The author of the ugly screed aimed at Hilary Clinton (and Democrats generally) tipped his hand when he decried giving health insurance to “people who have five kids by five different guys.” This coded racism fuels Donald Trump’s popularity and many other Republican campaign from Nixon’s “southern strategy” to Reagan’s “welfare queens” to Bush I’s Willie Horton ads. Sociological research has concluded that the only reason the U.S. does not have a European-(a.k.a. Bernie Sanders)-style welfare state is our entrenched racism. Why would we want to help the undeserving (black and brown) poor? I often think the reason black voters prefer Clinton to Sanders is because they are simply more realistic about what is actually possible. As long as racism in this country persists at current levels, Bernie’s Medicare and higher education for all remain a distant dream.
Kathe Geist
Charlemont