Throughout this 2012 Presidential campaign I kept wondering who the pollsters were talking about when they said the race for the White House is “tied among likely voters”. How were they determining who the likely voters were? I knew that in years past African Americans, Latinos and even young people would not have been factored into their equations. Perhaps they were not this time either
All of the pundits last night agreed that demographics were on President Obama’s side for re-election and that Republicans had underestimated the strength of “minority” groups who tend to align more with Democratic ideology
Cokie Roberts, early in the evening on ABC’s Election Night broadcast observed that white men comprised only 34% of the electorate. She went on to observe that you wouldn’t know it by the makeup of corporate Boards. Later we learned that Mitt Romney did very well among whites, especially white men.
A number of revealing statistics were cited last night:
- 80% of baby boomers are White while 40% of Millennials are not
- Six in 10 voters under 30 years old voted for President Obama
- Single women voted for President Obama by a 38% margin
- 10% of the Latino population voted for the first time in history and the majority voted for President Obama
- Republicans Todd Aiken and Richard Murdock lost to their Democratic contenders because of their controversial and totally erroneous comments about women and rape
There was a pretty unanimous conclusion among the political experts last night that there is a new electorate that is younger and more ethnically diverse than ever before. They are exercising their voice on issues like same sex marriage, which passed in Maine and Maryland, and legal use of Marijuana, which passed in Colorado and Washington.
Ideologically the country seems to be at a cross roads where conservatives have tended to become more conservative as they witness changes that disrupt their value system; there is a rise in the number of those claiming to be independent as their discomfort rises with trends that may be even too liberal for their tastes.
Yes, the United States is polarized around some very key issues that force us to examine our deeply held values, assumptions and world views. The pundits said that President Obama will have to tackle the polarization in his second term, bringing the country together. That is a really tall order and I would not put all of the onus on him.
Inclusion requires that each of us as individuals examine our own world views and move to a point where we can accept the myriad differences as part of the spectrum of what is normal, even where we may not agree. It will require listening more and understanding more about those issues and opinions that we disagree with
One thing is clear from this election. We can no longer ignore or exclude those who have historically been considered “the minority”. The power dynamic has shifted not only in this country but throughout the world. White men no longer rule. The effects are not only in politics. They are being felt in education, corporations, government and religion
Our very survival as a planet depends on our ability to become more inclusive. It is hard work; let’s keep the movement going!
