Kamala Harris unloads on pundits who say only a white man can beat Trump [View all]

[crazytown]

Politico, May 7, 2019
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/06/how-kamala-harris-is-taking-on-the-2020-pundits-1305498

Kamala Harris unloads on pundits who say only a white man can beat Trump

(snip)The California senator and 2020 Democratic hopeful believes the media narrative taking shape in the presidential race over who is best positioned to reclaim the Midwest for Democrats —essentially that only certain voters will back certain candidates, regardless of where they stand on issues — ignores big swathes of the electorate that she can excite, namely African Americans and women.

snip “There has been a lot of conversation by pundits about ‘electability’ and ‘who can speak to the Midwest?’ But when they say that, they usually put the Midwest in a simplistic box and a narrow narrative, and too often their definition of the Midwest leaves people out,” Harris said in an opening salvo during the trip. “It leaves out people in this room who helped build cities like Detroit. It leaves out working women who are on their feet all day—many of them working without equal pay.”

snip "This 'electability' argument is bullshit," said Bakari Sellers, a former South Carolina state representatives who appears on CNN and supports Harris. "It's the biggest faux pas that Democrats are making this election cycle. It disregards the fact that the only Democratic candidate to win the presidency in the last two decades was a black guy. And, second, we've allowed 'working class' to enter our lexicon and only mean white working class — and totally disregard a whole other swath of voters.

snip "It is meant to reshape people’s thinking about an issue that has been dominating the pundit sphere for a while in a way that more accurately reflects the electoral map and the reality that we have going in to 2020," the Harris official said. "We're not going to attack other Democratic candidates based on this," the official added, stressing Harris' respect and endearment for Biden as a person
....

Black voter turnout rate declined sharply in 2016, dropping below that of whites
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/05/12/black-voter-turnout-fell-in-2016-even-as-a-record-number-of-americans-cast-ballots/ft_17-05-10_voter-turnout/


Only 18% of Democratic Voters were white men in 2016 (19% in 2012). But hey, let’s take 80% of our voters for granted and aim our messaging and policies at white men