One last Kentucky tidbit

No one was surprised by Hillary Clinton's absolute dominance in the hills, hollows and other rural stretches of Kentucky in the state's Democratic presidential primary Tuesday. But as she rolled up an overall victory margin of 35 percentage points over Barack Obama in the state, one local result stands out.

Magoffin County -- which according to the Lexington Herald-Leader has been identified by the Census Bureau as "the least diverse place in the nation" -- delivered Clinton her largest share of the vote among Kentucky's 120 counties.

She racked up 93% of the vote in Magoffin (named for a former governor and located in the state's eastern half). In raw votes, the totals were Clinton, 2,714; Obama, 146.

How homogenous is the county? According to the 2000 census, 99.29% of its population of 13,332 was white.

[UPDATE: For information on the primary result in the U.S. county with the largest concentration of black residents, go here.]

-- Don Frederick

Comments

[Seth]

ignorant snake handlers and inbreeds? Sounds you're guilty of ignorant stereotyping yourself Eddientexas.

Just b/c people don't vote for Obama doesn't mean they're racist. That's a terrible argument. Kentucky voted for Clinton in the 92 and 96 elections.

By the way, I didn't vote for Obama (didn't vote for clinton either) b/c I know that Obama is really is left of Mao, not b/c you think I'm an inbred racist snake handler. Behind all the platitudes and fluff, he and Michelle do have plans for change in this country. It's called socialism. Someone should send him the bill. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121038123776782371.html

For those of you who've been unfortunate enough to drink his kool-aid, see Obama's Laundry List of Lies at:
http://www.audacityofhypocrisy.com/fashion-shows/

Don't drink the kool-aid!!

[LonghornMama]

More pathetic pandering by the media. And what do you say to all of those largely African American communities who went for Obama by 92%?

[Kalli]

A Voter: Remember she won California and New York, the cultural, financial, educational, fashion, center of this country! Why discount her victories there. I think she won most of the states that ivy league educational institutions are.

[Media Hack]

What's the point?
7% of the folks in Magoffin are misogynists. so what.

[Eric]

And who are these "educated" voters that favor Obama? Bloggers, yes, online geeks, yes, credit hounds, yes, subprime borrowers, yes, humvee drivers, yes, starbucks drinkers, yes. I think you'll find the "educated" of America basically have no common sense. They think green but dive humvees, are stupid enough to drink $5 lattes, and are ignorant enough to overextend themselves in debt. These folks are why our economy boomed and is now failing. Time to pay up "educated" Americans.

[Wally]

The comments to this fact is interesting.

Because they voted for a white woman they are racist. Are the people who voted for Obama sexist? He is winning with about the same numbers in the African-American community. So they must be racist and sexist using the same logic.

Because they live in a rural area they must be inbred, snake handlers and ingnorant (My guess is that Eddien Texas was at the San Fran dinner with Obama and doesn't understand why people cling to guns and religion)

[Blake]

"I don't think I'd want to trumpet the fact that I'm the choice of people who tend to be less intelligent "

Since when does uneducated = less intelligent?

What about areas of our country/planet where education is not available? Does that mean that they are all unintelligent? A voter is a voter is a voter. Black, white, hispanic, male & female of all education levels. If you are 18, your vote counts.

[Uncledaddy]

It is appropriate that Kentucky voters in this county vote their preference just like everyone else. That it shows how little they have grown with the rest of the country is apparent. This too is fine.
What we can take away from this is, no matter the outcome of the primary race, they will have to re-work their frame of mind. Because, we have entered a new age of thought in this nation and all those out of step will either have to step up or watch progress pass them by.

[Media Hack]

What's the point?
7% of the folks in Magoffin are misogynists. so what.

[jrl]

Could it be the illbred white folks are simply smart enough to vote for the best candidate?

[Joe]

All good comments but what about the 90% plus of black voters that vote for Obama? Are they as racist as those in Ky? Maybe they are just the enlightened ones.

[NotSuprised]

Gordito Mojito,
What you state has been repeated over and over again. Just because it keeps getting repeated doesn't make it so.
Truth is many in WV. and KY say that they will never vote for a black person. Very different from from the fact that Blacks have been voting for white men in large numbers since the voting rights act. At the start of the primaries, Clinton had the majority of black voter support. Clinton race baiting and the fact that Obama is a stronger candidate on the issues changed that.

[Vince]

Hillary Clinton should come out and publicly say, "if you are only voting for me because you don't won't to vote for a black person, then I don't want your vote."

[Tom]

So what you're saying is that any white person that votes for a white person is racist. At least that is how the informtion seems to be presented. How do we even know how the 0.71 % of the population in Magoffin voted. What if they all voted for Clinton. Furthermore, the statistics only quote the overall population of the county and don't show what percentage of the population are even eligible to vote or what party they are registered to. Maybe the 0.71 % are all Republican and dote vote in the Democratic Primary anyway. Looks like another fine example of insufficient and poorly supported reporting to me.

