Sticks and stones

The West Virginia Democrats who voted for an imprisoned felon instead of President Obama are accused of being racists by at least one national Democrat, according to ABC News, which declined to name the high-profile Dem.

Forty-two percent of Democrats voting in Tuesday’s primary voted for Keith Judd, or rather, Federal Inmate No. 11593-051, who won 10 counties in the Mountain State and, like Obama, didn’t campaign there. He’s not even incarcerated in West Virginia, but Texas. He merely met the most minimum of standards, paying the $2,500 filing fee and submitting a notarized “certificate of announcement.” No campaign manager, no pollster, no endorsements — it literally took nothing to get 42 percent against Obama among Democrats, now making it rather difficult for them to tout the alleged “split” in the Republican Party. 

{mosads}Obama also lost 21 percent of the primary vote in North Carolina against someone named “no preference.” No word yet if “no preference” will have a speaking role at the Democratic convention this summer in … North Carolina.

It is unclear whether or not Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) was in that group of 42 percent, as he has said he is unsure whether he’ll vote for President Obama in November. Does that make him racist? It is so hard to tell these days, since the ugly charge is loosely thrown around to the point of having almost no meaning anymore. In fact, the name-calling by Democrats is severe enough to potentially pose a threat to their electoral prospects in November. In 2008, Obama referred to people who did not support him as being “bitter” and “clinging to their God and their guns.” 

It didn’t sit well.

Republicans opposing gay marriage are called homophobes and bigots, yet Democrat mouthpieces and pundits don’t seem to want to acknowledge that half of African-Americans also oppose gay marriage — 49 percent, according to an April 2012 Pew Research survey, and that 32 states have supported traditional marriage by a 2-to-1 margin on ballot votes. Up until Wednesday, President Obama was opposed to gay marriage, but I’ve yet to find a single reference to his pre-Wednesday homophobia and bigotry by Democrats in favor of gay marriage. Now that Obama’s position is “evolving” he is in no position to charge Republican presidential near-nominee Mitt Romney with being a flip-flopper on anything — anything at all. Ever. 

Let’s just say that Romney has “evolved,” too.

Additionally, while African-Americans are more socially conservative on issues such as gay marriage and abortion than whites, (nearly 40 percent of African-Americans think abortion should be illegal, according to Pew) they are spared the name-calling and accusations of homophobia, or of launching or supporting a “war on women.” Those invectives are spewed only at Republicans, and African-American support for Obama is still in the high 90s. While not an optimistic prognostication, it’s possible Romney could peel off a small percentage of the African-American vote from Obama because of their differences on social issues, making the critical difference in a close race.

Democrats clearly have a campaign strategy designed to divide America, hoping the various disparate groups that comprise their base don’t compare notes with one another, and remain unaware of what Obama is saying about “others” who might be against gay marriage (even if pro-civil union), or against abortion, or even those supporting gun rights, which has gained traction among Americans, including an 11-point jump in six months among African-Americans. Obama’s base is not a unified group, by any stretch. In fact, increasingly, Democrats are relying primarily on a patchwork coalition of isolated single-issue groups to whip up into an angry mob on Election Day, regardless of the facts or how Obama’s penchant for failure is destroying their lives and their country. The last thing President Obama and the Democrats want is for voters to see the big picture.

The racist, homophobic bitters clinging to their God and their guns and launching a “war on women” include many, many Democrats and, significantly, about half of all African-Americans — at least by Democrat leaders and President Obama’s definition. 

The over-the-top invective, name-calling and out-and-out bullying by Democrats could begin to wear on even those who agree with them on some of those issues. While Republicans certainly can mix it up good and loud within our own party on social issues, a big tent for a better GOP and a better America remains the overriding sentiment and objective — even after a bruising presidential primary process.

Cheri Jacobus is a political/public affairs consultant. She has worked on Capitol Hill and managed congressional campaigns, and now appears on CNN, MSNBC, PBS and other venues.