Stephen A. Smith: Bite the hand that feeds you.

[dank69]

Good plan, idiot.

Edit: Sorry I figured everyone knew about this by now.

 

[waggy]

uh ok.

i wish i knew what you were talking about but you don't have any links..

 

[DigDog]

tell me more

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

He's talking about this - http://www.mediaite.com/tv/stephen-...ack-american-would-vote-gop-for-one-election/ -

Stephen A. Smith Wishes Every Black American Would Vote GOP for One Election

by Andrew Kirell | 5:08 pm, March 18th, 2015

ESPN host Stephen A. Smith thinks that if, for one election, every black American voted Republican, it would send a message to both parties that the demographic is not under any one particular party’s control.

“What I dream is that for one election, just one, every black person in America vote Republican,” Smith said Tuesday afternoon at the Impact Symposium at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. His explanation:

From what I’ve read, Barry Goldwater is going against Lyndon B. Johnson. He’s your Republican candidate; he is completely against the civil rights movement. Lyndon B. Johnson was in favor of it — civil rights legislation. What happens is, he wins office, Barry Goldwater loses office, but there was a Senate, a Republican Senate, that pushed the votes to the president’s desk. It was the Democrats who were against civil rights legislation — the southern Dixiecrats. So because President Lyndon B. Johnson was a Democrat, black America assumed the Democrats were for it.

According to the clip, recorded and first published by Breitbart, Smith clarified further that black people voting for the Republican Party would be a great way to get both parties to pay attention to the racial demographic’s needs:

Black folks in America are telling one party, “We don’t give a damn about you.” They’re telling the other party, “You’ve got our vote.” Therefore, you have labeled yourself “disenfranchised” because one party knows they’ve got you under their thumb. The other party knows they’ll never get you and nobody comes to address your interest.

During his impassioned monologue, Smith likened blacks voting for Republicans to customers “shopping around,” essentially asking shops to “cater to them” so that they will do business.

“We don’t do that with politics,” he lamented, “and then we blame white America for our disenfranchisement.”

* * *

I am not a Stephen A. Smith fan, at all - I find him a self-important windbag whose opinions are often half-baked - but there is a kernel of truth hidden in there. The Democratic party has long counted on having black voters in their camp - black people in fact vote Democrat more reliably than people who self-identify as Democrats. That being said, the reason they do so is presumably that, broadly speaking, they feel Democrats are likelier to honor their interests and help them. Whether or not that's true depends on what one believes is in black people's best interests. My sense is that most black voters would not agree it would be a good idea to vote Republican for a single election cycle in the hopes that it would incentivize both parties to cater more to black voters.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

And I think everyone should just vote Libertarian for one election....so I guess that makes me an idiot too.

 

[PokerGuy]

For once, Smith is right. The dems know they have the AA vote in the bag and don't feel much need to cater to them. The repubs know they have absolutely no chance to get their vote no matter what they do, so they don't cater to them. The best way to get the political parties to pay attention to you as a block and your wants/needs is to be "in play" each election.

 

[dank69]

And I think everyone should just vote Libertarian for one election....so I guess that makes me an idiot too.

How would that be biting the hand that feeds you?

 

[dank69]

For once, Smith is right. The dems know they have the AA vote in the bag and don't feel much need to cater to them. The repubs know they have absolutely no chance to get their vote no matter what they do, so they don't cater to them. The best way to get the political parties to pay attention to you as a block and your wants/needs is to be "in play" each election.

Or vote in the fucking primaries for candidates that want what you want.

I'd be interested to know exactly what it is that he thinks they aren't getting from Democrats.

 

[fskimospy]

I am not a Stephen Smith fan, at all, but there is a kernel of truth hidden in there. The Democratic party has long counted on having black voters in their camp - black people in fact vote Democrat more reliably than people who self-identify as Democrats. That being said, the reason they do so is presumably that, broadly speaking, they feel Democrats are likelier to honor their interests and help them. Whether or not that's true depends on what one believes is in black people's best interests. My sense is that most black voters would not agree it would be a good idea to vote Republican for a single election cycle in the hopes that it would incentivize both parties to cater more to black voters.

In order for that to be effective you would need to create a credible belief in Republican legislators and elites that black votes were legitimately up for grabs and it's unlikely that voting once would do that. Even then it's not likely.

I think the Log Cabin Republicans or GOProud are good examples of what generally happens to groups that attempt to alter the course of parties from the inside like that.

 

[dank69]

He's talking about this - http://www.mediaite.com/tv/stephen-...ack-american-would-vote-gop-for-one-election/ -



I am not a Stephen A. Smith fan, at all - I find him a self-important windbag whose opinions are often half-baked - but there is a kernel of truth hidden in there. The Democratic party has long counted on having black voters in their camp - black people in fact vote Democrat more reliably than people who self-identify as Democrats. That being said, the reason they do so is presumably that, broadly speaking, they feel Democrats are likelier to honor their interests and help them. Whether or not that's true depends on what one believes is in black people's best interests. My sense is that most black voters would not agree it would be a good idea to vote Republican for a single election cycle in the hopes that it would incentivize both parties to cater more to black voters.

Yes, there is a kernel of truth but this "solution" he is proposing is not well thought out, or since I assume he is loaded, GOP policies are actually good for him and he doesn't give a shit about anyone else.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

In order for that to be effective you would need to create a credible belief in Republican legislators and elites that black votes were legitimately up for grabs and it's unlikely that voting once would do that. Even then it's not likely.

I think the Log Cabin Republicans or GOProud are good examples of what generally happens to groups that attempt to alter the course of parties from the inside like that.

