Race to the Finish


Having spent a couple of years in Hagerstown, Md – dangerously close to West Virginia – at a television station whose coverage area included West Virginia, I consider myself qualified to speak with some authority on the topic of West Virginia.

Trust me when I tell you West Virginia voters should be indicative of nothing when it comes to big picture narratives.

One of my favorite people in the whole world is from West Virginia (by no fault of his own), and I suspect he would agree with me here. It’s not the most sophisticated, forward-thinking, open-minded collection of voters. Of course, there are pockets of exceptions as I would never condemn an entire state of individuals simply based on geography, but in the same way I can’t truly take offense when someone asks “WTF is up with Florida?” – smart West Virginians know I’m kind of right.

Politico’s got a write up called “5 things to watch in W.Va.”:

So, how to know whether West Virginia is on its way to giving Clinton a narrative-changing win that will sway superdelegates, or at least prolong their decision-making process?

In my humble opinion, no journalist or superdelegate worth his or her salt should consider West Virginia a possible narrative changer or decision maker. Why? This one quote here says it all:

“There are people who for some reason won’t vote for Obama,” said David Paleologos, who directed the Suffolk poll.

Some reason? Really? We playing that game?

I think we know by now some of the country is still racist. And racist voters are welcome to cast their ballots however their little racist hearts desire. But to take those racists and make them a bellwether of national sentiment is not only disingenuous, it’s irresponsible.

I’m sorry, Senator Clinton, that it came down to this. To West Virginia. But let’s not pretend you identify with this state. And let’s not pretend much of the country does either. Did you know WV’s population is 94.9% white? You’re welcome to be their presidential nominee if you’d like.

I prefer my candidate a little more inclusive.

One thought on “Race to the Finish”

  1. Do you think they’re overpolling Clinton’s support there? If a guy says his sister and his girlfriend are voting for Clinton, he might mean the same person…

    Too juvenile?

    Seriously, he’ll be lucky to crack 30% out there. Thankfully, there’s only one WV.

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