Politics
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How Trump Lost The Black Vote
David Swerdlick is an associate editor at The Root. Follow him on Twitter.
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The GOP's Big Battle With Diversity
“It’s all about education,” said Dale Crosby. “I don’t think everyone understands what the Republican Party is about.” In between listening to speeches from undeclared presidential candidates, Crosby was explaining why he was one of the very few African-American delegates at the Spartanburg County Republican Party Convention in South Carolina on Saturday. “We are not…
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Tea Party Obsession With Size of Government: Really About Race?
Columbia professor Dorian Warren argues that, in the current heated debate over the federal budget, race deeply shapes our discussion. And it always has, even if no one wants to mention it. In a piece for ColorLines titled The Long Racial History of the Tea Party’s Deficit Trojan Horse, Warren agrees with the popular assessment…
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When Unemployment Runs Out: Meet the 99ers
On Unemployed Friends 2.0, a message board for people who have been out of work long enough to exhaust all emergency unemployment insurance — “99ers,” as some have taken to calling themselves — users let off steam in the Venting Forum. I am sooo tired of calling temp agencies week after week with no callbacks…
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President Obama to Unveil Spending Plan Today
The Associated Press is reporting that President Barack Obama is turning his attention to the nation’s crushing debt and trying to counter a Republican anti-deficit plan with a framework of his own that tackles politically sensitive health care programs while also increasing taxes. The president is set to reveal his spending plan on Wednesday, outlining…
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Should Oprah Endorse Obama Again?
“Obaaaaammmmma!” That was Oprah in 2007. She was effusive and unrestrained in her excitement as the man soon to be president sauntered onto her soundstage. He spoke. She listened. He enthralled. She endorsed. They seemed like best friends. Even better, play cousins. Their mutual admiration was palpable and sometimes even difficult to watch. During his…
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Why Sharpton Was Right About Obama
Sunday’s heated set-to between the Rev. Al Sharpton and Dr. Cornel West wasn’t just an intramural pissing contest — although it was that, too — between two of the biggest names in black America. Their MSNBC exchange stood in for the larger debate within the Obama coalition between the “professional left” — unhappy with Obama’s…
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Hate Crime or Vandalism? A California Village Struggles for the Right Answer
In late January, Oprah Winfrey gushed about San Luis Obispo, which is on the central-California coast. The billionaire television host called the city “the happiest place in America” during a show broadcast from the historic mission town halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Since then the nearby village of Arroyo Grande has basked in…
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President Obama to Reveal Spending Plan
The war on the elderly and poor may be moving forward. The Associated Press is reporting that the House and Senate are expected to vote on a budget for the remainder of this fiscal year midweek. President Obama will reveal his plan to reduce the deficit, in part by scaling back the government’s chief health…
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Obama's Approval Among Blacks Slips to All-Time Low
It has been a tough week for President Obama. After averting a government shutdown, new polling shows that his approval ratings among blacks have slipped to an all-time low since his inauguration. Only 85 percent of blacks now approve of the work he is doing, a drop of 7 percent from March. While this number…