Race in Politics - Research Paper Example

Race in Politics Although, race does not seem to have much influence on voting patterns, a well-designed election strategy that draws heavily upon the race factor, can significantly affect the prospects of aspiring candidates. This was clearly evident in the Landrieu-Terrell electoral contest, held in Louisiana. During the election campaign, no stone was left unturned to affect the thinking of the electorate. Finally, the rivals managed to alienate the electorate on racial lines (Overton). This contest disclosed the importance of race in politics. Barack Obama is the first African – American to have been nominated for the US presidential elections. He was very careful to conduct a race – neutral campaign in the elections. However, no one lost sight of the race factor, and the media relied on it, while reporting on the progress of the presidential race. In fact, a talk show host went to the extent of denigrating Colin Powell’s endorsement of Obama as being racially motivated (Impact of Race on Election Remains an Unknown Factor). During the 2008 presidential elections, many were of the opinion that the race factor would have a major influence on the outcome of the elections. Some commentators were of the opinion that Obama would benefit from being an African – American (Cohen). This view is indicative of the manner, in which the race factor influences voting patterns in the US. There were two principal perspectives in the 2008 elections. First, that white voters were racists at heart, despite their public posturing; and that they would never vote for a black presidential candidate. The second viewpoint was that white voters would not reveal their prejudices openly, which would detract from the authenticity and reliability of any opinion poll (Cohen). Consequently, it was believed to a major extent that the white votes would go against Barack Obama. The Associated Press and Yahoo News had jointly conducted an opinion poll to assess the views of American voters. It was revealed in this poll that a considerable proportion of white Democrats and other independent representatives harbored adverse views about African – Americans. It was also assumed that racial antagonism could prove inimical to the electoral success of Obama (Cohen). A sizeable number of the whites in the US hold negative views about African – Americans, and this could be translated into fewer votes for Obama. However, the facts proved to be otherwise, and the perceived negative opinion of the white voters of America, against African – Americans, had scant influence on the voting pattern in the presidential election. Moreover, this Presidential Election provided many important insights into the mind of the general voters. The President and Vice – President team consisted of an African – American and a female. All along it had been presumed that gender bias and racial discrimination were commonplace among the whites in the US. In some regions of the US, especially the Southern region, white men are opposed to a woman or African – American presidential candidate. The people of these regions have traditionally disliked and opposed the candidature of women and black people (Lopez). This opposition to their contesting in the Presidential elections, failed to dissuade Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. They have been extremely realistic in their approach to these elections, and taken this prejudice factor into account. At this critical juncture, it became evident that Latin voters would play a crucial role in the Presidential elections and that these votes would prove to be of great significance for the Democratic Party. In accordance, with the statistics provided by the television channel, MSNBC, the Latino voters constituted nearly thirty percent of the voters in the Democratic electorate of California (Lopez). By the year 2004, the number of Latino voters had increased by nearly 100 percent. These voters were aware that they were creating history in the US, by casting their vote in a manner that would promote true democratic principles. Thus, it came to pass that issues related to race and gender were rendered subservient to more important issues, like health care and the Iraq war. These issues had seized the minds of the electorate, which was laboring under an economic downturn and an unwanted war that was draining the resources of the nation (Lopez). On surveying the preferences of the US voters, regarding the Presidential Candidates, it came to light that nearly 6% of the white voters were not in favor of Barack Obama, because of his race. This could lead to the conclusion that Americans are not yet mature enough to disregard race. Nevertheless, more than 9% of the voters declared that they would vote for Obama. Furthermore, 7% of the white voters were in favor of voting for Obama (Obama's Race Could Have an Unexpected Impact). The corresponding proportion of non – white voters, in favor of Obama, was of the order of 15%. Thus, it can be concluded that Obama’s race remained a neutral factor that did not have much influence on the voting. In respect of McCain, 6% of the voters were not supportive of him, and 7% were interested in voting for this Republican candidate (Obama's Race Could Have an Unexpected Impact). In the US, race has great significance. Racial discrimination is a long established and deep-rooted practice with the whites of the US. Racial prejudice commenced with the conquest of America by the Europeans, and the initially targeted were the native inhabitants. Subsequently, the natives of the African continent were captured and forcibly transported to the southern part of the US, where they were made to work as slaves on the plantations owned by the whites (What are recent developments on the subject of race relations?). The impact of Obama’s race on his chances to win in the 2008 Presidential