Fear and Pandering in the Palmetto State
Why did Bernie Sanders lose in South Carolina, and what does it mean going forward?
I’ve been listening to the wave of lament and frustration over the South Carolina Democratic primary results, and recurring pleas that we take a more measured view of black voters. We should. So here are a few provisional observations and thoughts on Saturday’s outcome, and what it does and doesn’t mean going forward.
1. “Why did black people vote against their interests?”
On Saturday, some black people did vote their interests, as they understand them, which shouldn’t be a revelation if you see black people as a group who hold multiple, shifting, and conflicting interests. Black people are not a herd of sheep, and this is a notion that many folks, including some blacks, need to disabuse themselves of. And I should add, while class is objective, class consciousness and interests are historical and subjective and, as such, contradictory.
That said, voting for a presidential candidate is an expression of one’s choice. But this is only a proxy for political interests, which are again multifaceted and shifting.
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