Wednesday, February 03, 2016

The Aftermath of the 2016 Iowa Primary

Pride goes before a fall. The previous sentence describes part of the historic 2016 Iowa Primary (as it relates to Trump). Some in the media glamorized Donald Trump. Yet, the Texas Senator Ted Cruz won the Iowa primary with 28 percent of the vote, Trump was second with 24 percent, and Rubio had 23 percent. Many people made up their minds at the day of the voting of the primary. Republican turnout was 185,000 up 54 percent from the previous record. The Republicans appeared to Christian conservatives and other conservatives. This story refutes the myth of Trump’s political invincibility. Many conservatives like Evangelicals live in the more western half of the state. Most of them backed the Cruz campaign. Rubio led in the state’s two largest cities of Des Moines and Davenport, and Trump led in Dubuque, Sioux City and many smaller industrial towns. Trump issued his concession speech in a brief fashion, He congratulated Cruz and Rubio in a more conciliatory tone. Later, Trump quickly used his private jet to go into New Hampshire. Mike Huckabee ended his campaign after the Iowa Primary. The nine Republican candidates who finished in the single digits will continue in their campaigns except Huckabee.  Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, once the frontrunner thanks to his name and huge campaign war chest, won less than 3 percent. His campaign spent $15 million in Iowa—an average of $3,000 for each of the 5,000 votes Bush received. Marco Rubio is a conservative who is a war monger and he said that he is electable enough to defeat Hillary or Sanders. Hillary Clinton won the Iowa primary in a very small percentage. The Clintons were in a panic for the longest time until recently. Hillary said that she felt a sigh of relief because of her victory. Bernie Sanders felt energized too and he will continue to try to get more delegates.

There was a high turnout of young people who voted in the Democratic primary in Iowa. This was especially true in the precincts around the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, Northern Iowa University, and in other college towns. These locations had people who backed Sanders overwhelmingly. His margin over Clinton among voters 30 and under, according to exit polls, was a remarkable 86 percent to 11 percent. By comparison, in 2008, Obama won 57 percent of under-30 voters, when he defeated Clinton and Senator John Edwards. Sanders won low-income voters, those with household incomes under $30,000 a year, by 16 points, and those in the $30,000-$50,000 bracket by 3 points. Clinton won voters in households with a union member by 9 points and black and Latino voters by 18 points. She won handily in households with incomes over $100,000 a year. Her biggest margin came among the elderly, winning 70 percent of those 65 and older. Other exit poll numbers point to the shift to the left expressed in the popular support for the Sanders campaign. Some 70 percent of Democratic caucus-goers described themselves as “very liberal,” and 90 percent said that health care, income inequality and the economy were the main issues. Only six percent cited terrorism as the main issue. Hillary Clinton says that she is a progressive and a supporter of universal health care, but she is not progressive on foreign policy matters. On foreign policy matter, she is hawkish just like her GOP counterparts. Bernie Sanders has promised to continue to politically campaign in New Hampshire and in other places. Also, there have been discussions about the voting count in Iowa. Other credible reports speak of at least six coin tosses being carried out for the purpose of assigning delegates, with the Hillary Clinton campaign, winning all six coin tosses – statistically a highly unlikely event.  There is the Microsoft app used to tally caucus results in the Democratic primary in Iowa. That is why some believe that such events benefit the Clinton campaign. Despite Bernie Sanders’ social democratic appeals, the establishment obviously wants Hillary Clinton to win the nomination for the Democratic Party. New Hampshire’s soon to occur primary will also determine the future of the Republican and Democratic campaigns. Then there's the interesting fact that one in seven votes at the Democrats' convention to nominate a presidential candidate go to "superdelegates"--unelected party insiders most of whom are already pledging their support to Clinton. The issues of economic inequality, social injustice, poverty, etc. are shown front in center during this 2016 election.


John Boyega is completely right. Black History Month is celebrated worldwide. I don't want a society that is colorblind anyway. I want a society that is egalitarian and color respectful instead. We should appreciate and celebrate our color, which is beautiful. Black is Beautiful. The haters have no idea about what Black History Month is or the origins of it. The great historian Carter G. Woodson taught us so much about our dynamic black culture. Also, learning about black history is not just about appreciating our heroes who are more well known. It is about comprehending the contributions of unsung heroes like Ella Baker and Oscar Micheaux. So many Sisters from Spelman decades ago contributed immensely to the civil rights movement too (especially in Atlanta, Georgia where human being sacrificed a great deal for the cause of human justice). We certainly realize that the black youth make black history everyday. Historically, the youth represent a large portion of revolutionaries (as the principles of the elders are bequeathed to the younger generation of black people). We won't stop, because we can't stop. Our legacy encompasses numerous superlatives, because we are filled with amazing resiliency, we are strong, and we are beautiful.

This is such a story (of 3 black women being verbally and physically assaulted by white racists in Albany, New York) that makes people who are freedom loving to be filled with indignant anger. It is obvious that white racism is an evil. White racist terrorists have harmed black people for a long time. This incident shows the viciousness of intolerance, racism, and gender-based violence. Three black women (who were called slurs) were violated of their human rights by white racist savages in a bus. No black person should be called slurs or assaulted period. These white racist savages should be held accountable for their actions. I do hope that the video footage would be revealed and I hope that justice is served. It doesn't matter if it is 2016 or 1806, we still must confront the system of racism/white supremacy. We have to tell it like it is. We have to fight for the human rights of our people. The three black women need solidarity and support. First, workers' rights is not just a concept that must be promoted nationally. It is an ideal that must be advanced internationally. So, I believe in international workers' solidarity as this progressive ideal has inspired plus changed the world. Nestle's crimes have existed for a long time. More of the media should definitely report on this story too. A real revolutionary always honors labor rights. The people of Thailand suffered massively corrupt working conditions and slave labor. Nestle have used privatization schemes and other forms of corporate corruption in Pakistan. The people of the Ivory Coast have a long history. They deserve respect too.

We want freedom plain and simple. In 2016, we are still in the quest to defend our human rights. First Black Unity is important to advance. I think that it is important to mention what Black unity isn't. Black Unity is not unconditionally supporting someone because someone is black. Black Unity isn't defending any black person who advances misogynoir, self hatred, and bigotry. Black Unity is never about forcing all black people involuntarily to agree on every issue (as we have ideological diversity in our community) and Black Unity is not about promoting patriarchy. Black Unity is about us agreeing with the common goal of freedom, justice, and equality for all black people regardless of background. Black Unity is about uniting among ourselves to defend the rights of black women, and the rest of the black family. Black Unity deals with respecting and honoring the cultural diversity of the Black African Diaspora. So, I do believe in Black Unity, Black Love, and Black Power forever. I have no problem with calling out traitors who don't care about black people or the black community. Traitors worship white society as divine while refusing to respect Blackness. One traitor back in the day was William O'Neal and today we have others like Jesse Lee Peterson. Also, traitors believe in false generalizations. Only a traitor believes that every black woman is the enemy. Only a traitor believes that every black man is the enemy (black men like Solomon Comissiong has written books, educated black kids, and did many other actions in real life to fight back against the system of white supremacy). It is certainly true that black men have to do a whole lot more to defend the human rights of black women without question. We have a long way to go. More work must be done. This is a fight for our liberation. As for the list that some people made in what black people should do, I believe in progressive principles (we ought to stand up against street harassment and any form of abuse in the world). We certainly need freedom, but we also need justice too.


By Timothy

No comments: