Recently the voting public has heard political pundits and some in the MSM discussing voter racism and the Bradley Effect: the possibility that white voters won’t vote for Senator Obama based on the color of his skin or the Wilder Effect: where white voters “lie” to pollsters when they say they’ll vote for a black candidate. Yet what the public hasn’t heard is the other side of the story: whether black voters will not be casting their ballot for Senator McCain because he is white.

We’ve even heard comments from Democratic politicians such as the Governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, and Congressman John Murtha, weigh in on the issue of whether Obama can win voters in their heavily contested state.

“You’ve got conservative whites here, and I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate.”
-Ed Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, February 2008

“There’s no question Western Pennsylvania is a racist area,” said Mr. Murtha, whose district stretches from Johnstown to Washington County. “The older population is more hesitant.”
–Pennsylvania Congressman Jack Murtha, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, October 15, 2008

A recent focus group “found” that an “undercurrent” of racism runs through a large segment of white voters:

John Aloysius Farrell of US News wrote about Peter D. Hart and his recent focus group findings. According to Hart, Ohio voters have “lingering doubts” about Obama’s race and that these doubts may be harbored in some “20 million” other voters across the nation:

Hart “feels a sense of disquiet” about Ohio, “where the fears of those who are struggling economically extend far beyond the economy to social and cultural issues.”

Hart’s assertion that “racism” will be a factor for Ohio and other voters must have come from intuitive reasoning:

“If you watch, pay close attention to a 62-year-old nanny named Cookie, who should be a cinched Democratic vote. A former legal secretary whose husband lost a good-paying job and now earns $8.50 an hour, she is a lifelong Democrat who has always voted Democratic. Cookie voted for Hillary Clinton in the primaries and says she is undecided, but the way she talks, Hart predicts, “Senator Obama will not be winning her vote.”

“Her problems with Obama are personal rather than policy oriented,” notes Hart. “It seems likely that race is a component of her reluctance to support him.”

“The economic mood in Ohio is dour. The Obama supporters have more hope and enthusiasm, and Sarah Palin is “more a negative than a positive,” says Hart. The public polling data give Obama a lead and suggests that race will not be a deciding factor next week.”

You see, “Cookie”, is a “lifelong” Democrat may not vote for Obama, even though, according to Hart, the economic mood in Ohio is “dour” while Obama supporters have “more hope and enthusiam” and McCain supporters have the “negative” Palin. Therefore, according to Hart, Cookie may not vote for Obama because of “racism”.

Hart continues to posture as to why Ohio voters may not pull the lever for Obama:

“However, “there is not a focus group session where one cannot feel some undercurrent about the racial issue having some impact on people’s decisions,” Hart reports. If just 15 percent of likely voters are confessing to pollsters that they have feelings of racial prejudice, he notes, it “might represent as many as 20 million voters.”

Now, many of them may live in states like Alabama or Texas, which are not going to go Democratic this year, but there’s a good chance that a significant number live in Florida, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Virginia, Ohio, and other battleground states.”

The “voters” Hart refers to are white, black voters are not mentioned. No questions asked as to whether there’s an “undercurrent” of racism running through their collective subconscious, nor any percentage numbers which reflect how their vote, based on race, may affect the election for McCain.

The MSM has been citing the “Bradley Effect”:

“The Bradley effect is named after former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, an African-American who ran for California governor in 1982.

Exit polls showed Bradley leading by a wide margin, and the Democrat thought it would be an early election night.

But Bradley and the polls were wrong. He lost to Republican George Deukmejian.”

From CNN:

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown:

“Race “is still a problem in this country,” Brown told CNN. “It goes away when there are other troubles that are more challenging, and right now, whether or not we survive in the economy is more challenging. But race could rear its ugly head. I just hope it doesn’t before November 4.”

According to CNN “some analysts say the Bradley effect can account for 6 percentage points against an African-American candidate” but what about the percentage of black voters who won’t vote for McCain because he’s white?

The Wilder Effect

Nicholas Kristof wrote this about the Bradley Effect:

“Democrats are wringing their hands in nervousness over the “Bradley Effect,” in which black candidates poll well but win fewer votes than expected. That’s usually attributed to voters lying about racism — telling pollsters they’re going to vote for a black when they actually plan to vote for a white — but some scholars believe it has less to do with lying than with unconscious racism that leaves voters with growing doubts that lead to a last-minute mind change in the voting booth.”

While pundits, scholars, and pollsters wring their collective hands over “unconscious racism” and the theory that white voters not voting for Obama based on the color of his skin, there’s been scant coverage of this aspect of the election of how many blacks will vote for Obama because of his color. Is “subconscious racism” limited only to white voters? It’s as if this type of discussion is considered “off limits” or and most undoubtedly politically incorrect. It must not be considered offensive to ask white voters because, well, they’ve been asked.

The research group ZiiTrend posted some interesting demographics:

“American voters remain divided by race before a presidential election that will have the first black nominee from a major party on the ballot, a new poll showed on July 13. More than 80% of black voters said they had a favorable opinion of the Obama while 31% of whites said they had a favorable opinion of him. Also Obama leads McCain among Hispanics by 62%. He is viewed favorably by more than half of Hispanics, while McCain’s rating is below 25%.”

We found this info in a New York Times article after they ran a poll:

“Among black voters, who are overwhelmingly Democrats, Mr. Obama draws support from 89 percent, compared with 2 percent for Mr. McCain. Among whites, Mr. Obama has 37 percent of the vote, compared with 46 percent for Mr. McCain.”

Missing from the poll was the “racism” question, whether a black voter would not vote for McCain because he is white. DBKP did a search for polls that asked black voters the same question asked whites and came up empty handed. We did find numerous sites on the Bradley and Wilder Effect and the focus group by Hart which looked at white voters, yet we did not find one single poll or study on whether blacks will vote based on skin color. We did find websites where black votes spoke out about being insulted by any inference that their contemporaries would engage in voting based on race.

Racism exists, but is it fair to only look at one side of the equation, casting white voters as possible racists while ignoring black voters who may make the same decision by not voting for McCain because he is white?

At this point in American history this is a question no one is willing to ask of black voters. If we are to be a truly equal society then all truths should be layed on the table.

By LBG

Image – Reverend Wright Cartoon