Obama and The South Carolinas

Its amazing how racism takes so long to die.

Last night a person who considers themself a die-hard progressive and I had a discussion as we were taking care of our horses together. He said "the reality is that only six percent of white males in the South Carolina primary say that will support Obama". And so he says that Obama is finished, theres no way he's going to win. And then he said I can understand - "I work at the airport and they really expect service. " Who is this person .. "they"? .. It dawned upon me ever so slowly that he was saying that the black people are "they" and that white people are upset about them. ?! Did I hear correctly?!

My response was, "Shane this is not about race this is about class. South Carolina's textile industry was pole-axed by the Chinese. The black people were just on the receiving end of the bad news for that last industry downturn and they are voting from their wallet". And to offer the clarification I just brought up the concept of white trash - would they be as much of a hassle?

Q: What does a redneck girl say when she's having Sex?
A: Daddy can you stop smokin' that cigarette?
  Those ashes are burning my skin.

For most of the twenty first century, Martin Luther King's vision of a country where we truly rise up to live out the creed "That all men are created equal" has held true. Actually I can easily think of a few instances where black women are pretty superior.. alright even when they're pregnant. Come on Halle Berry is hot. Admit it. And Tina Turner was hot too. God that woman was well preserved. Proud mary keep on burnin'... ahem. Sorry. I will get back to kinky sex here as the main topic, I promise. Lets see where were we...

Obama is not being dictated his lines (like Mitt Romney was, last night in the debate -did you see that?) - nor does he enjoy the support staff of a large number of media buyer-cum-public-relations-consultants that offer themselves unto the campaign as Hillary's many corporate donors will not publicly attest to her campaign. So Obama sticks his foot in his mouth - everyone thinks that if he can't win SC by double digits he's toast. Is that true?

Well its about money. No, not advertising money - thats the public relations campaign thing thats going on to try to make it all like baseball. Its about middle class money in the pockets of the middle class. America has shouldered itself with eight years of governmental incompetence and middle class destruction that sold itself precisely to the middle class ("we are the party of the rich people. join us and you will be rich too!" ) probably by the same public relations firm. Its like that song by Rage Against the Machine - (hint: its not "killing in the name of") .Raising gas prices by more 100% , a constant and cynical atmosphere of fear, watching their president make mistake, after mistake, after mistake. The middle class are voting with their feet. They are abandoning the GOP in droves.How to spot them. They call themselves "independents". And they are the reason why the GOP has raised less 2008 money in Georgia right now than the Democratic party despite a Bush victory in 2004.

The White men of South Carolina who maintain their allegiance to the GOP despite eight years of their own state ranked dead last in educational scores, are the ones who will always seems to try to get to the question of which club do you belong. This inconsequential (for the primary results today) and relatively insecure group of people have been frightened into believing that ideology will help them to stand for policies whose effect is measured beyond their own limited lifespan. Alot of them actually believe a rapture is going on - at least the ones who are going to the polls. Their thoughts and their wallets were with John McCain. Which is sad, because McCain deserves better friends than that (I counted myself amongst that group at one point and perhaps may in the general election. Yes, I truly am an independent)

However, the complacent, evangelist voters of the GOP who brought massive liberal spending into the government of our country, and dropped us in educational rank from the top down to 40th in the world - will wear "Bush Republican" like a scarlet letter. For decades.

This race today in South Carolina is not about race. Its about class and its about survival of the fittest. The white american males are not voting in this race because they've already cast their vote. Not because its blacks vs. whites, but because its about who drank the koolaid.

Anyone who is voting for Hillary and/or trying to suppress the vote will just have to go to their local corporate lobbyist and complain after its done. Hillary is great, don't get me wrong. This whole race on the democrat's side is either Hillary for Pres. / Obama for VP. or vice versa. and frankly I am happy either way (I think that national health care will have a profound effect on our country and my number one issue is to get rid of lobbyism effects in the legislative and electoral processes so its basically two top issues trading places with me, which is ok.) But Hillary and Bill are two people who are really trying to turn this race into a GOP mudfest and thats just not going to happen.

Obama wins today, double digits. At least 10 points clear. The largest margin of victory yet. And the most significant electoral prize. And that will set him up well for the most exciting super Tuesday ever. And not because its Clinton vs. Obama but because America (with 76% higher turnout and the college students proelling Obama to a victory in Iowa) seems to finally understand that politics is not about some kind of game that corporate interests play. Its about how losing weight can change your life. I'm serious. Just wait and see what things are like when we shed off the parasitic lobbyists that have been bothering our country for the last 20 years. Its a simple matter of basic, social health.

If you're in SC. Vote. I don't care who you vote for. Just get out and vote today. Trust me on this point. You'll end up being better off for it.