Fewer whites vote for Obama in Alabama than anywhere else

[Celeborn Skywalker]

Source: Tuscaloosa News

Fewer whites vote for Obama in Alabama than anywhere else

Posted: November 12, 2008 6:07:52 AM

TUSCALOOSA | Don't tell Bill Maher, but the vote among the white electorate in Alabama for president elect Barack Obama was the lowest in the county at only 10 percent.

From an analysis by MSNBC:

"We took a look at Obama's performance with white voters in all 50 states. In 13 of them, Obama received less than 35% of the white vote. His three lowest performing states: Alabama (10%), Mississippi (11%), and Louisiana (14%). The other 10: GA (23%), SC (26%), TX (26%), OK (29%), AR (30%), UT (31%), AK (32%), WY (32%), ID (33%), and TN (34%). On the other hand, Obama won the white vote in 18 states and DC: CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, HI, IL, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN. NH. NY. OR, RI, WA, WI and VT. Obama's lowest percentage of the white vote he received in a state that he won: NC (35%). The highest percentage of the white vote Obama received in a state he lost: MT (45%)."

Read more: More: http://blogs.tuscaloosanews.com/default.asp?item=228530 ...

---

I'm surprised he didn't get more than Kerry. One thing I thought interesting (not in article) is that despite having the most racist attitudes in the nation (according to polls) about 40% of West Virginian and Kentucky whites voted for Obama. They set aside their bigotry and voted in their interests. How can liberals get these Deep South whites to do the same?

[harun]

1. "How can liberals get these Deep South whites to do the same?"

[Celeborn Skywalker]

2. My question is

why did whites in Kentucky and West Virginia vote for Obama in such greater numbers than Mississippi and Alabama despite holding similiar racial attitudes?

[Ian David]

6. Maybe they thought it was funny? n/t

[NOLALady]

56. Maybe

whites in Kentucky and West Virginia have a higher IQ.

Maybe they have better sense than to vote against their best interests.

[AllTooEasy]

32. Try an exorcist

[bertman]

3. Alabama?? You're kidding, right? Who woulda thunk it?

[Ian David]

4. Obviously, we need to get the Republicans to nominate a candidate with even darker skin.

Keyes / Palin 2012

[Celeborn Skywalker]

5. Lol.

I'd love to see that ticket. It would be the end of the Republican party as we know it.

[Ian David]

7. Actually, if you REALLY want to kill The GOP dead as a party...

Palin / Norris 2012

[Bushies gotta go]

9. You must be joking

That would be a dream ticket to every trailer trash rethug on the planet.

[tom_paine]

19. Come now, we can do better than THAT...

PALIN / GINGRICH 2012

Chuck Norris is too good for the ticket. He has too many redeeming qualities.

Gingrich is a loathesome man with no morals and no conscience who would be exposed time and time and time again on the campaign trail and would have to take a Palinesque/Schwarzeneggeresque campaign strategy of remaining silent lest he open his mouth and the voters get to KNOW him.

Yes, Gingrich is twice as smart as Norris, and that makes him a better candidate.

But Gingrich is also TEN TIMES as loathesome as Norris, if not more. Actually, aside from his poltics which I disagree with, Norris seems (note the word SEEMS) like a pretty good guy.

Gingrich is pure bottom-dwelling, conscience-less scum through and through.

To paraphrase Arianna Huffington, "Why did I become liberal? I got to know Newt Gingrich."

[RantinRavin]

28. An even better suggestion

Palin/Nugent

[nomorenomore08]

35. Except SHE'd have HIM in a stranglehold, am I right? :rimshot:

[silverojo]

64. AAAAHHHHHH! Those photos will give me nightmares!

Give us some warning before posting stuff like that!

[NOLALady]

57. Probably

Sarah Palin/ Piyush Jindal.

[angstlessk]

8. AND the sky is blue and water is wet..next conundrum!!!

[aikoaiko]

10. somebody had to be worst.

