Good Post Alert: Barry Crimmins with "Eat Jim Crow!"

The Bradley Effect.

OMG!

Dollar Bill is coming back to the Knicks?

No (but, boy, could they sure use him), however, we have seen the increased conversation about the infamous "Bradley Effect" creeping into the cable news election talkathons.

Spike Lee, not buying into the BS that Morning Joke was slinging the other morning, had it right, giving the Jokester an incredulous look and saying "That was last century!"

For a good time, I always thought the "Bradley Effect" had something to do that the former Mayor, and Edward G. Robinson, were long lost brothers, separated-at-birth, perhaps.







Ah, but we digress.

Today, Barry Crimmins has a monster post, "Eat Jim Crow!" (which followed a monster post, and extremely funny the day before, Sis! Boom! Blah!), which peels back most of the chatter and babble you've been hearing from the TV Talking Heads.

From "Eat Jim Crow!";

Anyway, the pundits seem unconcerned that that election was 26 years ago and even less concerned that many of those who voted against Bradley now have something in common with him.... since they are dead, too. I'm certain race played a factor in that contest but I'm also wagering that Bradley had nothing going for him that even mildly approached Obama's vaunted ground game. Besides, Bradley wasn't running to replace the worst president in American history. But most important of all, a quarter of a century later voters are much less likely to vote against their own best interests because they fear/hate the thought of an African-American leader.

I think something akin to the Bradley Effect is still around but severely diminished because we're a more integrated society these days and integration works. Why do you think so many young people can't get their heads around all the racial hubbub that's accompanied this election? I'd say it's because they have grown up in a world where seeing black kids in school or on Sesame Street is just part of everyday life. (Granted we have a few million more miles to go but the improvement is hard to miss.)

And this;

Then there are the people who are just sick of racists. They may suffer these jerks in silence but given a chance to really, really bum them out by casting a vote for Obama provides an opportunity for the most eloquent rejoinder of all. As far as the pollsters getting it wrong by not allowing for the Bradley Effect, isn't it just possible that some people tell pollsters they aren't voting for Obama because they are speaking within earshot of bully racists who live in their homes? How many long-suffering wives who have spent decades listening to their blowhard husbands spew bigotry are just waiting to pull the curtain shut to click a big "fuck you" to a racist spouse? No one can say.

Jump on over to Barry's site and read the full post of "Eat Jim Crow!", it's a good one!