Setting Aside Childish Things

Today is the day Nashvillians have been looking forward to, and dreading, for months and months. It is nice to finally have a chance to find out where this city stands, but then again, we are going to find out where this city stands.

Eric 'I'm Not a Racist' Crafton has strategically placed his betting chips on the African-American community. The English Only group bought up air time on radio stations like 92Q. Eric Crafton and John Tanton are playing on what they believe to be an innate disdain in the black community for the Hispanic community. Crafton, and the racist groups funding his amendment proposal, are betting on, well, racism.

But we just elected Barack Obama, who has spent years and years talking about an all inclusive America. I remember long before Obama's candidacy, I went to see him speak at a rally for Harold Ford Jr. In his speech he said, ""we are here gathered in the South, in Tennessee — people of every stripe, people of every color, people of every nationality, people of every faith — are gathered here today to celebrate a young man who is going to keep us moving toward that future." Obviously he was speaking in support of Ford back then, but our new President's central message hasn't changed in the last 2 years or more. His candidacy has been based on America for everyone.


I believe that the African-American community will follow our President's lead. I believe that Eric Crafton's plan to mine votes from what he and John Tanton perceive to be built in prejudice will fail.

In November, Nashville voted for Barack Obama 60%-39% (that is an overwhelming majority when you consider that Nashville is in one of the few states that got redder in that election).

So you can start with that 60%. First you have to hope that there is a high turnout, today, of that 60% and second you have to hope that only a minimal amount of that 60% doesn't defect. But this issue supposedly doesn't run along party lines. Crafton and his supporters claim to have 70-80% support for this proposal. I do not believe that. I can see them winning with 60%, maybe even 65%, but I have a hard time believing that 70 or 80 percent of Nashvillians would vote for this insanely ridiculous, badly written and blatantly racist proposal. But then again, maybe I'm out of touch. I saw some hardened conservatives still predicting a landslide victory for McCain in the closing days of the Presidential race despite the mounting evidence.

But I don't see evidence indicating an overwhelming majority for either side here. And there are positives for the opposition group. Basically all the business and government groups, companies and organizations in Nashville are against this proposal. Because the coalition against this bill has been so great and so broad, they have easily, easily outspent Crafton and Tanton. Meanwhile, it doesn't appear that English Only has had any significant local financial support. But they do have the easy pitch--be for America, vote for English. It may not be true, but it is simple.


A 50-49% vote against would be lovely. But I have a fear that when we wake up tomorrow, it will be in a city that has renewed its reputation as a haven for small-mindedness, stupidity and racism. And before tomorrow, it would have been a reputation that was false and unfair.

Whatever happens today, tomorrow we will be able to put this behind us and get on with the work of following our new President's advice--setting aside childish things, namely the English Only proposal.