Oh, and a serious answer to your question -- denouncing federal gun bans and undoing some of the silliest federal gun legislation would be a good start.

[liberaltrucker]

11. I proudly count myself in that 10%

Walker County resident here.

[Stuckinthebush]

20. me too!!

Jefferson county Obama supporter here!

[liberaltrucker]

23. Howdy!

[dixiegrrrrl]

48. Our Ala. town voted 48% for Obama.

The Newspaper said today.

I don't trust that 10% figure.

[AlabamaBrightBlueDot]

54. Tuscaloosa speaks up!

62% in Tuscaloosa....
I tend to agree that the 10% number is skewed.


Bill Maher's Tuscaloosa comment spreads
Contributed by Tommy Stevenson - Posted: November 11, 2008 3:31:18 PM

TUSCALOOSA | I've already written twice (here, and here) about how the vote for Barack Obama in the city of Tuscaloosa exceeded comedian Bill Maher's flippant expectations and how he thus owes us an apology.

Now Andrew Sullivan, whose immensely popular "The Daily Dish" blog runs on the Atlantic Monthly website, has taken notice and seemingly endorsed my plea for recognition by Maher that Tuscaloosa did indeed support Obama, and by a landslide 62 percent-to-38 percent margin to boot.


http://tinyurl.com/5ztm36

[phatkatt]

74. Me too!

Madison County.

[liberalhistorian]

12. Wow! Color me

shocked, shocked, shocked! Shocked, I tell ya!

[jpak]

13. Old times there are not forgotten

[Divine Discontent]

14. look away! look away! look away!

Many different Yes We Did items in the Obama/Biden section www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable

[blueclown]

15. Ugly numbers.

But keep in mind that Kerry didn't do much better.

[Divine Discontent]

16. they just have a general hatred of anyone talking about 'giving rights' to people, since they know

they already have rights - we must be 'ferin to homo-sexshuls 'n coloreds..... they don't like the sounds of that in Bama....

they're more along the lines of, 'we don't string 'em up in daylight do we? aint that enough?'

so, agreed, Kerry probably got less than 20% from what your words say, so, well, I feel for the Dems in AL.... It's like driving through Utah... I could wait to leave that state... ICK...

[tom_paine]

17. "Alabama" by Neil Young

NOTE: Apologies to all the good and decent people who live in Alabama. It's not your fault you are in the vast minority there.

"Alabama"

Oh Alabama
The devil fools
with the best laid plan.
Swing low Alabama
You got spare change
You got to feel strange
And now the moment
is all that it meant.

Alabama, you got
the weight on your shoulders
That's breaking your back.
Your Cadillac
has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track

Oh Alabama
Banjos playing
through the broken glass
Windows down in Alabama.
See the old folks
tied in white ropes
Hear the banjo.
Don't it take you down home?

Alabama, you got
the weight on your shoulders
That's breaking your back.
Your Cadillac
has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track

Oh Alabama.
Can I see you
and shake your hand.
Make friends down in Alabama.
I'm from a new land
I come to you
and see all this ruin
What are you doing Alabama?
You got the rest of the union
to help you along
What's going wrong?

[OwnedByFerrets]

18. I've not seen ONE post defending the 800,000 of us who DID

vote for our next president. We, including us honkys, did vote proudly for our next president. I wish it would get recognized instead of throwing us all in the same bigoted bath.

(The 800K is the total number of votes BO got, not just the number of white votes.)

[tom_paine]

21. Recognition in my "Alabama" lyrics post.

[OwnedByFerrets]

22. Ty Tom....SS I missed that.

[morillon]

25. What voting system does Alabama use?

We use 100% Diebold garbage here in Georgia, so I have a hard time believing ANYTHING coming out of those pieces of shit. I'm not entirely convinced Obama lost Georgia, to be honest. I've never, ever seen this level of support for a Democrat here.

[dixiegrrrrl]

52. Our county uses paper ballots, machine tabulators, has used them for years, never any problem.

Dunno about the other 50 or so counties.

