’ policies would help EVERY race, while Clinton’s policies have disproportionally hurt PoC in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
So what is wrong with us asking PoC, especially African-Americans, to explain why they prefer Clinton to Sanders? I found a comment in response to Kos’ diary which perfectly captures why these discussions are not only appropriate, but necessary to unite the party.
OuijaForestCat
Mar 02 · 12:48:26 PM
Explaining your vote and justifying it are not the same things. There’s an ideological chasm between white liberals and blacks now and there can be no reconciliation without dialogue. The uncomfortable truth is blacks are voting with the right wing of the Democratic Party in 2016. If they refuse to explain why, that shuts off any dialogue with the left wing of the party. Do you want reconciliation or not? If yes, then there has to be dialogue. Don’t expect white liberals to stick around in a party that’s dominated by a bloc of voters who’ve allied with the conservative wing of the party and calls anyone who asks why a racist.
For over a decade now, liberals have been bemoaning why so many white people vote against own self-interest by preferring Republicans. (See e.g. Whats the Matter with Kansas). There have been many discussions and mentions of this issue on Kos itself. Many people have straight out (and correctly) said that these white voters need to be better informed on the issues. Was that racist or condescending towards white people? Of course not!
So why is it then racist or improper for those of us who genuinely believe that PoC are also now voting against own self-interest to ask PoC to have a dialogue with us and explain their reasoning? Since when is it improper to try to change someone’s point of view? Divisive politics are supposed to be for republicans not for us.