On the Contrary

There was an interesting op-ed in the New York times (South Carolina’s Divisive Vote) about what voters told them as they came out of the polls:

“Two-thirds of voters interviewed in exit polls said they made their decision on the basis of the two South Carolina debates, where Mr. Gingrich exploited racial resentment and hatred of the news media to connect with furious voters…He had a much better sense of the raw, destructive anger at President Obama swirling around a highly conservative and combative state, and he reflected it back to voters everywhere he went. “

Now you can argue that this is the New York Time is editorializing about what Gingrich really sold in his debate performances, but then it is an editorial and for most of us, it was obvious what he was selling.  He also sold blaming the victim with his just get a job and teaching poor (black) kids the lesson of work.  And he connected with these old fat white people’s visceral hate of President Obama.  You know, that belief that he is not really an American. If you don’t think it was a racist appeal then:

“It was Mr. Gingrich who pulled the race into the gutter, where he found considerable support. He repeatedly called Mr. Obama “the greatest food-stamp president in American history,” and lectured a black questioner at Monday’s debate about the amount of federal handouts to blacks, suggesting their work ethic was questionable.  On Thursday, in the derisive tones of a radio talk-show host, he said Mr. Obama’s cabinet looked like Mickey Mouse and Goofy.

If you don’t see blatant racial hatred in this you are blind.  But it gets better:

“In one of the most telling results of the exit polls, most voters said that cutting the federal budget was more important than encouraging job growth. At a time when more than 13 million people remain unemployed, these voters do not want the government to do a thing about it, possibly because it might improve Mr. Obama’s re-election chances. “

Here to me is the worst assertion.  There is no discussion of how to get out of our mess.  There is no rational weighing of economic policies, especially against real outcomes we have seen from conservative policies.  What we see is raw, I got mine, screw you.  This is the crowd who are going to send people to Washington “to work together to solve our problems”?  As the article points out:

“South Carolina has moved sharply rightward since Mr. Obama arrived on the national scene. In 2000, 24 percent of state voters said they were “very conservative,” but that number jumped to 34 percent in 2008. Now it is up to 37 percent, according to exit polls. Two-thirds of Saturday’s voters said they supported the Tea Party, reflecting the election in 2010 of four South Carolina freshmen who are among the most extreme members of the House.”

I think America saw all that is wrong with America and the people  who call themselves very conservative in this part of the countr.  Instead of rational discussions about real solutions for tomorrow what we saw was racial, ideological, and class intolerance, perfectly willing to cast the nation aside to hold on to their piece of the pie.  I hope most Americans have as bad a taste in their mouths as I do after watching these candidates and citizens in action.  There is no hope for an economic resurgence with this crowd.