Do keep in mind Rove heavily influenced Repug Gov. Riley and the hand picked US Attorneys.
Which lead to the Siegleman debacle.
And Missssssssisippi is running a close 2nd on the shenanigans.

[illuminaughty]

62. Screw the derogatory comments here.

It makes you an even more astute voter if you have to wade through the regional right wing bullshit that surrounds you and not follow the crowd. I hate stereotyping a State anyway.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

29. I don't doubt that there are a lot of white people in the South who are

eager to put the racist years behind them. And I don't blame you for being put out at the image many Americans have of a "typical" Southern white person.

[Lisa]

30. my friend Pat cried in the voting booth when she cast her ballot

So proud of her, and so proud of you as well.

[illuminaughty]

61. Defense coming from Kansas here.

We get a bad rep for being such a red state even though it was hard to find a McCain sign anywhere near where I live.

Alabama is one of the few states I've not been to, but I've noticed a lot of great posts from Alabamans here on DU. I hate being defined by a border I happen to live in.

[OwnedByFerrets]

63. I want to thank each and every one of you who spoke up

for the "good" people of Alabama. It is MUCH appreciated.

[Realityhack]

76. Good for you... I applaud the efforts you and others made.

and your votes are greatly appreciated.

I am not exactly shocked by the statistics but you are correct that there are good people in every state.

[OwnedByFerrets]

78. Thank you very much.

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AZ Criminal JD]

34. Go back to lurkering. You will sound more intelligent by saying nothing

[yardwork]

38. There's a link to DU rules at the bottom of the page. Read them.

[BadGimp]

26. Alabama...that one word says it all

Knuckle Dragger Central

[GoddessOfGuinness]

27. I'm wondering what percentage of AL eligible white voters actually voted...

A colleague of mine opted not to vote at all because she felt she'd be voting "for the lesser of two evils".

She'd gotten an earful of the birth certificateless Obama from somewhere (probably the pulpit). At the same time, though she hasn't actually come out and said it, I get the feeling there's a lot of prejudice under her surface.

I wonder how many white voters couldn't see voting for McCain, but couldn't bring themselves to let go of their heritage of hate.

[Texano78704]

51. About two-thirds of registered voters voted

About 2 million of 3 million registered voters in Alabama turned out. Blacks make up about 27% of the population. I would guess that the 10% that voted for Obama would be roughly that percentage of the Black electorate that voted.

[rosesaylavee]

31. I think getting broadband in the deep south and other rural

localities will certainly help get better information to these folks. When you have limited radio and television and most of the programming consists of RW trash talking bigots, that shapes the world view of it's listeners/viewers.

[yardwork]

37. I agree. We need to break the right-wing monopoly on media in rural areas.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[jody]

36. Tommy Stevenson's Blog opinion you cite would be more balanced if he acknowledged 98% of African

Americans voted for Obama.

The stats are 10% of White voters voted for Obama and 88% for McCain versus 98% of African American voters voted for Obama versus 2% for McCain.

SOURCE:
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#ALP00p1
http://blogs.tuscaloosanews.com/default.asp?item=228530...

[yardwork]

39. Is there a place to find out how those numbers compare to 2004?

Ever since the 1970s, the majority of southern whites have voted Republican in presidential elections.

[jody]

41. Try the link below

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004//pages/results/states/...

[yardwork]

42. Thank you!

[ensemble]

40. A couple things...

as a non-native southerner living in the Deep South:

I bet 1/2 of that 10% was from non-native southerners like me.

Someplace like WV might have racial prejudices, but there aren't really that many blacks and someone like Obama doesn't fit the stereotype. In the Deep South its part of the culture and not just some general perceptions.
You can see Us and Them everyday. We vote this way, you vote that way.

One other factor in South Alabama - President Obama probably means the Tanker Project will not come to Mobile.

[yardwork]

43. In Alabama in 2004 Kerry got 19% of the white vote; Obama got 10% in 2008.

Obama got more of the black vote than Kerry got, though. While 9% of African Americans voted for Bush in 2004, only 2% voted for McCain in 2008. Of course, these are small sample sizes and based on exit polls.

