glenn close

I don't know if Cohen is a progressive but I do know he is incrdibly sexist. Using such gendered language is totally inappropriate.

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by: LeftistAddiction @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 13:21:05 PM CDT

Oh, please.

It was a gaffe, to be sure, but he was referring to the Close character's uncanny ability to come back after what seemed like the ultimate defeat.  It was unfortunate that he chose to use an allegory to a mentally unstable female character, but I think it was just that-- a gaffe, not an intentionally sexist statement.

And before you jump all over me, I remind you that I am a woman!

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by: The Caped Composer @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 13:24:37 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Re

You sound like Clinton supporters trying to explain away Geraldine Ferraro.

Can't we just leave our partisan affiliations aside and admit that Clinton has suffered from a lot of sexism through the campaign (the claws, handle her in the room, Glenn Close...). AND that Obama has suffered through lots of racially insensitive remarks. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

The point isn't that Cohen is an awful sexist, but that lots of people aren't careful about subscribing to gendered and sexist imagery. And he is apparently one of them, and he did it in the worst of ways. I'm sure we can admit that and move on to something else, mostly because we're progressives who want to fight all discriminations.

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by: LeftistAddiction @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 14:08:09 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Okay . . .

. . . it's just that you said "[Cohen] is incredibly sexist," rather than saying, "Cohen made a sexist remark."

And, yes, I applaud both of the Democratic presidential candidates for getting this far even with the respective barriers of racism and sexism in their way.  I agree-- let's unify, and tear the GOP a new one in the fall!

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by: The Caped Composer @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 14:11:53 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Fine

My first post was too strong. But I do think that sexism against Clinton is unacknowledged and underreported, and men like Cohen should be more careful about what they say instead of revealing how much hold sexism still has.

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by: LeftistAddiction @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 14:37:37 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Do you care to square

the fact that you call Cohen "incredibly sexist" with your later assertion that your point was not that he is an "awful sexist"?

I am sorry but your original comment was directed at Cohen and called him sexist to try now to say that you meant (in a thread about a TN congressional primary) to draw attention to the general observation that Clinton has been subjected to sexist attacks just as Obama has been subjected to racist attacks is simply and flatly dishonest.

It is not what you said and if it really was what you meant choosing to assess one person's character on the basis of a single remark and then label him "incredibly sexist" as a way of making a general observation about the presidental primaries it was a wildly inappropriate way to make that point.

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by: Johnny C @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 15:44:55 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

He's incredibly progressive

One of the most liberal Congressmen in the House since getting elected.  His opponents have used all sorts of ugly smears against him, some extremely anti-semitic.  Glad to see they aren't working.

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by: ChadInFL @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 13:24:48 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

As opposed to his predecessor Harold Ford

who was far to conservative to have deserved a district like this one.

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by: ChadInFL @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 13:26:15 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Yes, that statement was over-the-top

But you have to realize that he is one of very few (maybe the only) white congressmen representing a heavily AA district.  Strongly backing Obama is a MUST for him.

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by: ChadInFL @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 13:32:34 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Bob Brady

in PA-01 is the other one I can think of. And he's an uncommitted superdelegate so far.

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by: Crisitunity @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 13:53:56 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Only progressive in TN

It's great to elect a progressive from TN-9 after Harold Ford.  No, we don't need one of the Ford machines corporate conservatives like Nikki Tinker or Harold's brother Jake (again running as an "independent" in the fall).  Harold and his father represented the district since LBJ's time and his relatives are in the state legislature (or were last cycle when some were being investigated).

Thanks Memphis and "south Memphis" (MS-1 per Cheney). You are doing great.

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by: David Kowalski @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 13:38:06 PM CDT

Glad.

I remember the primary attacks on him were very racially and religiously charged.  I'm glad to see he's pulling through some of the ridiculousness just fine.  

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by: JeremiahTheMessiah @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 14:11:04 PM CDT

This race

This race annoyed me to no end in 2006 for all the clearly race motivated campaigning. This is one of the reasons that I strongly dislike minority majority districts. It feels like they MUST be represented by a member of that ethnic minority group. I understand the reasoning behind it, to increase minority repersentation in Congress, but strikes to me of reverse discriminatin. In many cases it eliminates qualified candidates that may be in this case a white Jewish man simply because he is not black. It is my hope that should Obama win the Presidency, perhaps at the end of his eight years, we can review this policy. Not to mention that it is estimated that for every minority majority seat that is created, Republicans gain two seats. That might help with our efforts in the South if say Jefferson's district in LA is thinned out a little. As I recall its around +30 Democratic. I guess I just do not like to see racism a used against anyone, white, black or inbetween.

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by: Venslor @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 14:27:30 PM CDT

Hear, Hear!

I'm with you 100% on that one!

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by: The Caped Composer @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 14:29:16 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

LA-02 is D+28

And yeah, I don't like gerrymandering.

Bill Posey is not half-alligator...and is outclassed by Davy Crockett anyway: http://www.washingtonmonthly.c...

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by: Glenn Magus Harvey @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 14:41:59 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

bah

I meant PVI +30 Democratic... lol.. So give me some credit for at least being only 2 pts off... Its sad enough that I know the PVI of a district 1500 miles from my own as it is!

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by: Venslor @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 15:19:39 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Right on

Republicans used minority majority re-districting in the south as an important part of the "Gingrich Revolution."  And too many Democrats in high places felt that objecting to these schemes seemed "racist."  TN-9 isn't bad but Bobby Scott's VA-3, for example, is aa clear example of using this technique to pack a few Democratic districts to win the neighbors in R+3 to R+6 districts.

It is encouraging to see that the people of TN are looking past race to the voting record and other indications.  And by these indications, Steve Cohen is a good congressman for this solidly Democratic district.

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by: David Kowalski @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 15:52:19 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

majority-minority districts

serve an important basis until white districts start voting for minorities on a regular enough basis to see a representative congress. and i don't think it's straight-up race-baiting to point out that a white candidate facing five black candidates in a primary has a built-in advantage. it is fortunate that steve cohen is by all accounts a terrific representative of his district. but too often party establishments have practiced pitting candidates of similar ethnicities against each other in order to destroy progressive candidates and get the white yes man in office. if he can pull off a primary victory against a single black candidate it should clear away any doubts that he exploited the situation - but i think given the history it's an important caveat.

It is difficult to get the news from poems, but men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there. --William Carlos Williams

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by: RichardPlatypus @ Sat May 17, 2008 at 02:02:31 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

African American's have different voting patterns than

Caucasians.  Majority-Minority districts help give minorities (In this case African Americans) equal representation relative to their population, a benefit whites have had for hundreds of years.  

If we didn't have majority-minority districts, minorities would only have voting that equated to equal representation if they all grouped up into large communities together.  (Which they do, in some cases)

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by: JeremiahTheMessiah @ Sat May 17, 2008 at 09:21:08 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

That may have been true in the past . . .

. . . but, things are changing, largely on the strength of our generation.  Seeing as young voters in majority-white states are enthusiastic about a black presidential candidate, I have a feeling that quite a few racially-balanced congressional districts could go to minority candidates.  We're not there yet, but this year's election so far is indicating real progress in terms of the racial attitudes of the younger generations in this country.

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by: The Caped Composer @ Sat May 17, 2008 at 12:04:50 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I just don't like it

I understand what was being done in their creation, but shouldn't Congress be represented by THE BEST person in that district. I could not ever hope to win in my Congressional district in California because I have the wrong last name. That is why Grace Napalitano puts "Grace Flores Napalitano" on all of her signs around the district. Same thing with TN-9. A white Jew managed to win the primary, in a 'black district' and the groups in the district think that it is unfair.  

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by: Venslor @ Sat May 17, 2008 at 12:34:46 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

That's the problem.

If they want a quota system, that's unconstitutional.  That's why the point of majority-minority districts are to help African Americans get representation relative to their population, not to elect more African Americans to congress.  Again, that'd be unconstitutional.  

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by: JeremiahTheMessiah @ Sat May 17, 2008 at 21:00:48 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

You nailed it

It really shouldn't matter what race the elected official is.  As long as the representative of the minority-majority district represents the interests of the voters it shouldn't matter.

Steve Cohen is a perfect example.  He consistently votes for the interest of the African-Americans who make up a majority of his district.  Heck, Cohen even tried to join the Congressional Black Causus in order to better serve his district.

That's a stark contrast to Blue-Dog Harold Ford who consistently voted AGAINST the views of the TN-09 district in order to further his own statewide political ambitions.

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by: ChadInFL @ Sat May 17, 2008 at 21:35:43 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Yes, views are changing for the better

But I think the key phrase here to consider is "voters in majority-shite states are enthusiastic about a clack candidate."  It's obvious that racial progress is only occuring at a fast rate in states with few if any blacks such as the midwest and pacific northwest.  Of course attitudes are impriving in those regions since they have little history of negative race relations.  Unfortunately the southeast is still the southeast.  Heck, just take a look at Presidential polls in ultra-liberal Massachusetts and it's obvious that old racial wounds havn't healed.

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by: ChadInFL @ Sat May 17, 2008 at 14:03:58 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I agree, you can say things are changing for the better,

but they aren't done yet.  

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by: JeremiahTheMessiah @ Sat May 17, 2008 at 21:04:28 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

excellent news

by the way - the primary is 8/7, so there's still time for them to run an ugly campaign and hurt him.  my guess is that he has a ton more cash-on-hand than his challengers.

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by: st paul sage @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 14:45:11 PM CDT

plus dccc

add to his cash dccc money IF they feel his numbers are weakening(cohen will win; the question remains, by how much?)

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by: jackdawkins @ Fri May 16, 2008 at 15:14:25 PM CDT

[ Parent ]