Black voters deserve all the credit for the Doug Jones win in Alabama

[oberliner]

For some reason the "focus groups" and interviews with "typical Alabama voters" seem to feature primarily whites.

The reality is that over a quarter of the population of Alabama is African-American - and they didn't generally seem to figure into most of the stories about the people who make up Alabama.

It is thanks to African-Americans that Alabama will be sending Doug Jones to Congress and not Roy Moore.

Almost seventy percent of white voters in Alabama voted for for Moore (including over sixty percent of white women).

Ninety-eight percent of black women voted for Jones. (Along with 93 percent of black men)

As Democrats, we need to recognize that this is the reason we have any electoral success whatsoever.

Edit to Add: I thought Moore would win and that Jones didn't have a chance. I am so glad that I was completely wrong - and I salute the African-American voters in Alabama for saving the country from this potential debacle.

[Raster]

1. Oh Hell YES!

[FarPoint]

2. Absolutely!

We must all stand as one.....

[Kablooie]

3. Will this inspire more black communities to get out and vote?

If they did it could be a death knell for Republicans.

[ehrnst]

5. I expect that voter suppression in black communities by the GOP will ramp up after this. (nt)

[brush]

71. Huh? I hope it inspires more whites to get out and vote Dem. African Americans have been doing...

their job.

70% of white men and 62% of white women vote for Moore. That's the community that needs to wake up.

[Kablooie]

74. I think southern evangelical whites are a lost cause.

Last edited Wed Dec 13, 2017, 12:53 PM - Edit history (1)

Ignorance and intolerance are their most coveted values and that's not going to change.

But once black communities feel their power as a group when everyone gets out and votes it could change the future of the country.

[still_one]

78. The point is Jones actually worked for their vote, and didn't take their vote for granted

[ATL Ebony]

4. Agree that the AA community came through bigly, but

It was a concerted effort of the voters and a brilliant Doug Jones campaign strategy.

[oberliner]

6. It also helped that the R candidate was so awful

But I think the key takeaway is how critical the AA community is for Democratic electoral success.

[ATL Ebony]

13. Right, let the R's keep them idiots coming.

Not to understate the value and power that AA's hold but it took a team effort to bring about a decisive win vs wanting to project that only one group should be applauded over the efforts of others -- basically this is how a united front should work.

[Volaris]

48. Mitch McConnell should send them a thank-you card. They saved his ass a big damn headache

in that now he doesnt have to decide if his going to seat Moore, he just has to let Franken resign and he can call it a wash (for now).

[rtracey]

32. agree

I agree, it was an all around great effort. Don't discount the young, white college aged progressive voters, or alienate them. Cheers to a great campaign. While Moore was off keeping his name and pedophile ass out of the spotlight, Jones was hitting all the areas even deep deep conservative areas. Besides the AA vote, there seemed to be a downturn in republican votes too. Shelby county went much lower then previous.

[ATL Ebony]

44. Exactly my point -- let's not alienate or discount the efforts of "the team"

[rtracey]

57. totally agree

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

7. BIG THANK YOU!!

[mindfulNJ]

8. Sure do

Dems should never forget this. Thanks

[Fullduplexxx]

9. And 53% of white women voted for trump smh

[MrsCoffee]

20. And 63% of white men voted for Trump smh

[Fullduplexxx]

21. Ok

Almost seventy percent of white voters in Alabama voted for for Moore (including over sixty percent of white women). 
This is why i brought that up . It wasnt a male vs female dig

[MrsCoffee]

24. Does the eye rolling mean you forgive the men but not the women?

That statistic about the women has been posted many times with nary a mention of the massive majority of white men voting for dadump.

Personally, I’m appalled at both. White men don”t get a pass on this.

[Fullduplexxx]

30. The eye rolling is because you are trying to make this tit-for-tat and it isnt

The way cons treat men is much different than they way they treat women and it is surprising that women vote for people who say that they can assault women whenever they want

[Scarsdale]

10. Black VOTES matter!

Thank you all in Alabama, for bringing SANITY to the polling place.

[sarge43]

11. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen

Well done

[Vinca]

12. Agreed. When black voters come out it changes the world.

Given Doug Jones' history, I thought it was a touching tribute as well.

[SaveOurDemocracy]

17. With you on both points.

Thank you to Alabama African AMERICANS!

[njcpa1978]

14. All Americans.

The Evangelistas like to whip out god every chance they get, well thank god for the AA vote in Alabama, along with all the people who rejected the slime ball. Imagine the day when we don't have to segment the vote about African Americans or Latinos or Asians but just all of us as Americans.