election was widely debated. He is the first African – American contestant to be supported by a major party. An Opinion Dynamics poll conducted by CNN indicated that the race issue would have no influence on the elections. It was even surmised that Obama would emerge victor in these elections. This was reiterated by Obama’s supporters who claimed that race would be relegated to the background, and that more important issues would be considered by the electorate (The Race Factor). The results of the Presidential election vindicated the predictions of this poll. Several researchers have conducted a number of studies on the influence of group characteristics such as race, ethnicity, and gender on the voting pattern of legislators. It was noticed by these scholars that partisanship had a positive effect on voting behavior. In general, legislators respond to similar pressures, and the chief amongst these are partisanship and ideology. The previous researchers had mainly concentrated on the impact of race, ethnicity, and gender on legislative voting patterns (Bratton and Rouse). Consequently, they had discerned a minimal influence of these factors on the voting pattern. It is now evident that a different approach is to be adopted, in addressing this issue. According to Kingdon, Krehbiel, Cox, and McCubbins, most legislators use information shortcuts to arrive at voting decisions. The factors of race, ethnicity, and gender act as information cues for legislators. These factors have the ability to weaken or strengthen the differences between groups. The political heterogeneity of groups can promote or decrease the influence of these factors (Bratton and Rouse). Legislators from a majority group are less likely to support the bills introduced by legislators from the minority group, even though there is legislative heterogeneity between them. Thus, the race, ethnicity, and gender of a sponsoring legislator have a major effect on the voting pattern. At the time of the enactment of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in 1965, it was impossible to imagine that an African – American would be elected the president of the United States. This act was reauthorized in 2006, and the Supreme Court raised a constitutional doubt with regard to its validity (Ansolabehere, Persily and Stewart III: 1386). Thus, what was once imaginary emerged as a distinct possibility. Subsequent to the election of Barack Obama, the constitutional validity and the relevance of the VRA has been challenged by some commentators. Obama achieved a convincing victory at the polls, and to his credit, no previous Democratic candidate had procured such majority votes in States like Colarado, Indiana, and Virginia (Ansolabehere, Persily and Stewart III: 1387). Moreover, the 2008 elections created a new atmosphere where the earlier race – based patterns of voting, changed drastically. Obama gained wide spread support from a large proportion of white voters in some States. These voters were found to be more willing to vote for him. Therefore, Obama was not required to rely on the small number of minority voters. He conducted effective campaigns in other states to mobilise minority votes. In this manner, he averted the polarization of voting pattern behavior. In some States, the African – American populations were more than the white people. In those states, his mobilization of minority voters did not prevent the white voters from voting for him (Ansolabehere, Persily and Stewart III: 1435). Many are of the opinion that the VRA should be reviewed and modified, in order to provide protection for minority voting rights in the US. As such, the election of an African – American candidate as the President has highlighted that the VRA’s constitutional validity and relevance are limited in nature (Ansolabehere, Persily and Stewart III: 1436). Although race and gender had affected the voting patterrns of people in the past, other issues like health care and securuty proved to be of greater significance, for the voters. In the past, the American electorate had been much concerned with the race and gender of the Presidential candidate. All this changed in 2008, and Barack Obama was sucessful in shifting this lop sided view of politics to issues that really mattered. Thus, he focused on issues like health care, education and the untenable situation in Iraq. These were issues that really concerned the populace, and most of the people realized the futility of race in politics. The outcome was a resounding victory for Obama, and after his outstanding victory in the elections, he has taken up these issues on a war footing. He has achieved considerable success in salvaging the US economy and other issues of importance. This has established once for all that race has negligible influence on the voting pattern of the people. Work Cited Ansolabehere, Stephen, Nathaniel Persily and Charles Stewart III. "Race, Region, and Vote Choice in the 2008 Election: Implications for the Future of the Voting Rights Act." Harvard Law Review (2010): 123: 1385 – 1436. Bratton, Kate and Stella Rouse. "Do Group Characteristics Serve as Voting Cues? The Effects of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender on Legislative Voting Behavior." Conference Papers - Southern Political Science Association, 2007 Annual Meeting, 2007. 2007 Annual Meeting, p1. Cohen, Michael A. Does Race Really Matter? 5 October 2008. 27 October 2010 . Impact of Race on Election Remains an Unknown Factor. 22 October 2008. 27 October 2010 . Lopez, Matt. Does race or gender affect voting? 22 February 2008. 27 October 2010 . Obama's Race Could Have an Unexpected Impact. 10 October 2008. 27 October 2010 . Overton, Spencer. Does Race Still Matter? 28 July 2006. 27 October 2010 . The Race Factor. 25 October 2008. 28 October 2010 . What are recent developments on the subject of race relations? July 2008. 28 October 2010 . Read More