No Future for the GOP?

Clinamenic

Binary & Tweed
If you take that statement at face value, it could be a claim that the percentage of african-americans voting is equal to the percentage of americans voting, the latter category including all americans.

But not at face value, he could have specifically had white americans in mind. I'm not sure, though.

I don't know of any reputable statistics personally, but I'd suspect that african-american voter turnout is below american voter turnout most broadly. I'd be a bit surprised if they were equal.
 

Clinamenic

Binary & Tweed
Its also just occurred to me that the culture war equivalent of casualties can be considered those who have been pilled one way or the other, i.e. those who have had their critical reasoning capabilities compromised and have become conduits for partisan sentiment.
 

Clinamenic

Binary & Tweed
That said, I do get the sense that many upper middle-class progressives have a concept of inequality that is entrenched into their identity as a progressive, which may make it harder to recognize actual progress as it unfolds. One example, among many counterexamples to be sure, is that the HoR is around 1/8 black, in proportion with the American population.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
If you take that statement at face value, it could be a claim that the percentage of african-americans voting is equal to the percentage of americans voting, the latter category including all americans.

But not at face value, he could have specifically had white americans in mind. I'm not sure, though.

I don't know of any reputable statistics personally, but I'd suspect that african-american voter turnout is below american voter turnout most broadly. I'd be a bit surprised if they were equal.
Well whether it's true or not, it seems to me that by far the most natural interpretation of what he said is that he was talking about two non-overlapping groups of people. Unless his next words were "...in general" or "...as a whole" and they've been deliberately cut out, which i suppose is not impossible.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
As a rule it's a cheap shot to make too much of a thing of someone misspeaking... on this occasion what it seems to say - that he doesn't consider African-Americans as real Americans - ties so neatly with what he's assumed to think that it's quite hard not to. His PR are probably saying to each other "at least he didn't say a 'as people' at the end there".
 

Clinamenic

Binary & Tweed
True, it just seems like the conclusion we reach here is predicated on our giving him the detriment of the doubt, a judgemental dynamic that arguably functions as the quantum of the culture war. That is, a bunch of people thinking this way amount to a polarized society.

In this case, giving him the detriment of the doubt isn't something I'd call unreasonable. But that is what we're doing.
 

Clinamenic

Binary & Tweed
I spent maybe an hour or so yesterday watching a livestream of a congress debate on the voting rights bill (not sure if it was a joint session or just senate), and it was pretty much one congressperson after another launching on some diatribe against the other party.

It's not pragmatic. As justified as you think the blame is, the primary consequence is the alienation of the adversary, which precludes dialectical progress.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
I remember a few years ago some policeman giving a talk to "local communities" and he was supposed to discuss Sunni Muslims and Shi-ites but he called them "the shitties" - didn't go over too well.
 

sus

Well-known member
Well whether it's true or not, it seems to me that by far the most natural interpretation of what he said is that he was talking about two non-overlapping groups of people. Unless his next words were "...in general" or "...as a whole" and they've been deliberately cut out, which i suppose is not impossible.
It actually does matter quite a bit whether (your interpretation) of the statistical correlation he claims is "true or not," unless you're accusing him of blatantly manufacturing statistics

@Clinamenic's interpretation is most likely the correct one here. Because non-hispanic, white turnout is significantly higher than non-hispanic black turnout, whereas black turnout is roughly equivalent to overall voter turnout.

So, if you're being remotely charitable to Mitch, it's clear his claim was referencing "Americans in general," not white people. Because that's the only way his statistical claim shakes out
 

sus

Well-known member
I've told you this in threads before Tea, your vision of what is "obviously" the "natural" interpretation is so hopelessly biased by your own partisan agenda that you misread things, jump to conclusions, and then claim it's inevitable.
 

Clinamenic

Binary & Tweed
One reason to think he meant "americans in general" is that it would be the exact response to dispel doubt about civic inequality in this case.
 

Clinamenic

Binary & Tweed
But again I don't have any source of statistics that I trust to defer to here, and my suspicion is that african-american voter turnout is somewhat lower than overall american voter turnout.
 

Clinamenic

Binary & Tweed
But I'm wary about jumping to the conclusion that this differential is concretely due to efforts of voter suppression by the GoP. It certainly wouldn't surprise me, and tactically I think it makes sense for them, but I am wary precisely because it is such an established narrative propounded by liberal outlets.
 

sus

Well-known member
But again I don't have any source of statistics that I trust to defer to here, and my suspicion is that african-american voter turnout is somewhat lower than overall american voter turnout.
Asians and Hispanics have pretty low numbers that bring down the white average.
 
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