That is absolutely a legitimate point. At least the Log Cabin Republicans are, broadly speaking, wealthier-than-average people who are largely motivated by their preference toward fiscal conservatism (not that the modern GOP really hews to that concept), and thus willing to sidestep the social conservatism that generally comes with being a Republican. Black people as a whole (the group Smith is encouraging to vote Republican) are less wealthy than average, and less likely to individually benefit from a system that would lower taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

 

[emperus]

Or, maybe start their own party.

You have two options, 1 party believes in your right to equal treatment, the other party well.. doesn't. That's an easy vote for me.

 

[emperus]

Stephen A. Smith is an absolute idiot when it comes to these issues. I find he tends to stand on the side of entrenched power.

 

[emperus]

Yes, there is a kernel of truth but this "solution" he is proposing is not well thought out, or since I assume he is loaded, GOP policies are actually good for him and he doesn't give a shit about anyone else.

Gop policies are good to you up to the point you realize you have kids and realize they will have to grow up being black with the by product of the Racism the party disseminates.

I have a lot of very wealthy socially conservative African American friends and only 1 (because of the Fund he works at) "says" he's a Republican.

 

[First]

Screamin A Smith has never been good at his job as a sports commentator, which he actually specializes in. Forget about political commentary, dude is out of his element in almost any setting.

Look, there's a reason African Americans have voted en masse for Dems for decades, and it has do with well documented historical reality; the regional and political makeup of Dems and Repubs has changed drastically in the last 60 years, from a Southern conservative party to a more Northern liberal progressive party. To not accept that history is to either believe that 90% of blacks are voting Dem out of sheer statistical coincidence or that they're too uninformed to vote their economic and social interests. Either way, it says nothing good about those persons (often faux) criticizing why blacks vote Dem by 90-10 margins.

 

[Ns1]

sounds reasonable and his argument is thought out.


so has he gotten death threats yet?

 

[BoomerD]

And I think everyone should just vote Libertarian for one election....so I guess that makes me an idiot too.

If it would only make a real difference. While, yes, the constant party politics bickering is a problem, IMO, the REAL problem is the system itself...and the money.
Get money out of politics, reform the system, take back "our" government from the corporations who now own it, lock, stock, and congresscritter.

 

[hal2kilo]

Yes, there is a kernel of truth but this "solution" he is proposing is not well thought out, or since I assume he is loaded, GOP policies are actually good for him and he doesn't give a shit about anyone else.

Dems take blacks for granted the same way Repubs take the Evangels for granted. Very handy at election time though. Thats reality.

 

[Texashiker]

That being said, the reason they do so is presumably that, broadly speaking, they feel Democrats are likelier to honor their interests and help them.

Broadly speaking, once blacks rise well above the poverty level they stop voting democrat.

The key to keeping blacks and other minorities voting democrat is to keep them poor.

Remove the factories from the cities, let the inner city fall into extreme poverty, offer handouts, and you will have people voting democrat for life.

 

[nickqt]

Broadly speaking, once blacks rise well above the poverty level they stop voting democrat.

The key to keeping blacks and other minorities voting democrat is to keep them poor.

Remove the factories from the cities, let the inner city fall into extreme poverty, offer handouts, and you will have people voting democrat for life.

Laughable.

Keep your base dumb and paranoid, and you'll have a dependable Republican base.

Are you aware of the recent attempt by KingObama™ to set off a nuke in Charleston SC?!

 

[Texashiker]

Laughable.

Keep your base dumb and paranoid, and you'll have a dependable Republican base.

Wake up and face the facts.

Minorities, not just blacks, share a wide range of Republican values. Such as family values, religion, anti-abortion,,,, etc.

One of the key factors that prevents blacks from voting GOP is their fear of losing welfare.

Once the welfare issue is removed and blacks move up the economic ladder, they start voting GOP.

 

[unokitty]

Loyalty to the Democratic Party, has it produced less inequality?

 

[finglobes]

Many blacks don't actually follow politics in any meaningful way. They tend to see things as "conspiracies". "The man" is out to get them they will say. Dems tell them they are right to fear "the man" and that they will stick it to "the man" for them. The Dem relationship to blacks is like an Island dictator who is always telling his people to be ready for an invasion by "imperialists". Blacks don't see Obama and Dems burying them under all the illegals. They think Obama is just bringing in more soldiers to "stick it to the man"

 

[Mani]

Wake up and face the facts.

One of the key factors that prevents blacks from voting GOP is their fear of losing welfare.

And this is why you guys will never get the black vote. You tell yourselves fairy tales like this. What keeps them from voting R is that they believe Republicans don't care about them or their concerns, generalize them all as welfare recipients, and believe they are culturally inferior. Honestly can't really blame them for believing those things either.

 

[Bitek]

He's talking about this - http://www.mediaite.com/tv/stephen-...ack-american-would-vote-gop-for-one-election/ -



I am not a Stephen A. Smith fan, at all - I find him a self-important windbag whose opinions are often half-baked - but there is a kernel of truth hidden in there. The Democratic party has long counted on having black voters in their camp - black people in fact vote Democrat more reliably than people who self-identify as Democrats. That being said, the reason they do so is presumably that, broadly speaking, they feel Democrats are likelier to honor their interests and help them. Whether or not that's true depends on what one believes is in black people's best interests. My sense is that most black voters would not agree it would be a good idea to vote Republican for a single election cycle in the hopes that it would incentivize both parties to cater more to black voters.

Is this the political theory of "just give the robber your money and he'll stop punching you in the face"?


D's don't just get to bank a large block of black votes regardless of their support.
Blacks may not turn to Rs, but they can easily just not show up, which is the margin of victory in many elections.

This clowns idea makes little practical sense.