The Erasure of Black Women Continues: Let's talk about Misogynoir

[Hortensis]

90. A black woman runs for president and that's "erasure"?

Nonsense. She did well, which very few did. Then she didn't sustain, one in a long and lengthening line

Some things we can know: AA are 13% of all Americans, and in 2016 they were 12% of all those who voted -- awesome citizenship among both liberal and conservative AA. 87% of AA identify as or lean Democrat, only 8% Republican.

Even if some don't want to admit it now, Kamala Harris's total support, black, white and everything else, was as high as, what? 19%? and then dropped precipitously instead of growing. Ultimately, the powerful AA bloc did not support Kamala Harris's candidacy, but if they had, the white Democrats who are also committed to defeating the Republicans would have continued to take Harris as seriously as we did in the beginning. Dumping Biden for her? Only if she somehow shot well ahead and stayed there. Never was going to happen.

This is the electability election. That's a real catch-22 for the whole group Kamala's part of, a dozen or more qualified moderate liberals who flocked in to unseat Biden. BUT, turns out that to win voter support, a candidate has to already be out ahead. Good trick when one started 30 points ahead of all the rest.

WaPo 3 days ago:

It’s certainly true that black voters support black Democratic candidates at higher rates, often in terms of both turnout and vote share. But analysis of past elections and campaigns shows that black voters have never prioritized simple descriptive representation over other factors, like party affiliation, campaign viability, candidate electability, preexisting relationships with the black community and a sense of authenticity. Sen. Barack Obama had to prove his viability by winning white Democrats in Iowa before his black support materialized, a hurdle that many black candidates, from Shirley Chisholm and Al Sharpton to Booker and Harris, have not managed to clear. As several black voters recently told the New York Times: “Representation is not enough.”