Highbrow Magazine - elections 2014 https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/elections-2014 en How Democrats Lost the Midterm Elections https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4439-how-democrats-lost-midterm-elections <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 11/12/2014 - 14:59</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1democrats.jpg?itok=c43JcNtv"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1democrats.jpg?itok=c43JcNtv" width="480" height="313" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://punditwire.com/2014/11/11/snatching-defeat-from-the-jaws-of-victory/">PunditWire.com</a></strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>We’ll never know if Democrats actually could have emerged from the November 4th midterm election with a few new Senate seats, like Kansas, Kentucky or even Georgia. Or if they could have held on to a few they lost, like Arkansas, Colorado or South Dakota. We’ll never know because once again they blew it. They weren’t out-organized or outmanned. They were outthought, out-chutzpahed and, ultimately, out-foxed. </p> <p> </p> <p>Democrats across the country could have run on issues the public cares about; issues the public supports. Instead, they ran away from them.  They could have referred to the Affordable Care Act, rather than the dreaded ‘Obamacare,’ and pointed out that 10 million Americans now have healthcare coverage who didn’t before. Even if they didn’t want to suggest that the country is better off with more healthy people, they could have mentioned that 10 million fewer people will now have to rely on hospital emergency rooms for healthcare, which is far more expensive and for which the taxpayer picks up the tab.</p> <p> </p> <p>They could have mentioned that there’s actually good news about the economy, which seems to be one of the major concerns for most Americans, at least according to every public opinion survey. The unemployment rate, at 5.8 percent, is the lowest in years. More than 200,000 new jobs were created in October, the 56th month in a row of job growth. The budget deficit has been cut in half since 2008. The U.S. is now close to becoming an energy exporter, producing and generating more than we use. And all this has happened under a Democratic administration, with little or no help from Republicans in Congress. They could have mentioned that.</p> <p> </p> <p>But they didn’t. They ran like frightened sheep. And they let the Republican Party and Republican candidates create an environment filled with fear: Islamic militants, little children from Central America who came here for sanctuary to avoid rape and murder, the Chinese, the North Koreans, and the Ebola “crisis,” in which, as has been widely noted, fewer Americans died than have been married to Kim Kardashian. Yet Democrats allowed the Republican message: “Be afraid. Be very afraid” to frame the election.</p> <p> </p> <p>So now we’re awash in descriptions of a Republican wave, promoted of course by the Republican Party apparatus, repeated dutifully by FOX News and echoed vapidly by many other pundits. Factually, a majority of voters went to the polls and voted for Republicans, but it was more a ripple than a wave. To refer to this as a national mandate, as GOP Chairman Reince Priebus insists, is laughable. You can call a slight breeze a hurricane, but it doesn’t make it so.</p> <p> </p> <p>If you want to talk about a national mandate, President Obama was re-elected in 2012 with more than a 5-million vote margin over Mitt Romney. Yet, for the last two years, Republicans have completely ignored the “will of the people” and continued to oppose virtually everything the administration tried to do, even those issues with overwhelming public support. Hypocrisy barely begins to describe the fundamental dishonesty of the “loyal opposition.”</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumobamademocrat%20%28NAM%29_6.jpg" style="height:335px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Expectations for razorthin margins were heightened by those who “pund” (isn’t that what pundits do?). They talked endlessly about polling results changing overnight, going back and forth like a tennis match. As a matter of fact, public opinion rarely lurches back and forth. It tends to move more slowly and take just a while to catch up with what’s happening. Occasionally, there are jolts, usually when something dramatic occurs: Mitt Romney’s 47 percent comments, Allison Lundergan Grimes’ refusal to admit that, as a Democratic delegate in 2012, she actually voted for the Democratic candidate. The idea that public opinion is constantly vibrating back and forth in the last few days of an election is pundit fantasy, and has a lot to do with comparing different polls and the sampling problems.</p> <p> </p> <p>Republicans far surpassed usual midterm gains for the party out of the White House. But it came against many opponents who ran away from the accomplishments of their party and their president. That’s why Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY), under federal indictment for 20 counts of corruption and fraud, got re-elected. That’s how Ed Gillespie, former lobbyist for Enron and consummate Washington insider ran against Washington insiders and came within 15,000 votes out of more than 2-million of becoming a U.S. Senator from Virginia. That’s how Pat Roberts (R-KS), who basically takes up space in the Senate, got re-elected. That’s how Gov. Sam Brownback (R-KS), whose wacky economic theories have put his state’s economy in the tank and resulted in a lowered bond rating, got re-elected. That’s how Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL), by most accounts one of the most corrupt and unaccomplished politicians in Florida history, and who, according to the <em>Tampa Bay Times</em>, spent $100-million on television advertising, including nearly $13-million of his own money in the last week, managed to get re-elected.</p> <p> </p> <p>The party “out of power” nearly always tries to nationalize and generalize midterm elections rather than fighting over issues that directly affect voters. This year, Republicans were wildly successful. But it would have been more interesting if Democrats had put up a real fight.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio: </strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Dave Helfert has been a political and governmental communicator for more than 30 years, writing speeches for elected officials and candidates, creating media in more than 200 political campaigns, working for six years as a Communications Director in the Clinton Administration and then nine years in the U.S. House.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://punditwire.com/2014/11/11/snatching-defeat-from-the-jaws-of-victory/">PunditWire.com</a></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/midterm-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">midterm elections</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/democrats-lost" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">democrats lost</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/republicans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Republicans</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/senate-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">senate</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/congress" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">congress</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/elections-2014" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">elections 2014</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obamacare" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obamacare</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Dave Helfert</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Wikipedia Commons; New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 12 Nov 2014 19:59:34 +0000 tara 5417 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4439-how-democrats-lost-midterm-elections#comments Distancing Themselves From Obama Is What Cost Democrats https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4421-distancing-themselves-obama-what-cost-democrats <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 11/05/2014 - 10:41</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumObamaStateofUnion_5.jpg?itok=T3cIn9qf"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumObamaStateofUnion_5.jpg?itok=T3cIn9qf" width="480" height="320" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2014/11/running_from_obama_hurt_dems_in_2014.html?wpisrc=topstories">The Root</a> and republished by our content partner New America Media</strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>The Republican Party’s takeover of the U.S. Senate in Tuesday’s midterm election is the tip of a rather sizeable iceberg that saw the GOP win governorships in the blue states of Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts.</p> <p> </p> <p>As the losses for Democrats mounted during the course of election night, any number of pundits questioned the Democratic Party’s Obama Avoidance Syndrome. That philosophy failed to aid Democrats in Kentucky and Georgia hoping for upset victories. The party’s reluctance to embrace the Obama administration’s successes in providing health care, lowering unemployment and saving the nation from a great recession proved to be their undoing.</p> <p> </p> <p>With the national party abandoning the president, black voters responded with less enthusiasm and less turnout than 2012.</p> <p> </p> <p>The Party of No’s success was based on a number of factors, including the 2010 redistricting that has turned Congress into a virtual fortress, President Barack Obama’s relatively low approval ratings and a favorable Senate re-election map that allowed Republicans to play aggressive offense while the Democrats shrank from the fight.</p> <p> </p> <p>Obama’s absence from the ballot was clearly felt in gubernatorial and Senate races in states the president carried two years ago, most notably Colorado.</p> <p> </p> <p>It didn’t have to turn out this way.</p> <p> </p> <p>Both the Obama administration and the Democratic Party have failed to articulate a coherent message and vision to the American people this election cycle. Rather than join forces and extol the president’s leadership on domestic issues, especially with regard to unemployment, health care and the environment, Democrats abandoned the president and in the process allowed Republicans to successfully shape this year’s message.</p> <p> </p> <p>Ironically, the same party that has spent the last four years blocking any and all progressive legislation cast itself as outsiders, ready and willing to change Washington. Perhaps even more incredibly, enough voters believed in that message so that they handed control of the Senate to Republicans.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumobamaclinton_2.jpg" style="height:335px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>President Obama must now deal with a Republican-controlled Congress for the final two years of his presidency. The lesson, should Democrats choose to take it, is that progressives must act with the courage of their convictions. But many will say the exact opposite, arguing that the red-state election night tsunami indicates a national tilt to the right. This is dead wrong.</p> <p> </p> <p>The failure to mobilize the Obama coalition cost democrats nationally. Poll-driven gubernatorial and Senate campaigns, orchestrated by well-paid consultants, failed to inspire the kind of grassroots insurgency that made Obama’s victories possible.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>2016 will indeed be a referendum on the Obama administration and the Democratic Party’s willingness to embrace the president’s legacy. If, as they did this year, they cut and run, rather than stand and fight, we will surely see a Republican president inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2017.</p> <p> </p> <p>The Democratic Party’s presidential candidate must offer a clear vision, one that extols the virtues of Obama’s policy victories, and of political continuity, rather than distance or avoidance.</p> <p> </p> <p>Finally, Democrats must rediscover their political identity. Obama’s call for hope and change in 2008 helped to revive the party’s liberal and progressive wing. In passing the Affordable Care Act, Obama succeeded in institutionalizing the signal policy achievement of our era. The inability of the entire party, now, to run on that signal achievement, stands out as a failure of imagination, character and integrity.</p> <p> </p> <p>The silver lining to yesterday’s results is that in two years, Democrats get another chance. Let’s hope that by then, President Obama and the national Democratic Party find common ground. We have seen the results when they don’t.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><strong><em>Peniel E. Joseph, a contributing editor at The Root, is founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy and a professor of history at Tufts University. He is the author of Waiting ’Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America, Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama and Stokely: A Life. </em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2014/11/running_from_obama_hurt_dems_in_2014.html?wpisrc=topstories">The Root</a> and republished by our content partner New America Media</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/midterm-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">midterm elections</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/republican-victory" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">republican victory</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/democrats-loss" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">democrats loss</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/senate" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the senate</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/house" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the house</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/congress" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">congress</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/elections-2014" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">elections 2014</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obama</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obama-administration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obama administration</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Peniel E. Joseph</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Google Images; Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 05 Nov 2014 15:41:44 +0000 tara 5393 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4421-distancing-themselves-obama-what-cost-democrats#comments Youth Voter Turnout Is Critical in Midterm Elections https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4414-youth-voter-turnout-critical-midterm-elections <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 11/03/2014 - 10:50</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1youthvoters.jpg?itok=rITtWm1y"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1youthvoters.jpg?itok=rITtWm1y" width="480" height="270" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/10/youth-of-color-voting-still-critical-in-competitive-political-races.php">New America Media</a></strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>Youth voter turnout in North Carolina, including a sizeable segment of ethnic voters, will play a critical role in determining whether Democratic incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan retains her seat against Republican challenger, state House Speaker Thom Tillis, according to data on the voting patterns of youth of color.</p> <p> </p> <p>“The issue of the youth vote in North Carolina is related to but not identical to issues of race and ethnicity, but North Carolina’s young voters, ages 18 to 30 years old, are more diverse than its older voters. So who votes in this November’s election will be important to the outcome,” said Peter Levine, the director of the Center for Information &amp; Research on Civic and Learning Engagement (CIRCLE), a nonpartisan institute based at Tufts University in Massachusetts.</p> <p> </p> <p>In addition to North Carolina, states where the youth vote could affect the outcome in November’s competitive political races include Alaska, Colorado, and Louisiana, according to an analysis CIRCLE released in August. CIRCLE’s data on African American, Asian American, and Hispanic youth show the complexities at play in ways that may challenge common assumptions about what motivates youth to become civically engaged or affiliate with a political party.</p> <p> </p> <p>For example, the data show “a significant percentage of African American men more often identify as conservatives, given the choice of ‘are you a liberal, moderate, or conservative,’” Levine said, as opposed to African American women, who more often tend to self-identify as liberal. Gender differences are not only apparent in choice of political party, but in how they view their personal involvement.</p> <p> </p> <p>Though young women of color have typically higher rates of civic engagement than men as measured by volunteerism, they are “still less likely to see themselves as political leaders,” Levine said, adding that this view is fairly consistent with women across all ethnic groups.</p> <p> </p> <p>The contrasts between different groups of youth can be striking. Data from 2010 shows that nearly 40 percent of young Latinos are “civically alienated” in terms of voter registration and voter turnout, falling behind African American and white youth. Yet, young Latina women were among the strongest supporters of President Obama in 2012.</p> <p> </p> <p>Asian American youth were the next largest group to be “civically alienated” (just over 30 percent), but they led all groups in terms of donations to political causes (17 percent).</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2youthvoters.jpg" style="height:349px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>The data illuminates the tension between the idealistic goal of broadening youth participation in politics and the need of political parties to win at the ballot box by devising ways to decrease support for their opponents. That is certainly the case in North Carolina where the youth vote surged in the 2008 presidential election but ebbed in the 2010 midterm election, resulting in a Republican-dominated legislature that has sought to impose limits on youth voting.</p> <p> </p> <p>“The swing in the electorate from election to election is a fascinating story in North Carolina,” Levine said, "but it is really a story of youth engagement and participation in voting. North Carolina shows that the youth vote does matter in competitive races.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Levine said the youth vote may be critical in Louisiana as well. African American youth comprise about 40 percent of the state’s approximately 300,000 voting-age citizens overall, though only about one-third of the voters. “That’s still a significant bloc of voters,” Levine said. Should they vote en masse for embattled Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu, it could yield the margin of victory to propel her to another six-year term.</p> <p> </p> <p>Louisiana underscores the stakes for Democrats in this midterm election as to whether their party can retain control of the U.S. Senate when the House of Representatives already has a Republican majority that can impede President Obama’s legislative agenda.</p> <p> </p> <p>Levine’s observations are that the younger voters tend to be more liberal on social issues, like supporting gay rights or immigration reform, but that political operatives from either party shouldn’t take the youth vote for granted. “Youth of color voters have diverse interests, and as young people, their votes are often unpredictable,” he said.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/10/youth-of-color-voting-still-critical-in-competitive-political-races.php">New America Media</a></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/youth-voters" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">youth voters</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/midterm-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">midterm elections</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/elections-2014" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">elections 2014</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/young-voters" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">young voters</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/democrats" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Democrats</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/republicans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Republicans</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Khalil Abdullah</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 03 Nov 2014 15:50:11 +0000 tara 5380 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4414-youth-voter-turnout-critical-midterm-elections#comments The Midterm Elections: What Issues Are Most Important to African-American Women Voters? https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4411-midterm-elections-what-issues-are-most-important-african-american-women-voters <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 11/03/2014 - 10:42</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumblackvoters_0.jpg?itok=63jYSYV_"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumblackvoters_0.jpg?itok=63jYSYV_" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_take/2014/10/midterm_elections_what_do_black_women_want.html?wpisrc=topstories">The Root</a> and republished by our content partner New America Media: </strong></p> <p> <br /> Making sense of high-profile House, Senate and gubernatorial races this tight will mean breaking down every voting bloc into the microscopic bits of data to parse through in the postmortem. And of all the big mysteries that will be closely watched and dissected on Nov. 4, few will be as anxiously anticipated as the exit polling for women voters—since they were <a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/report/2012/12/12/47916/how-women-changed-the-outcome-of-the-election/">53 percent</a> of the electorate in 2012. Commentators, strategists and campaign managers walking that last electoral mile will be looking for answers to one of the more <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/fixgov/posts/2014/10/21-2014-midterms-women-voters-sawhill">vexing questions</a> of the 2014 midterms: What do women voters care about?<br /> <br /> Perhaps one of the more underestimated and overlooked voting segments is black women. Since black women <a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2013/05/young_black_women_led_the_2012_youth_voter_turnout.html">outvoted</a> their white counterparts by 11 percentage points in 2012, essentially quarterbacking a historically high black voting base that year, it’s safe to say they’ll turn out again. By how much we don’t know. But what we do know is that, as <em>The Nation’s</em> Dani McClain <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/182457/why-black-women-are-voting-bloc-watch-midterms">asserts</a>, black women are “the voting bloc to watch.”<br /> <br /> The Take looks at what black women might be thinking as they head to the polls next Tuesday. A number of leading experts chimed in and offered some perspective, including: Elsie Scott, founding director of the Ronald Walters Leadership and Public Policy Center; Chanelle P. Hardy, senior vice president for policy at the National Urban League; Ohio State University Professor of African-American Literature Koritha Mitchell; Kristal Hartsfield, national director of the Republican National Committee’s African-American Strategic Initiatives; Jennifer Daniels, CEO of Good&amp;Smart; and Danielle Adams, a member of the Durham, N.C., Board of Supervisors Soil and Water Conservation District.<br /> <br /> <strong>Danielle Adams</strong> (@<a href="https://twitter.com/DanielleAdamsNC">DanielleAdamsNC</a>): I wish I gave a damn about this election. I wish I was motivated and fired up and ready to go, but I’m not. For the first time in my 10-plus years of voting I’ve considered not voting in every race on the ballot. In this election I have no one to fight for because there are no candidates on my ballot fighting for me. Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) broadcasts commercials featuring women of diverse backgrounds and talks about her fight against defunding Planned Parenthood, restricting reproductive rights and intruding on the abilities of women to make personal choices with their health care providers. Reproductive health has become the single women’s issue of 2014. However, black female voters don’t have the luxury to be so single focused.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/3blackvoters.jpg" style="height:456px; width:625px" /></p> <p><br /> <br /> <strong>Chanelle P. Hardy</strong> (@<a href="https://twitter.com/ChanelleHardy">ChanelleHardy</a>): While I agree with the women that emphasize that women’s issues are front and center for midterm elections and that women’s health is a priority, I believe it is deeply important that we not overlook the economic policies that have a dramatic impact in the day-to-day lives of black women. African-American women are over-represented in low-wage jobs—so our wages actually dropped in 2013. Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would lift many of us out of poverty. African-American women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by a white man. Fixing this disparity would translate to real dollars to strengthen our households and grow the economy. The African-American homeownership rate is down to 44 percent from a high of 49 percent. For African Americans, more than any other group, our wealth is tied to our homes—representing more than 90 percent of our wealth.</p> <p><br /> <br /> <strong>Elsie Scott</strong> (@<a href="https://twitter.com/Walters_Legacy">Walters_Legacy</a>): The most universal concern for black women are economic issues including income equality, job creation, underemployment, benefits. Other key issues are health care and education—affordable quality education. Voter suppression will continue to be an issue of concern in states where laws have been changed and/or actions taken that the black population considers as acts to restrict their vote or ability to vote. Violence and the criminal-justice system could drive turnout with Ferguson, Mo., and other police-citizen confrontations continuing. Most of the incidents have involved black men, but women have been on the front lines advocating for change. Reproductive choice is of concern, but not to the extent that it is among white women activists.<br /> <br /> <strong>Jennifer Daniels</strong> (@<a href="https://twitter.com/jentrification">jentrification</a>): Black women are voting for more than reproductive rights—we are voting for our living children. We care about their access to exceptional public education. Safe and clean drinking water. Breathable air. I think black women are tuned into this midterm election cycle; more than any other voting bloc. This year, there are more black women running for office—from school board to secretary of state. Our next political fight will be exercising our power by putting up our own slates and clearly defining our issues during an election.<br /> <br /> <strong>Kristal Hartsfield</strong> (@<a href="https://twitter.com/Kristalq1">Kristalq1</a>): Black women voters are not one-issue voters. The reproductive rights discussion is important, but just like all voters, black women are concerned about jobs and equal pay, access to quality, affordable health care and housing for themselves and their families. They want quality educational options for their children and essentially the opportunity to live the American dream.<br /> <br /> <strong>Koritha Mitchell</strong> (@<a href="https://twitter.com/ProfKori">ProfKori</a>): Voter suppression touches a nerve for me because it’s an example of what I call know-your-place aggression. Those who want to suppress the voice of the people wouldn’t be working so hard to do so if they were not scared of the success that people are having despite every obstacle put in their way. Just as we saw a conservative backlash after black soldiers earned honor abroad in World War I and World War II and after the civil rights victories of the 1960s and 1970s, we are seeing a backlash in the age of Obama. All of this disregard for black life in the streets and disregard for black and brown voices at the ballot box has everything to do with our seeing ourselves as citizens and having some success at being recognized as such. Some people are determined to reverse that progress, so the violent backlash is a reaction to our success. Black success beckons the mob.<br />  </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong><br />  </p> <p><em>Charles D. Ellison is a veteran political strategist and regular contributor to The Root. He is also Washington correspondent for the Philadelphia Tribune and chief political correspondent for Uptown magazine. Follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/charlesdellison">Twitter</a>.</em></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_take/2014/10/midterm_elections_what_do_black_women_want.html?wpisrc=topstories">The Root</a> and republished by our content partner New America Media</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/midterm-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">midterm elections</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/elections-2014" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">elections 2014</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/black-voters" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">black voters</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/black-women-voters" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">black women voters</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/minority-voters" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">minority voters</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/democrats" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Democrats</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/republicans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Republicans</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/senate-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">senate</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/house" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the house</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Charles D. Ellison</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The Root; Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 03 Nov 2014 15:42:40 +0000 tara 5378 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4411-midterm-elections-what-issues-are-most-important-african-american-women-voters#comments Why Candidates Should Focus on Asian-American Voters in the Midterm Elections https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4377-why-candidates-should-focus-asian-american-voters-midterm-elections <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 10/20/2014 - 13:14</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/3voters.jpg?itok=woMb120j"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/3voters.jpg?itok=woMb120j" width="480" height="283" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/10/why-candidates-shouldnt-ignore-asian-american-voters.php">New America Media</a>:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Asians and Pacific Islanders (APIs) are a fast-growing population and as a voting bloc, their numbers have nearly doubled since 2000, but political candidates continue to ignore them, according to a new study.</p> <p> </p> <p>APIs are the fastest growing population in the United States, having outpaced Hispanic growth in 2012. In terms of political power, the API electorate nearly doubled to 3.9 million voters between 2000 to 2012, according to a poll of 1337 registered Asian American voters by Asian Americans Advancing Justice.</p> <p> </p> <p>The study highlighted several characteristics of this increasingly powerful electorate.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>1.</strong>         About a third (27 percent) of about 4 million API voters are “up for grabs.”</p> <p> </p> <p>“The largest group is ‘independent,’ or ‘don’t know,’” the survey found, “while among partisans, Democrats have a 2 to1 advantage.” The results are similar to findings in 2012, with one big difference: “There’s a stronger identification with Democrats among women in 2014 than in 2012,” according to the study,</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>2.</strong>         Asian American voters tend to favor Democrats on key issues.</p> <p> </p> <p>“The Democratic advantage is strongest on healthcare, income inequality, moderate gun control, immigration and smallest on taxes.” Republicans, on the other hand, are seen as stronger on national security. Notably, Vietnamese Americans by far find national security a “very important issue” at 72 percent, followed by Korean Americans at 56 percent.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>3.         </strong>The role of ethnic media is a crucial source of information for API voters.</p> <p> </p> <p>Since API voters have the highest rates of limited English proficiency, (35 percent) and since 77 percent speak another language other than English at home, many rely on ethnic media to get their primary source of information. Vietnamese Americans lead among the the groups at 61 percent followed by Chinese Americans at slightly over half, Korean Americans at just over a third.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>4.</strong>         As a group, API voters favor Democrats in U.S. House races.</p> <p> </p> <p>Asian Indians emerged as the group with highest Democratic Party favorability at 68 percent, whereas Korean Americans leaned toward GOP candidates more than half the time, followed by Vietnamese Americans at 45 percent. But, there are two exceptions. “The two parties are evenly matched among Chinese Americans and Republican candidates hold an advantage among Vietnamese American voters,” according to the report.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>5.         </strong>Voter enthusiasm is the same as before.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/4voters.jpg" style="height:402px; width:602px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Overall, women are not as enthusiastic as they were in the last election, and Vietnamese American voters and Republicans are the most enthusiastic this time around.</p> <p> </p> <p>“In elections to come, it is clear Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders will have the opportunity to influence positive change,” the study noted. “By 2025, APIs will make up 5 percent of the national electorate and by 2044, the group will constitute 10 of the national electorate.”</p> <p> </p> <p>This year, Asian American votes can also matter in battleground states. In competitive races, the API vote could mean the margin of victory. In Virginia, for instance, Asian Americans make up about 10 percent of eligible voters, and in Nevada, that number is about 11 percent, according to AAJC. “In 60 House races in the midterm elections, Asian Americans make up more than 8 percent of the district’s citizen voting age population,” the study noted.</p> <p> </p> <p>In May of 2014, Slate.com published a story with maps that got policy wonks talking. Entitled “Tagalog in California, Cherokee in Arkansas,” it showed how counterintuitive it might be for Americans to guess who’s where in America. Under the section of “Most common Language Spoken Other Than English and Spanish,” (in other words, the 3rd most popular language spoken) one is surprised to find that it’s Vietnamese in states like Washington, Texas, Nebraska and Oklahoma. In Virginia and Georgia? It’s Korean. And in Hawaii, Nevada and California? It’s Tagalog.</p> <p> </p> <p>The map raises these questions: What are the fourth popular languages spoken in these states? Which will form formidable swing votes in the coming midterm and, more importantly, the primary in 2016? How will an increasingly powerful Asian American electorate affect American politics?</p> <p> </p> <p>The answers remain to be seen, but it’s clear that in potential battleground states like Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona, ignoring immigrant and minority voters would be detrimental to candidates of any political stripe.</p> <p> </p> <p>“The Asian American community is building civic and political infrastructures across the country,” writes the study authors, noting that, for example, Congressional candidates of API descent increased nearly fourfold to 39 in the last four years.</p> <p> </p> <p>The report warned that “it would be a mistake for political parties and candidates to overlook the Asian American vote.”  It recommended reaching API voters through ethnic media, in multiple languages, and candidates “must also think about the Asian American community from the start, not as an afterthought.”</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/asianvoters.jpg" style="height:262px; width:609px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><strong><em>Andrew Lam is an editor with New America Media and author of "Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora," and "East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres." His latest book is "Birds of Paradise Lost," a short story collection, was published in 2013 and won a Pen/Josephine Miles Literary Award in 2014.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/10/why-candidates-shouldnt-ignore-asian-american-voters.php">New America Media</a></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/asian-americans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Asian Americans</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/asian-voters" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">asian voters</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/asian-community" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Asian community</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/filipinos" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Filipinos</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/vietnamese" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Vietnamese</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/chinese" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Chinese</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/korean-americans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">korean americans</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/voting-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">voting</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/early-voting" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">early voting</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/midterm-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">midterm elections</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/political-candidates" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">political candidates</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/elections-2014" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">elections 2014</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Andrew Lam</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media; Google Images</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 20 Oct 2014 17:14:27 +0000 tara 5328 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4377-why-candidates-should-focus-asian-american-voters-midterm-elections#comments