digg

Facebook Connect Join Digg About
See the original image at huffingtonpost.com

Obama's Oregon Lead Defies "White Working Class Problem"

huffingtonpost.com — The population of Oregon, according to census estimates is roughly 3.7 million, 90 percent of who are white and 1.9 percent of who are black. Eighteen percent of all jobs are manufacturing, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the median household income in 2004 was $42,568.

Who dugg this? Made popular May 20, 2008

Digg DudeWhat is Digg?

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. Digg surfaces the best stuff as submitted and voted on by the community. Take the Tour to learn more.

161 Comments

show profanity settings
expand all
  • acroyear2, on 05/20/2008, -4/+102I'm looking forward to the new phase of excuses:

    Obama doesn't attract white, hardworking, muslim-fearing, illiterates. He can't quite seem to tap into that demographic. Too bad.
  • dBass, on 05/20/2008, -13/+62If HRC, Inc. doesn't win Oregon, it's because Oregon doesn't matter.
  • stevets, on 05/20/2008, -4/+40I'm from Oregon and I can say that the vast majority of democratic voters that I have seen and spoken to are Obama supporters. There are not many folks who support Hillary - at least not openly. I'm not sure how she'll downplay a loss here. This state represents a wide range of demographics; Poverty, middle-working class, college educated, and so on. This state is about as average as they come. Not overly religious, not entirely blue collar, or educated. If HRC loses this one, I'm not sure how she could downplay it. Time will tell.
  • schrutefan, on 05/20/2008, -1/+35Please, Obama doesn't have a problem with white working class voters! "White working class" is code for white racists, rednecks, and idiots. It has nothing to do with how hardworking they are or how low their income is.

    Comparing Oregon to West Virginia or Kentucky is ridiculous.
  • indiancompanion, on 05/20/2008, -4/+26THANK YOU OREGON!!!, maybee it can shut up some people now (hillary mainly)
  • beguiledfoil, on 05/20/2008, -0/+18Here's the "excuse"...

    The whites in Oregon are nothing like the whites that "couldn't vote for a black man" in WV, just because these statistics (income, age, career, education level) are similar is no reason to paint all these white folk into a corner or say that Obama can win white folks "like this" across the country.

    Yep, there are "low income white working class Americans" in Oregon. No, they aren't the "low income white working class Americans" in WV. The northwest and appalachia are very different places the fact that Obama is doing well in Oregon just underscores this fact and the fact that these voting "blocks" are largely superficial classifications set up by a media interested in simplifying everything, even when that results in an inaccurate presentation of reality.

    People aren't just a product of their class, across America they are very *****' different. You'll never mistake a virginian for a caledonian...
  • FairDinkumMate, on 05/20/2008, -1/+18For someone who dislikes patronizing condescension you sure dished some out & then made it worse by stereotyping white Obama voters in exactly the same way minorities of all color & creed have been stereotyped for as long as anyone can remember!
  • skippyoh, on 05/20/2008, -2/+18God, Oregon is sexy yeah?
  • inactive, on 05/20/2008, -5/+20i know this will get buried, but im kinda getting tired of huffpost articles on digg. i like obama & plan on voting for him, but sometimes i feel like he's getting shoved in my face all the time.
  • inactive, on 05/20/2008, -0/+14I'm proud to be from Oregon, this limelight is well deserved.
  • lordcrimmeh, on 05/20/2008, -2/+16Yes Portland and Eugene are filled with hippies and liberals, we know this. You could say that the rally on sunday was full of that demographic. But 75,000 people showing up for a rally is a large number, no matter how you look at it.

    To compare, the Philadelphia rally drew 45,000... and thats Philadelphia.

    I don't know the percentages of blue collar/white collar, but the sheer number of Obama supporters i know (MANY) to Clinton supporters (NONE), here in a small farming town of 9500, leads me to believe... she just might lose by a little.
  • skippyoh, on 05/20/2008, -1/+15As long as it keeps people like you from coming here and being huge douche bags.
  • electroWildWood, on 05/20/2008, -3/+16i'm from portland. i have a conservative aunt and uncle that voted for bush who are voting for obama. we were blown away. also the 75 k rally suggests a big win on tuesday. we're excited that the democratic race could be decided in a few days.
  • EnviroChem, on 05/22/2009, -5/+18I really agree with the article that Obama's problem is a geographic problem not a white working class problem because he has done very well in many of the "whitest" states in the country. Obama is going to turn conventional wisdom about red vs. blue state on its heads and pundents are going to get a lot of states wrong in November.
  • Codeblew, on 05/20/2008, -0/+12I am a lazy white person in Oregon =(

