Black problem

A Black problem in liberal Democrat rhetoric refers to a white Democratic party candidate's inability to relate to African American voters. Two examples from the 2016 presidential election and 2020 presidential election illustrate:

• John Podesta spoke of Hillary Rodham Clinton's "Eric Garner problem." Garner was a black man killed in police custody while in a choke hold in 2014. Podesta wrote, "we know we have an Eric Garner problem," getting Blacks to vote for Hillary Clinton in light of her Superpredator comments to "bring them to heal."

• Mayor Pete Buttigieg was criticized by David Axelrod, Marcia Fudge, Politico, The Daily Beast and others for having a "black problem." Buttigieg attempted a "Sister Soulja moment" when he left off the 2020 campaign trail to deal with a police shooting in his hometown, telling Black Lives Matter activists, "I'm not asking for your vote." A Sister Soulja moment in liberal parkance is defined as "a key moment when the candidate takes what at least appears to be a bold stand against certain extremes in their party" and as "a calculated denunciation of an extremist position or special interest group."[3] Such an act of repudiation is designed to signal to centrist voters that the politician is not beholden to traditional, and sometimes unpopular, interest groups associated with the party.