Are Democrats at risk of losing the most reliable voting base, Blacks?

Or, just as bad for Democrats, having low turnout?

This video may just be an anecdote, or it may be the sign of something larger happening.

An 82-year old Black woman named Joyce explains why she voted Republican for the first time in her life (via Tammy Bruce via Right Scoop).

Joyce’s rant is pure gold, and hits on the several points:

The economic devastation Democratic policies have wrought on the black community.

Abortion and its prevalence among African Americans.

The foolishness of calling people “racist” because they disagree with President Obama.

Black disappointment with President Obama himself is hurting Democrats in this election cycle.

Black voters’ disappointment with President Barack Obama, who they so eagerly embraced for so many years, could be costly on Election Day to Democrats, who badly need a big African-American turnout to win Senate and gubernatorial races in key states. Instead, many African-Americans see an unemployment rate well above the national average, continuing problems with crime in many neighborhoods, and a president more interested in trying to help other voting blocs that didn’t give him such unwavering support. …The black community, which gave Obama support like no other group, too often doesn’t see the investment paying off. “People in this community just don’t think anything is going to change,” said Akua Scott, a Miami-based labor organizer. …Obama remains hugely popular among blacks; last month’s McClatchy-Marist poll found 86 percent approved of the job he’s doing. But the disapproval number was 12 percent, double its level just after the 2012 election.

Republicans are trying to capitalize:

Yet, the Democrats are still pinning their hopes on turning out the black vote next Tuesday.

Democrats say their efforts to bring black voters to the polls are succeeding and could save their Senate majority on Election Day. Early voting by African-Americans is outpacing the 2010 midterms in many of the key races the party must win to hold the Senate, Democratic operatives say, with new registrations up among that segment of the electorate. ….[University of Virginia Center for Politics analyst Kyle] Kondik said, “there are some good anecdotal signs” across the country for Democrats. But ultimately, he said, it’s “hard to quantify” whether black voters will do enough to propel Democratic upsets.

The 2014 midterms may be historic — but not in the way Democrats want.



