Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, one of Clinton's key supporters in the state, made the following argument to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
"You've got conservative whites here, and I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate....I believe, looking at the returns in my election, that had Lynn Swann [2006 Republican gubernatorial candidate] been the identical candidate that he was --well-spoken [note: Mr. Rendell did not call the brother "articulate"], charismatic, good-looking -- but white instead of black, instead of winning by 22 points, I would have won by 17 or so.""
What Rendell is effectively saying here is that Obama won't do well in PA because some citizens of the state are racist. And worse, that Clinton will do well because those racists will end up voting for her instead of him. Do these people not think before they speak? Because this argument makes no sense.
Rendell is effectively saying that white conservatives in the state chose him, a Democrat, over Lynn Swann, a black conservative Republican who just also happens to be a member of the NFL Hall of Fame as a Pittsburgh Steeler, because Swann is black. He's not claiming that they stayed home and abstained, nor is he claiming that they voted for a third party. He is actually claiming that Swann's blackness drove them to switch parties and vote for a Democrat.
I suppose that's possible, but I'd love to see some data on this before I take his word for it. To be perfectly honest, I have no problem accepting that roughly 5% of the citizens of Pennsylvania aren't ready or willing to vote for a black man in either a governors race or a presidential election. What I do have a hard time believing, however, is that all of the members of that group are willing to abandon their first choice - voting for a conservative Republican - and choose instead to actively support a Democrat. That's a huge leap.
Moreover, is this the sort of argument Clinton's supporters really want to make? That some people in their party are racists, and those racists are likely to support her campaign? Even if it is true - and I'm not at all convinced that it is - why on earth would you want to say this out loud?
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