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11/8/12

US Political Scene: Decline of white might hurts right - by Ewen MacAskill and Gary Younge

It was telling that the greatest cheer during newly re-elected President Barack Obama's acceptance speech came when he reprised a version of the speech that made him famous when he introduced John Kerry at the Democratic convention in 2004.

"I believe we can keep the promise of our founders," he said. "The idea that if you're willing to work hard, it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn't matter whether you're black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you're willing to try."

For the best part of half a century the Republicans have invoked Richard Nixon's Southern strategy to take away suburban and southern whites away from the Democrats. 
 
This made electoral sense as recently as the 90s. But since 1980 the white share of the vote has fallen in every election bar one and over the last four election cycles fewer and fewer people of colour will have voted Republican. That leaves Republicans fishing for a larger number of voters in a smaller pool of white people.

It was therefore that a coalition of minority groups helped deliver Obama his victory.

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