    Edit: See, I was so lazy that I forgot a period
  • orph3us, on 05/20/2008, -0/+11Hey, I am an Oregonian, and I think the 90's were great. I think Bill Clinton was great. I simply don't think Hillary can take us back there. She, being Bill's wife, does not make her Bill. And it being 2008, does not make it 1992. New times, new policies, new person. How would I vote if Bill was allowed to run again? Obama. Bill has health issues and Obama is young and energetic. He is hopeful and that means a lot to me. Every President that has taken office has aged significantly upon exiting. Just look at GWB, even he has the look of someone who has aged significantly through the stresses of Presidency. We need someone who can take the blows and still stay positive. Youth, idealism and energy go together.
  • Fordi, on 05/20/2008, -0/+11But not so lazy as to add an edit. ^_^
  • swgc5, on 05/20/2008, -7/+18Hillary has died of dysentery...
  • awtripp, on 05/20/2008, -0/+10that bastard, he made it to Oregon! I always die of dysentery.
  • StateRadioFan, on 05/20/2008, -1/+11This has to be one of the most ignorant rants I have ever read from a fellow Portlander on Digg. I am one of those working class white voters from SE Portland that is also an Obama supporter. Please do us all a favor and keep your lame opinions and crazy reverse racism theories to yourself.
  • Mejari, on 05/20/2008, -0/+9But still so lazy that he forgot a period on the edit.
  • orph3us, on 05/20/2008, -2/+10Man, I'm in Oregon and I hope he wins. Because I just opened my ballot one day before voting and realized that it wasn't a democratic ballot. Just a general vote.. I thought I was registered but I obviously am not... so angry, and its my fault :(
  • jayfarer, on 05/20/2008, -1/+9He's never had a problem with working class whites. It's just that region - the Appalachian area and a few surrounding areas. He does fine with working class whites in other parts of the nation.
  • FairDinkumMate, on 05/20/2008, -0/+8Willl you guys never learn to quote SOURCES for your ridiculous 'FACTS' - unless of course the only source is your thoughts...
  • inactive, on 05/20/2008, -0/+7Its sad that the kids digging you down didnt even understand what you were talking about.
  • poxonyou, on 05/20/2008, -0/+7New argument, same as the old, just honest: "Obama can't win over racist whites. They're RACIST and won't vote for a non-white. They likely both believe Obama is an angry black Christian and a Muslim."
  • Pherdnut, on 05/20/2008, -0/+7I think 8 years of Bush has shifted a lot of priorities in this country.
  • HellDonut, on 05/20/2008, -0/+7The campaign tipped over while floating. You lose:
    1 nomination
    1 respect
    297 superdelegates
    Bill Clinton (drowned)
  • malex, on 05/20/2008, -0/+6There are pockets of ultra-nationalists out in the boonies. That hardly makes the whole state a "stronghold."
  • orph3us, on 05/20/2008, -0/+6flux
  • housewarmer, on 05/20/2008, -0/+6Uh, what? You mind citing those statistics that rather strikingly contradict the last Census data?
  • Pherdnut, on 05/20/2008, -0/+6Is it a real stretch to say hillbillies and rednecks don't necessarily fit in seamlessly with "working class whites?"
  • slowbox, on 05/20/2008, -0/+5Hippie counter-culture? He's the whitest black guy in the friggin country. He'd make Carlton from the Fresh Prince blush. But repubes got no other excuse except to label him as Oregon's hippie counter-culture? Stop hating your fellow Americans just because the guy's neck is too dark to get as red as yours. =)
  • iamnotbill, on 05/20/2008, -2/+7woah woah ... as an oregonian where the hell is this 1.9 you speak of?
  • aliengoods, on 05/20/2008, -0/+5First, I thought all universities were liberal. Didn't you get the memo?

    Second, Obama crushed Hillary in Idaho (79% to 17%, far bigger than WV). Are you now going to claim that they're ultra-liberal?

    Third, it doesn't matter if Hillary wins by more than Obama, because Obama has won far more than Hillary.