It definitely looks like racism swayed some white Alabamans to vote for McCain instead of Obama, though.

[jody]

44. If you conclude stats show "racism swayed some white Alabamans to vote for McCain instead of Obama"

you must also conclude "racism swayed some African American Alabamans to vote for Obama instead of McCain".

[yardwork]

47. Disagree. For starters, voting for Obama is the rational choice.

Four years after the 2004 election, there are even more reasons to vote for the Democrat instead of "more of the same McCain." So, it's reasonable to conclude that more people selected Obama simply on the basis of his being a better candidate.

All over the country, people who voted for Bush in 2004 decided to vote for Obama in 2008. Yet among white voters in Alabama, the percentage who voted for the Republican doubled between 2004 and 2008. There is no rational reason for this - my conclusion is that it is racism, pure and simple.

[jody]

49. How do you spin the following "Was Race of Candidates a Factor to You?"

Total        Obama     McCain     Other/No Answer
Yes (19%)     53%       45%        2%
No (80%)      51%       46%        3%

Source page 6 at http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#val=USP...

[yardwork]

66. What's to spin?

[jody]

68. I said "you must also conclude 'racism swayed some African American Alabamans to vote for Obama

instead of McCain'."

You said "Disagree". Please prove the stats you contend show racism by some White voters do not also show racism by some African American voters.

[yardwork]

72. The African Americans voted for white candidates in the past.

[jody]

75. I stand by my statements in #44 and #68. n/t

[JonQ]

77. So a drop in support by 9% for the black canidate

among white voters is conclusive proof of racism, whereas a drop in support for the white candidate among black voters by 7% isn't (using your own numbers)? So that 2% is the deciding factor between a meaningless shift in demographics and horrible, horrible racism?

Could it also be that southern voters tend to be more conservative on a great many issues in general (gun control, abortion, gay marriage,etc), and thus went with the more conservative candidate?

There were more factors involved than simply the candidates skin color, like you know their platforms and such.

And it does seem that blacks were far more likely to use race as a deciding/influencing factor in their choice than whites. Isn't that racism?

Double standards and baseless accusations generally aren't great ways to win over voters.

[Azlady]

45. K&R

[Julius Civitatus]

46. Shocker!

[gaspee]

50. I'm going to point to these stats

When people (and yes, some of them are here on DU) claim the north is just as racist as the south. In every single state in NE, Obama won the white vote. And yes, while we do have ignoramuses around here, they aren't really all that common. Add in the fact that marriage equality is a reality in two states, recognized in a third (RI recognizes same-sex marriages performed in MA and CT) and civil unions in VT (and NH?) and New England is a pretty progressive place. We got rid of all the R's from NE in the House of Reps --- let's see if we can get rid of the R Governors in the next cycle!

[jody]

53. Why introduce same-sex marriage that Obama says he opposes? Does that make him a bigot? n/t

[gaspee]

55. Uhhhh

I was pointing to the progressiveness of NE - not drawing any parallel between the two issues.

But since you went there, yeah, I think he's a bigot. I think anyone who imposes their personal religious beliefs on anyone else's lives is a bigot.

But that was not my point, no. I'm just happy with where I live and my peeps. Even the old people in my family who 20 years ago were quite racist and homophobic have changed. I like it. I like to think my calling them out a few times about their attitudes helped to change their attitudes - either that or they kept pace with a changing world.

Either way, I like seeing those numbers.

[Third Doctor]

58. That sound about right

I live in Tuscaloosa and this place is as backward as can be. In the local paper there was a lie stating that the reason Mccain won in Alabama was due to Obama's policies not his race. Suuuuure right. The other half of the article said that they were afraid Obama would take their guns and they did not like the fact that he is pro choice. This area of Bama is really starting suffer from the recession but this is what these morons were thinking about? The Dems were outvoted bt 20% here.

