After focusing on problems within the Republican Party, interesting observations are being made about tension within the Democratic Party. It all revolves around the passage of Proposition 8 in California which revoked the gay marriage decision by the California courts. Support for the proposition was heavy among African American voters, which suggests that two constituencies within the Democratic Party: the Gay community and the African American community may be at odds:
Last month, Proposition 8 passed, making gay marriage illegal in California, and the demographic that lent insult to injury was the state’s African-American voters.
They came to the polls in record numbers to support Barack Obama, and they brought with them a fiercely held and enduring antipathy toward homosexuality: 7 in 10 blacks voted in support of traditional marriage. Whether that was the game-changer or not is a question for near-constant debate. Many gay activists have begun quietly to suggest that had Hillary Clinton been the Democratic nominee, Prop 8 would not have passed.
This passage about the nature of party coalitions is worth note:
...there’s a big difference between coalition politics and rainbow party politics.
A coalition is composed of groups that may dislike — or even hate — one another, but who understand the shared political expediency of standing together. Rainbow party politics involve bringing together masses of people who are identified by being burdened by a particular grievance. Soon enough — in groups forged of such friable bonds, and almost always when matters of morality and lifestyle come into play — you will discover that one oppressed group does not necessarily support the goals of another oppressed group.
Which weakens the coalition, and makes it less effective. The trick for the Democrats is to make sure this tension does not turn into a split. Perhaps Republicans can lure one or the other to their tent. Frankly I'm not sure how. You?