    Fourth, the ONLY question that matters is can Hillary prevent Obama from locking up the pledged delegate lead today. If she can, she has a prayer in hell. Otherwise she's dead.
  • enignock, on 05/20/2008, -0/+5I live on the south park blocks, there were literally thousands and thousands of people outside my front door in line for the rally. It was pretty staggering.
  • TheWorm, on 05/20/2008, -0/+5Small, small part of the population. In the populated parts of Oregon in between Eugene and Portland, people are pretty liberal. It's not a redneck state, even if there are some small rural redneck towns.
  • tommq, on 05/20/2008, -0/+5Emphasis on "angry black Christian AND a Muslim."

    At least racists are open minded enough to see the diversity of reasons to hate black people.
  • StarlessKnight, on 05/20/2008, -1/+6Unfortunately if Clinton were to try using that rational argument she'd be forced to go back over every other state and explain how they, too, are not an exception to the rule her campaign and the media are playing off.
  • TheWorm, on 05/20/2008, -1/+6Stop. It's old.
  • Krisgi, on 05/20/2008, -1/+5No tienes vergüenza, Rick. If you really were a Democrat, you would be happy that this Presidential race is breaking through race and gender walls in most places in the US. In a few others, we´ll have to wait for the species to evolve a bit more, but it´s one hell of a good start.

    White people don´t vote for Obama because of guilt. !!!!!!! They vote for him because he speaks a common language that a lot of people in this Nation simple "get". He is perceived as a unifier, and that is what we need in the US, and the world, after the huge fiasco of Bush´s 8-year massacre. Four more years of Bush and devisiveness, or not. It´s a fairly easy choice. And we will all benefit from a Democratic victory in November.

    I assume that you are a Clinton supporter, because of your being "Latino"... ¿Tengo razón? If you are, we can safely assume that you are just miffed about Obama´s advantage in the primaries. But, on that same note, can you please explain what it is that Hillary has or will do for La Raza that Obama would not?

    If you are not a Clinton supporter, sorry for the misfortunate generalization... the same kind that you commit with your comment.

    In truth, if you are truly a Democrat, you will vote for the Nominee, whomever he or she may be. Like all the rest of us. Hillary Clinton will fully support Obama in the Generals and vice versa. Venga. Y deja de ser más papista que el Papa.
  • xceptionaly, on 05/20/2008, -0/+4I suddenly feel old...
  • slowbox, on 05/20/2008, -0/+4Yep, I'm in north Georgia and couldn't agree more. I registered republican and will vote democrat proudly to show how far off the radar of reality these McCainites have fallen.
  • FairDinkumMate, on 05/20/2008, -0/+4Do you have anything even remotely resembling a source or fact that shows that interest only mortgages are more prevelant in Oregon than anywhere else or are you as I suspect just talking out of your arse?
  • Pherdnut, on 05/20/2008, -2/+6If you're too dense to be able to comprehend deeper reasons for the Obama enthusiasm, I feel sorry for you. And what color should they pick to represent the continent-spanning over-generalization that is "Latino" anyway?
  • darkciti2, on 05/20/2008, -0/+4Here in Alpharetta/Atlanta, GA most of the "hardworking" white people that I've talked to just want 'anyone BUT McCain/Huckabee'. They tell me that they just 'say' they are Republicans because "it's easier" than arguing. It's easier to be Republican to avoid "the pressure" from the phoney social scene among their friends, family, pastors, etc.

    However, just like every true American they are fed up every time they refuel at $4 a gallon.

    I'm angry at Republicans like Sonny Perdue for not doing enough to help us out of this energy problem. Here in GA, we pay administrative fees to the tune of $70/month if we want to install net-metering Solar Panels. It's just wrong.
  • casey148, on 05/20/2008, -0/+4I can count the number of black people that went to my high school on one hand. And I live about 10 minutes from downtown Portland. There's not even that many homeless black people here.
  • acroyear2, on 05/20/2008, -1/+5I don't know. That's pretty wordy. I don't think Hillary's going to have an easy time selling your excuse. I think mine works better.

    Mine is a better soundbyte for the media. Also Hillary having a blast simplifying everything as well: "hard working white americans", caucus states appeal to the activist base (god forbid we have activists), etc.
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 100 of 161 discussions

  • Add a Comment

    Login or register to comment!
    Or, sign-in super fast with your Facebook account ...

© Digg Inc. 2009 — Content created and posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain | Terms of Use Updated | Privacy Policy
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.