[titaniumsalute]

15. And the black female vote really threw Virginia into DEM wins also

[TNNurse]

16. It would be interesting to know

If any people who say they are Democrats voted for Moore.

God bless the good people of Alabama and apparently most of the good people also happen to be black. I am not surprised by this but I admit, I did not believe it would happen. I had resigned myself to more ignorance.

[democrank]

18. I'm so grateful to African Americans who came out to vote

at a percentage same as or a bit higher than they did for President Obama. Doug Jones had so many African Americans on the stage with him last night which was wonderful to see. This is what happens when we have candidates who don't take AA votes for granted. We can learn a lot from this race.

Joe Trippi had a hand in this as well.

50-state strategy....EVERY state, every time.

[mia]

19. Without a doubt!

Also, thank you President Obama, Terri Sewell, and the Congressional Black Caucus.

[Nitram]

22. Yup

[HipChick]

23. African-American voters are carrying the democractic party right now..

and if they don't starting hearing the needs of that community, that support will start to erode..

[oberliner]

26. Agreed

Would love to see that reflected more in the leadership of the party as well.

[magicarpet]

25. The AA community gave Fascism the boot...

... and was very instrumental in saving Democracy from the grasp of the hypocrites.

Thank you for being there when America so badly needs your help to push back against the travesty of Team Donald J. Trump and all the deplorable things they stand for.

[Jarqui]

27. This part is still troubling:

Almost seventy percent of white voters in Alabama voted for for Moore (including over sixty percent of white women).

90+% should have rejected Moore

[oberliner]

29. If white male voters had their way, Trump would have carried nearly every state including NY and CA

We'd also have barely any Democratic senators.

Very troubling.

[rtracey]

35. excuse me

Ummm, I'm a white male voter, and I didnt vote for Trump. Please dont lump that into a statement. Many white male voters did NOT vote for Trump including GOP and independents, as seen by the fact that the states Trump won (besides the heavy right winged areas), were won with very little % of vote.

[oberliner]

42. It's a fact

White males favored Trump in just about every state, including NY and CA.

In California, white males voted for Trump over Hillary by a 50-43 margin.

In New York, white males voted for Trump over Hillary by a 59-36 margin.

Nationally, white males voted for Trump over Hillary by a 62-31 margin.

[rtracey]

59. white males

White males voted for Trump or against Clinton..... if Trump was going against Biden or Sanders, would this have changed. I dont buy that all these white males were strictly for Trump... misogyny had a lot to do with it.

[brush]

72. Thank you for progressive white voters who came out for Jones. Now we have to work on...

the others still under repug thrall.

How do we get them to not vote against their own economic interests?

One thing Charles Barkley said last night is that Dems need to work to help the AA community and the poor white community as well.

That's a start to breaking the hold repugs have on too many white voters.

[Ligyron]

28. I'd be curious to hear how well the voter suppression efforts worked.

This election in particular. Provisional ballots, etc.

I wonder how many AA's don't have the ID required due to the GOP closing facilities in counties which are heavily Black? If we get everyone the needed ID somehow I think the WS won't have any choice.

[pangaia]

69. Thats somtingi wud also lik w no...

Wondring wat the finl margn wud hav bn

[hibbing]

31. I did see an age stat last night

It is true that the overwhelming percent oif white voted for the pedophile. However, I did see a stat that 66% of people under 25 voted for Jones.

Peace

[oberliner]

36. Was that broken out by race?

Did white voters under 25 favor Jones or Moore?

[hibbing]

45. No, would be good to see though

[MoonchildCA]

73. Well, this is totally unscientific, but...

If the same percentage of African Americans under the age of 25 voted as the general population, 30%, then that would leave 36% whites who voted for Jones, and 34% to vote for Moore.

African Americans under 25 would have had to make up 33% of the voters for whites to not have favored Moore, and even then it would it would have been close to 50/50.

So at least the odds say it's likely that the white voters under 25 did favor Jones.

[usaf-vet]

33. Thank you my fellow Americans! Thank you to....

... Alabama's black and latino communities for doing your part to elect Senator Elect Jones.

[Baitball Blogger]

34. This is the reason why polls and the 538 group is more poll pushing than precient.

If the pollsters are overpolling Republicans because they assume that more Republicans vote than Democrats, and 538 relies on those stacked poll results, then you are more poll pushing than taking and honest poll. Simply put, the Democratic vote is being suppressed by a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[Peaceful Protester]

37. Thank You All

On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake's order to give up her seat in the "colored section."

On Sunday, December 4, 1955, plans for the Montgomery Bus Boycott were announced at black churches in the area.

In December 1964, Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) joined forces with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Selma, Alabama, where the SNCC had been working on voter registration for several months.

