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| Best headline: Alabama Voters to Roy Moore: F*ck You and the Horse You Rode in On |
Listening to the Republican talking heads on cable news this morning whitesplaining Doug Jones' amazing win in AL, you get the feeling that the revolt by black, women and young voters had nothing to do with it. They're mostly bemoaning the coming Democrat "tsunami" in 2018 and finger-pointing at Steve Bannon, as if the so-called "mainstream" GOP didn't rally behind white supremacist, child molester Roy Moore.
Their claim is that Moore was just a poor candidate and that Bannon somehow "dragged the president into a losing race” (Actually quoting the Guardian here). Trump hilariously plays along with this assessment, claiming that he wasn't really backing Moore after all and that he knew all along that Jones would win.
Maybe that was a typo and DT meant his dick was stacked against him.The reason I originally endorsed Luther Strange (and his numbers went up mightily), is that I said Roy Moore will not be able to win the General Election. I was right! Roy worked hard but the deck was stacked against him!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2017
But from my perspective, there was so much more to this race than individuals Bannon, Trump, or Moore vs. Jones. This was mainly a major body blow against the white supremacy and the resurgent racist and neo-fascist confederacy that Moore, Trump and Bannon embody and that have been a hallmark of the first year of Trump's administration.
I'd be careful not to overstate this. Alabama is still Alabama and still comfortably a red state steeped in segregation and Jim Crow. That didn't change yesterday and Democrats still have their work cut out for them in busting up the "solid South".
Campaign mastermind Joe Trippi, will get a lot of credit for Jones' win (as he should) as will the DNC leadership who came late, but came, with money and support for black voter turnout. The Sanders left and groups like MoveOn were visible in their support. But it was mainly black civil rights organizations like NAACP and black student groups that did the ground work getting people to the polls despite all the Republican-made restrictions on voting aimed specifically at black voters.
Showing off their white blindspot were some local DSAers who refused to back Jones because he wasn't socialist enough.
It's one thing to dis the current Dem leadership, which needs to be replaced. It's another to show up on the battlefield.
