Racists for Obama
. . . And black nationalists for McCain?
In a survey that “wouldn’t fly with Gallup,” we found that 75 percent of white supremacists support Barack Obama, said David Peisner in Esquire, and black nationalists are voting for John McCain. Three of the four neo-Nazis and white-power extremists we talked with are voting for Obama, because they think he's race-conscious, and that he dislikes President Bush and corporations. Our one black supremacist thinks Obama will sell out black people.
There are also white supremacist leaders, like David Duke, who think the whirlwind of interest in Obama is “a rising tide that will lift their sagging boats,” said Max Blumenthal in The Daily Beast, bringing new members, money, and “mainstream influence” to their cause.
Certainly, “openly racist white people for Obama” is “the hot new trend of late October,” said Alex Pareene in Gawker. But really, is there anything to it other than “random tales of canvassers” and other “illustrative anecdotes”?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Judging by the polls, it looks like there might be, said Martin Kettle in Britain’s The Guardian. Are there racists? Sure. But if Obama wins, the surprising lesson might be this: “The assumption that an inner racist demon lurks latent and uncontrollable in the souls of all white Americans, waiting to jump to the Republican dog whistle, is simply untrue.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published