Michael Moore Calls Older American Voters Racist - Video and Analysis

There is something inherently offencive about someone in the public eye tossing out a meaningless statistic to support a supposition that is fundamentally wrong but then Michael Moore has become quite accomplished at that. Before we get into it, here's the video from YouTube.

Let’s consider a couple of broad thoughts before we get down to the meat and potatoes statistics of the 2008 election.

First, it was the parents and grandparents of this 18-29 year old generation that helped to make it possible for Barrack Obama to not only run for president but to get elected and it was they who were instrumental in fighting for the civil rights legislation passed since the sixties and seventies. 

Secondly, while I tend to like young people, and was even one myself for a bit, it is a simple fact that you don’t have the same knowledge or life-experience at 20 that you do at 40, 50 or 60. While age is not a pre-determining factor for guaranteeing intelligence or ability (nor is celebrity status either apparently), for most, the years add some measure of life experience which tends to mitigate being unduly overwhelmed by the star quality of the latest celebrity candidate.

There was a rock-star hysteria about the election of Barrack Obama. Too many, including notables like Mr. Moore got caught up in the excitement of a youthful black man becoming president. Many older Americans also thought it was a major step forward for a country that fifty years ago still had blacks sitting at the back of the bus and saw Barrack Obama's candidacy as the culmination of what they had fought for years earlier. Like many in my generation, however, they considered the race issue pretty much done with and were less interested in race than in policy matters.

The economy was the number one issue facing the nation and that is what drove most of the decision for older Americans.

The simple reality is that there may well have been more than a few who voted in the 2008 Presidential election based on race but it wasn't the majority of older white voters as Mr. Moore suggests. Here are some statistics of which Mr. Moore was either blissfully unaware or didn’t bother to consider.

The first thing that becomes clear is that more women voted for President Obama than for John McCain which is an indication that the president's message resonated more with them than with men. It is also clear that the vote by race was very skewed. While the white vote was reasonably evenly distributed (10% difference) suggesting the vote was based more on issues than race, the black vote was 93% in favour of Obama and the Hispanic vote 66% which would seem to suggest the vote was based more on race rather than issues.

While it is true that the majority of 18-29 year olds voted for President Obama, the split between the president and McCain in the older age demographic was not as wide as the split in the youngest age group.

Interestingly, forty-one percent of white males voted for a Democratic president which was the best result since Jimmy Carter but again, that fact is overlooked by Mr. Moore in his rush to label those who had the audacity to vote on policy rather than celebrity as racist. 

In other words, it is quite clear that President Obama’s support came from a broad spectrum of society that included the overwhelming majority of blacks, Hispanics, women and a higher ratio of white males than had been seen in decades. 

What annoys me about Mr. Moore's careless rhetoric and misuse of a single stat is the disservice it does to the voter and his disregard for the civil rights history of the parents and grandparents of the 18-29 demographic he talks about.

Selma Alabama civil rights march 1965
photo: muskegonisd.org

It was older voters who, when they were younger, marched with Dr. Martin Luther King in Selma and other cities to bring about civil rights for non-whites. It was the generations who came before this current crop of 18-29 year olds who were instrumental in forcing that change which has led to seeing equal opportunity for blacks at all levels of public office.

The fact that we now see black Mayors, members of Congress, the Senate, the Supreme Court and Cabinet without anyone thinking too much about it either way is a testament to the fact that with the possible exception of Mr. Moore and a minority of racial bigots on both sides of the political spectrum, race is pretty much a dead issue. It was a conservative Republican president, George W. Bush, who appointed a black woman to his cabinet and Condoleezza Rice served two terms with great distinction.

The simple reality is that older voters tend to be more conservative and with the economy being the number one issue of the election, this demographic tended to lean towards the Republican candidate which is not overly surprising nor is it racist. The fact that more white males voted for President Obama than John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election would seem to undermine Mr. Moore's theory, especially considering that Mr. Kerry is white, or at least he was the last time I saw him.

photo: sodahead.com

Perhaps the most telling statistic, however, is President Obama's current approval rating which is down 20 points from where it was on election day. Even more interesting, many in the 18-29 age group also seem fairly dissatisfied with the president's performance as evidenced by a recent demonstration by Occupy Wall Street when he went to New York City. This would seem to indicate that the bloom has come off the rose for even younger voters or if we use Mr. Moore's somewhat simplistic reasoning, a significant number of young people have suddenly become racist.

photo: rawstory

At the end of the day, Michael Moore should consider the simple fact that most Americans love their country and vote according to who they think best reflects their values and hopes for the future.

Republicans are no more racist than Democrats. Herman Cain led the current race for the Republican nomination until he stepped down from the campaign, a further indication that race has become irrelevant for even the more conservative side of the political divide.

Mr. Moore claims that it is the new "younger" generation that are going to fix what he sees as systemic racism but we don't have young people marching in the streets today for racial equality. They tend to be protesting for guaranteed jobs and free university tuition, demanding that these be made "rights". This might tend to suggest that either this new young generation is incredibly shallow and selfish at first glance but is more likely because they don't see racial equality as much of an issue any more. Just as their parents and grandparents before them, they are fighting against the inequality they have identified as the issue facing society today. It is clear that for the majority of younger people today, it is economic disparity and not racism that is the great inequity in society.

Perhaps Mr. Moore should remember that voting for someone because of their race is every bit as racist as voting against them for the same reason. It appears that President Obama's race is more important to Mr. Moore than it is to most Americans and that kind of makes you wonder if race isn't more of an issue for him than for older white Americans doesn't it?

Perhaps Michael Moore should consider being a little more careful about throwing inaccurate allegations around or Lynyrd Skynyrd might just write a song about him as they did Neil Young when Mr. Young generalised about Southerners. At the very least, he should take the time to get his facts correct and look beyond his own personal prejudices if he wants to be taken seriously when he pontificates on social issues.

© 2011 Maggie's Bear

all rights reserved

The content of this article is the sole property of Maggie's Bear but a link to it may be shared by those who think it may be of interest to others