Black Republicans & Obama: Torn Between Party and Race
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Marcus Baram, ABC News, August 15, 2008
{snip}
But this time around, Culbreath (chairwoman of the Dallas Housing Authority), who is African-American, is supporting Barack Obama, insisting that it’s not out of racial pride but because she’s attracted to his character and vision for the country.
“I wouldn’t support just any black candidate. What I like about Obama is that he’s fresh, he’s got good ideas,” she tells ABCNews.com, noting that she admires some of Obama’s conservative viewpoints such as his emphasis on personal responsibility.
{snip}
Culbreath is just one of thousands of black Republicans and conservatives who are feeling conflicted in this election featuring the first major-party black nominee for president, torn between their allegiances to political party and their race. A minority within a minority—only 4 percent of African-Americans are Republicans—this small group has been heatedly debating their divided loyalties in dinner conversations and online message boards.
In a recent ABC News polls, 94 percent of black voters supported Obama and 2 percent supported McCain. Even those who identify themselves as black conservatives overwhelmingly favored Obama, 87 to 11 percent.
{snip}
While prominent black Republicans such as Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele and American Civil Rights Institute chairman Ward Connerly are backing McCain, plenty of other black conservatives, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Republican Rep. J.C. Watts and talk-show host Armstrong Williams are still on the fence.
{snip}
Watts, who did not return calls, has told reporters that he is a “free agent,” adding that black Republicans were the “most forgotten demographic” in the party.
{snip}
Williams, a political commentator who was paid by the Bush administration to advocate their education policy, says that he gets emails from black conservatives who are supporting Obama.
“They are caught up in the euphoria, the possibility that you could have someone in the White House that we haven’t seen before,” he says.
Williams, who has never voted for a Democrat for president, says that he was also caught up in that excitement and was on the verge of supporting Obama about a month ago. “I would make history for myself in more ways than you can imagine,” he adds.
{snip}
Connerly, who supported Rudy Giuliani in the primaries and calls himself a “mild” McCain supporter, says that he thinks Obama will win over many black Republicans.
“There is great consternation among the ones I interact with, a lot of them are confronted with racial solidarity and being on the right side of history, as one characterized it, as opposed to voting for his true beliefs,” he explains. “I think [Obama] will get a lot of the black Republican vote solely on the basis of race, not only leaning his way but in his camp & Some are saying, ‘I don’t want him to have been elected president and for me to tell my grandkids that I was on the wrong side of history.’ Others will say, ‘If he’s elected, it will certainly put Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton out of business.’”
{snip}
(Posted on August 18, 2008)
Comments
Others will say, ‘If he’s elected, it will certainly put Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton out of business.’”
We should say “It will put the USA out of business”.
Posted by Bandmo at 6:13 PM on August 18
B. