Quote:
Originally Posted by MrSparkle001
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It's fewer than 2008, but Republican turnout and youth were less too. There just wasn't as much enthusiasm this time.
In 2016 the Democrats have to recapture what they had in 2008. How will they? Maybe Hillary? She comes with baggage now though. Who knows.
Yes they vote Democratic most of the time, but in Obama's case they have reason to go out and vote.
Do you think they would have voted in such numbers if it were two old white guys running? You think they voted en masse for John Kerry, or Al Gore? Nope. They didn't.
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I know it's been a week since someone posted in this thread, but I couldn't let this ridiculous post go unanswered.
You keep making these assertions about black voter preferences and voter turnout, but you never back them up with statistics, leaving others to do all the work. Black voter turnout was highest in 2008, but the increase was consistent with increases in previous years (see here:
http://www.ssdan.net/sites/default/f...fs/vtbrief.pdf). Different sources give different numbers, but usually the turnout rate of blacks in 2008 is estimated around 65%, while the rate in 2004 is around 60%, with 56% in 2000, and even lower in 1996. The 1992 rate is as high as that of 2000 but the point is that it fluctuates over long periods of time, and in the short-term (the past 16 years) we can see that it's been increasing. Back to your original point: a 5% increase in voter turnout among a group that represents 1/8 of the US population could not possibly swing an election. With what we already know about how people voted in the swing states, what you're saying is mathematically impossible. Moreover, saying that voter turnout went up significantly among blacks because one of the candidates was black, just shows ignorance of basic math. It's also kind of offensive to assume that black people are somehow unique in (sometimes) preferring candidates who share their background, since (a) more white people voted for Romney and McCain than previous GOP candidates (how many times do I have to repeat this?), and (b) only marginally more black people voted for Obama than previous democratic candidates, something which has already been proven in this thread. For further proof that black voters just prefer the democrats and that Obama's skin colour is completely irrelevant, just look at the election where Keith Ellison handily obliterated Chris Fields with over 75% of the vote, even though both candidates were black, and Fields frequently played the race card to try and secure the black vote. Just keep pushing this idea that the democrats will only win if their candidate is a minority, who cares if it doesn't have an ounce of truth to it.