[althea c. york]

Thank God for his son Jesus who did on the cross for our sins that we might live and have a right to the tree of live and if these people would read their bibles tha includes Hillary the world would better in much better shape and people would not have haterd in there hearts against the colored of a persons skin because god made us all in his on image and likeness. Thank you very much, MS. York, Atlanta, Ga.

[Megan]

"The hills, hollows and other rural stretches of Kentucky."
My, my my. Does anyone else perceive the undercurrent of snobbery implicit here ? In their rejection of B. Hussein Obama, the voters of Magoffin County are not demonstrating racism so much as simple common sense.

Give me Jesse Stuart over Jeremiah Wright any day.

Obama's rhetoric is undoubtedly very engaging to the effete wine & cheese crowd in Frisco, but be assured it doesn't resonate with rural Americans who adhere to traditional values and cherish individual liberty.

There's vastly more to America than Boston and San Francisco and all the public housing projects in between, a fact for which we might all fall to our knees in heartfelt prayers of thanksgiving.

99.29% white ? Frankly, Magoffin County sounds like the sort of place where one might still enjoy life in peace and quiet and not have to live in fear of muggers each time one steps out the door.

[maryjane]

May 21, 2008 (LPAC)--With her speech today in Palm Beach, Sen. Hillary Clinton has also placed Floridians' Constitutional right to have their votes fully counted, in the long progress of ending slavery and winning the right to vote for Black Americans and women. Clinton was speaking to senior citizens, some of whom lost their votes in the Florida recount debacle in the 2000 Presidential election.

She did it while making clear she is continuing until the Democratic National Convention, if necessary, to win this fight for Florida and Michigan, and calling on Sen. Barack Obama to join it.

On slavery or the right to vote: "In each successive generation, this nation was blessed by men and women who refused to accept their assigned place as second-class citizens ... The abolitionists and all who fought to end slavery, and ensure that freedom came with the full right of citizenship."

On the Constitutional principle: "We have certain core rights that no government can abridge and these rights are rooted in, and sustained by the principle that our Founders set forth in the Declaration of Independence. That a just government derives its power from the consent of the governed, that each of us should have an equal voice in determining the destiny of our nation."

On the Florida disenfranchisement of 2000--by corporate purging of public voter lists, Wall Street lawyers' disruption of recounts, and Supreme Court overrule: "We believe that the outcome of our elections should be determined by the will of the people. Nothing more, nothing less. And we believe the popular vote is the truest expression of your will. We believe it today just as we believed it back in 2000 when right here in Florida you learned the hard way what happens when you're votes aren't counted and a candidate with fewer votes is determined the winner.

"I believe the Democratic Party must count these votes. They should count them exactly as they were cast.

"Some say that counting Florida and Michigan would be changing the rules. I say that not counting Michigan and Florida is changing a central governing rule of this country--that whenever we can understand the clear intent of the voters, their votes should be counted."

[Some User]

It's just SO good to know that an article like this even exists. Who cares what color the people were? Isn't that being racist? I'm a white, middle-aged male, and I frankly don't give a rip about the color of the next president, senator, policeman, or milkman.

[craig]

The last time I checked the definition of diversity wasn't confined to race. So because the people of Kentucky and West Virginia are white they aren't diverse? We are apparently different enough from the suburnites on this blog to cause fear, which breeds prejudice. So thank you for contribution to the ever growing social problems in this country.

[Kim Hoover]

Based on the commentary here, it would appear that Obama supporters are simply too good for this country. They have apparently achieved a degree of righteousness that is only rivaled by Jesus Christ himself. I'm sure they are all in the top 3% of intelligence, give away 10% of their gross income to charity, provide hundreds of hours of community and public service per year. Because only then would they be entitled to their sanctimonious sniveling!

[maryjane]

Why is there no media noise on the blatant racism of Obama's black supporters whom are voting simply because he is black? And yet when Hillary quotes from an AP article on how she is overwhelming favored by white working class, the media calls that racism... Just more of media's blatant racist hypocrisy?

[dcw]

to A Voter - Who is the racist/elitist here?
You assume that less education and poverty equates to less intelligence and more racism? You assume that "uneducated, poor, rural whites" can't "think for themselves and make fact based decisions" Talk about stereotyping.
I'm guessing that you probably agree that these are the people who search for refuge in their guns and religion!

[Seth from Kentucky]

This is ridiculous. What about all the white republicans in all the other states who didn't vote for Obama in the primary? Were they all required to switch to being democrats and vote for him in the primary, and if they didn't that makes them all racists? The implications of this article and the comments shows the real ignorance is in those who have drunk the obama kool-aid.

proud to be black = cool
proud to be white = racist

Seriously, read http://www.audacityofhypocrisy.com/fashion-shows/

[BAM!]

Billary's Hillbillies!

[George]

Wake up America! It is not Ky that is going to elect our next president...maybe God is letting us have what we deserve for not always taking a stand, and not serving him and leading all to him like he left us here to do. Think a bout it!