Dom Apollon

Bigots for Obama

A friend who lives in Philadelphia recently sent me this City Paper article, “The Fishtown Effect: Can You Be Racist and Vote for Obama?”, about a notoriously racist, low-income white neighborhood in the City of (Not for that Kind of) Brotherly Love. Will white racism cost Obama the election in key states like Pennsylvania and Ohio? I think any pollster who tells you she knows the answer for certain is probably full of it, given all the unknown factors.

But, this Fishtown article seems to suggest Obama can win the support of bigots at the polls given these hard economic times. It’s an interesting read for several reasons, including choice quotes like this one that give us a preview of what the policymaking climate around racial justice could be like under a President Obama. Asked if race would be an obstacle to the Illinois senator’s quest for the White House, a union carpenter supporting Obama responded:

“Not at all — not for anybody who’s a working man paying taxes. First of all, he’s not all black. And maybe if a black person gets in there to be president, it’ll keep all the crybabies from crying discrimination.”

Ahhh, can’t you just feel the warmth and coziness of “Post-Racial America,” y’all?

Posted at 10:12 AM, Nov 03, 2008 in Elections | Permalink | View Comments