On 25 March 1965, Martin Luther King led thousands of peaceful protesters in a nonviolent demonstration to the steps of the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama.

During the 1965 march to Montgomery, Alabama, violence by state police against peaceful protesters resulted in much publicity, making Alabama's racism visible nationwide.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott established Martin Luther King as a leader in the civil rights movement in Alabama.

"...the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Doug Jones was elected senator of Alabama in a special election held on Tuesday, December 12, 2017.
Doug Jones had previously prosecuted Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr. and Bobby Frank Cherry, two members of the Ku Klux Klan, for their roles in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four little African-American girls on Sunday, September 15, 1963.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today."

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

.

[DownriverDem]

38. So happy to be wrong!

And it was a great turn out from black and Hispanic voters! Doug Jones thanked them specifically last night! Now some folks have said this is like when Scott Brown won Sen Ted Kennedy's seat & Sen Warren beat him 2 years later. Maybe so, but for now it is a very good win. The margin between in the Senate is repubs by 2. Now more than ever the repubs will ram their horrible tax scam bill through before Sen Jones is seated. I hope it isn't true.

[workinclasszero]

39. We owe these great democratic voters a debt we can't repay

I have no doubt that we owe the eight years of President Obama and his wonderful family to the very same AA democratic voters.

God bless you folks for saving America every time you go to the ballot box and vote!!

[rainin]

40. My hope now is that black voters see their needs prioritized.

This community has been ignored for too long.

[oberliner]

43. Amen

And represented more prominently in leadership positions within the party at the national level.

[mountain grammy]

41. I have no doubt,

Jones would have lost without the turnout of African Americans. Color me grateful.

[alarimer]

46. I went to college in Alabama and it was awful.

Never in my life have I ever met so many awful white people and most of them were my age! This was in small town, deep south Alabama. I had never met so many racists all at once. It was truly eye-opening. I see not much has changed.

[denvine]

47. Agreed! Thank you!

The Guardian had a great graphic of the percentage of black women & men and white women and men voters and how they voted. We definitely owe thanks and gratitude to the black population of Alabama for turning out. They made the difference. I would also like to thank the progressive white men and women who have been a minority in a red state for so long. Congratulations to all Alabamians! Against all odds you have let in a ray of sunshine in a pretty gloomy landscape. You have given me and many others hope.

If you are interested, here is the link to the article in The Guardian:


https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/12/roy-moore-defeat-trump-future-republican-party-trumpism

[bonniebgood]

49. Charis Matthews is whats wrong with the Democratic Party, He had the

the nerve to tell an AA female journalist that Dough Jones will be making a mistake if he didn't vote with the Republicans
in order to keep his seat. WTF.
RepublicansABORT more babies than Democrats. Just Saying
9 million plugs pull by defunding the CHIP program Period in order for the Ivanka's of the world to inherit tax-free billions.
This is simple aborting millions of babies,.Sick Fucks

[Ferrets are Cool]

50. ALL?? So, my vote or my wifes vote didnt count? We should have

just stayed at home?
I was first in line here last nite thanking African-Americans for getting out and voting in a fantastic way, but do NOT tell me
that MY vote didn't count.

[Blue_true]

75. Your vote counted.

It is solid AA support and votes from wise Whites that has been saving the country at critical times. If the wise Whites did not vote, then the country would be in deep, deep trouble, more than now.

The key is how do we get more Whites to wise up and how do we reward AA Americans for coming through at crunchtime. I think the AA that I deal with just want racism banished and to get a fair shot for jobs and during performance reviews.

[Ferrets are Cool]

79. I agree with you 100% and with every word you typed

[LiberalFighter]

51. This should be used as an example to POC that they can control the outcome of elections.

[RKP5637]

52. K&R !!!!!!! n/t

[DFW]

53. Like the last line of this mock ad says..............

Jones owes a HUGE debt to the AA community of Alabama, and if he votes in the Senate for any measure that disadvantages them disproportionately, they will abandon him next time he is up for a full term, and deservedly so. Jones rode in on their backs. He would be well advised to acknowledge and remember that.

This doesn't mean he has to introduce legislation demanding that LAX be renamed Huey Newton International Airport, but it DOES mean he needs to actively support measures that improve civil rights, voting rights, protection from police excesses and health coverage for those who can't afford it now.

[lunasun]

54. Hope the citizens of Al get some attention for thier concerns from the new senator and won't

just be taken for granted or ignored now that they voted.

[Bettie]

55. Yeah, they do

I don't understand white Republican women. I don't get how any woman with children or who knows anyone with children could vote for the current crop of Republicans.

