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Buckeye_Democrat

(15,331 posts)
19. I understand the argument on moral grounds, but I just don't think it will work.
Mon Jan 2, 2017, 09:44 PM
Jan 2017

I don't blame African Americans for trying, though, and I think they should.

Many white voters won't support it (as it's framed now) because:
(1) They don't see it serving their best interest.
(2) They don't feel responsible for it.

I suspect it will also drive many former white Democrats away from the party. The only way I think it might be accepted is if the argument is couched in terms where the people who benefited the most from slavery paid the reparations. About 8% of white households owned slaves before the Civil War. Trying to tell whites that slavery helped their poor ancestors get ahead when they could've been paid for those jobs otherwise won't be easy. Trying to tell whites how any injustice and barbarism toward blacks helped them today is a tough sell too because there's skin color based animosity that has resulted from it. Do they think reparations will heal it? Nope.

Some voters were turned off by Sanders' "free college" idea. How does it help them in our competitive economy if others get a college degree paid for by them? It's the employers that want those educations more than anyone else. If corporations pay for it, so be it! They're the ones who benefit from it, even more than the employees who get higher pay from those degrees. (Corporations would indeed pay for it according to Sanders, indirectly, via Wall Street traders... but many voters didn't hear that part.)

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Candidates who focus on those issues probably won't survive the primaries. Buckeye_Democrat Jan 2017 #1
Can we please move PAST talking about this in Hillary v. Bernie terms? Ken Burch Jan 2017 #2
I prefer to look at the past to help predict the future. Buckeye_Democrat Jan 2017 #3
The answer is to about race AND class...not to just not mention class. Ken Burch Jan 2017 #4
An excellent critique. guillaumeb Jan 2017 #5
Thank you. I'm trying to get us past the primary thing Ken Burch Jan 2017 #6
At this point they are distractions. guillaumeb Jan 2017 #7
We can address both things. Ken Burch Jan 2017 #8
I like the Democracy Summer label. guillaumeb Jan 2017 #9
For Texas, it could be about channeling support to in-state groups. Ken Burch Jan 2017 #10
It's relative. Buckeye_Democrat Jan 2017 #11
Perhaps. Although we had one in '84 and '88 & the party brass did all it could to stop him. Ken Burch Jan 2017 #13
He scared away too many white voters. Buckeye_Democrat Jan 2017 #15
Neither Clinton nor Kerry were front runners dsc Jan 2017 #16
Suggested reading: Garrett78 Jan 2017 #18
I understand the argument on moral grounds, but I just don't think it will work. Buckeye_Democrat Jan 2017 #19
You could build popular support for reparations Ken Burch Jan 2017 #22
If that can be done, then good! Buckeye_Democrat Jan 2017 #23
Look, I support reparations and think Bernie COULD have said more about race Ken Burch Jan 2017 #21
Exactly what most of us have been doing. NCTraveler Jan 2017 #12
I supported her in the fall, and I've proved I was never a Hillary-hater. Ken Burch Jan 2017 #14
My post had zero to do with Bernie or who you supported and when. NCTraveler Jan 2017 #17
It was that line about sounding like a Clinton supporter and hearing her stump speech. Ken Burch Jan 2017 #20
My post had nothing to do with who you supported or when. NCTraveler Jan 2017 #24
Ok. Ken Burch Jan 2017 #25
Agree strongly. n/t delisen Jan 2017 #26
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