[Third Doctor]

59. I have to amend my statement.

T Town did indeed support Obama, but the rest of the state swamped us. After reading the full article I was damed proud of the immediate area that I lived in. It's the rest of the state that's clueless.

[yardwork]

67. Welcome to DU!

Thank you for posting about your experience in AL. I have a question. Do you feel that talk radio has a strong influence on how people feel about politics and social issues? Are there sources of information that are accurate, or are people mostly hearing right-wing spin and hate talk from the radio and other media?

I'm interested in this subject. Thanks for any info.

[jody]

60. Things are changing but race matters to many voters, CA is one example.

Nation wide
Was Race of Candidates a Factor to You?

Total        Obama     McCain     Other/No Answer
Yes (19%)     53%       45%        2%
No (80%)      51%       46%        3%

California
Was Race of Candidates a Factor to You?

Total        Obama     McCain     Other/No Answer
Yes (16%)     63%       37%        N/A
No (82%)      57%       41%        2%

SOURCE: Exit Polls at http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/president /

[ContinentalOp]

65. What's the point you're trying to make? Black people saying that race is a factor...

in their voting for Obama is somehow racist? I think some people who may not have otherwise voted may have come out and voted for Obama just because of the historical aspect. On the other hand, the people who admit that they voted for McCain because of race (and let's face it, the number of people who admit it are far smaller than the total) are clearly racist.

[jody]

69. Exit polls show that some voters were influenced by the race of the candidate. If those stats are

used by anyone to argue some Whites are racists they must also conclude some African Americans are racists.

Anyone who is not familiar with hate groups split along racial boundaries might browse "Active U.S. Hate Groups" at the Southern Poverty Law Center site.

I'm not trying to pick a fight with anyone but I do object to using stats like 88% of Whites voted for McCain implying or asserting racism and conveniently ignoring facts like 98% of African Americans voted for Obama and its implications of racism where the latter assertion is just as plausible as the former.

[RattusRattus]

70. Ah...

I can only guess that you're not a native of New England. I'm from NH, and I can tell you the reason that state has turned blue is a recent influx of people from Mass. Generally, NH natives are Republican; not necessarily the neocon drooling Republican, but still Republican. My father neither cared for Bush's policies, or Palin, but still voted for McCain.

Additionally, race is more a cultural concept than an issue of skin color. I have a lot more in common with someone of another skin color raised in the middle of the woods (one year I won a pig at a county fair--he was delicious) than a white kid raised in an urban setting. In fact, I recall being shocked that one boyfriend didn't know what green wood was (too wet to burn well), and that he thought a cord of wood was what you bought at the gas station wrapped up in twine. It's also strange to me that someone wouldn't know how to fish, although I've gotten pretty rusty.

The fact of the matter is, racism is a product of a lack of critical thinking, and a lack of compassion. There is no culture that is free of it. In Pittsburgh, one of the things my sister liked about moving her kids from public to private school is the fact that the black children played with the white children. She was shocked to see at one outing how the other black children scolded their friend for playing with the white kids. It's going to take a lot of intelligent discourse, a lot of accepting the validity of opinions which you may not necessarily agree with, and a good dose of humor to deal with this issue. Unfortunately, statistics help very little with these things.

[gaspee]

80. Actually I am

New Englander born and bred. I can go back six generations on one side, and the other side is Irish immigrants in the late 1880's - so there goes your theory.

[olddad56]

71. They only vote for blood relatives in Alabama.

[OwnedByFerrets]

79. I hope you washed your hands after you pulled that straight outta

your ass.

[4_TN_TITANS]

73. "How can liberals get these Deep South whites to do the same?"

Pure and simple - Economic Pain / Torture. Because of our low cost of living in TN, the white vote of 34% probably reflects the amount of whites feeling severe to moderate 'inconveniences' from Republican rule. TN also turned it's Congress red this year and it won't take the Repubs long to screw up our state economy.

A long hard spanking by the economy to a majority of Tennesseans will cut through the racism.