[L. Coyote]

56. Turnout in Dem areas was the key to victory ... and God is a black woman Roy!

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[oberliner]

66. Black Votes Matter

Let's never forget that.

The first question Doug Jones should be asking is what can I do for the African-American community in my state?

[Tom Rinaldo]

58. Sorry, that's foolish

I agree that Black voters deserve most of the credit. They overcame every barrier erected against their participation. They worked hard, they were passionate, they stood firm for the principles that the Democratic Party sometimes forgets. They are loyal to Democrats to a fault. They are the foundation of the Democratic coalition. And yes far far too often their support is taken for granted by Democrats. But no, they do not deserve all the credit for Jones winning.

For one thing, Jones, a white man himself, deserves some credit for his victory. He ran a very good campaign. But the most basic truth is that Jones beat Moore because he got more votes than Moore, and half of the votes Jones got were white votes. Votes are not color coded, they are simply counted. Without virtually all of those white voters who backed Jones as well as virtually all of those black voters who backed Jones, Jones would have lost.

I remember when I was young using terms like "the vanguard of the revolution". Black voters are the vanguard of the Democratic Party, but they are still a relatively small minority of American voters in general. They can't save us alone. I remember Jessie Jackson's Rainbow Coalition. I still support it. I am under no illusions about white voters in general - most of them are against us. But not all of them. There is no purpose served in airbrushing those whites who reliably vote Democratic out of the picture when we celebrate the coalition that won Jones his Senate seat. And i am thrilled to increasingly see African Americans stepping forward to provide leadership to our Democratic Party. They earn it every day.

[oberliner]

62. They deserve all the credit

Without them, Democrats would lose pretty much every election everywhere.

It is frankly embarrassing that the vast majority of white people in Alabama (including white women) voted overwhelmingly for Roy Moore, in spite of the credible accusations against him and his obvious bigotry.

[Tom Rinaldo]

68. I am continually embarrassed by most white voters in America, not just in Alabama

You will get no argument from me there. But that is most white voters, and in some cases (as in Alabama) the overwhelming majority of white voters. But that is not all white voters, nor even virtually all white voters. Hundreds of thousands of white voters supported Jones last night. And to paraphrase your comment, without those whites who do vote Democratic, outside of minority majority districts, Democrats would lose virtually every election. That is my only point. I do not mean to underestimate the critical leadership role that African Americans play in allowing Democrats to remain competitive nation wide, or obscure the fact that they, unlike most whites, get it right. And blacks do not get the credit they deserve for that. Yes, they are essential.

[VaBchTgerLily]

60. SO happy and relieved for this win in Alabama-Big Thanks to all that made it happen!!!

[lancelyons]

61. That simply is not True. Yes african american vote was huge but it was more than that

There where voters of all colors and races.

[oberliner]

63. It is 100 percent true

Whites voted for Roy Moore overwhelmingly. Including white women.

[lancelyons]

65. If you say 53 percent of white women voted for Moore...47 percent of them voted Jones.

Had you not had the White Women vote for Jones, jones would have lost
Had you not had the white men that voted for Jones, Jones would have lost.

I get that a very good african american turnout was very important but so where the others.

Every vote counts.

[Kingofalldems]

67. Exactly. Not sure what the poster is trying to say.

[40RatRod]

64. Amen, Amen, Amen!!!

...and a thousand more AMENS!

[Saviolo]

70. For sure!! This came across my Twitter this morning:

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Okay but fuckin real talk: all of you white people have to stop fetishizing The Magical Black Voter That's Going To Save Us All and start working on your own goddamn communities. Start making racists afraid, ashamed, and feeling stupid, it's the only goddamn thing that works.
You beg and plead for The Magical Black Voter That's Going To Save Us All while looking the other way at voter ID laws, challenges in registration, poll locations being shut down in Black communities.
This shit is fucking insidious because THE NEXT THING YOU DO is wonder why The Magical Black Voter That's Going To Save Us All didn't save us all when your person loses.
I know, I saw it in the last fucking presidential election.
Call out your racist relatives, your sexist coworkers, the people around you who use The Infallible Word Of God to defend a goddamn pederast. And maybe stop forgiving the perverts on "your side" because you think this is a sports game.
To be clear since this thread is gaining traction, I am white as fuck and I am speaking to white people here. I need to do better, too.

It is time for the Democratic Party to do some serious outreach to black communities. They are keeping things afloat right now, just by showing up, and they're feeling ignored:

Link to tweet

[guillaumeb]

76. The GOP was counting on their suppression tactics to neutralize the black vote.

Democrats must continue to find candidates and policies that appeal to black voters.

[oberliner]

77. Agreed

On both points.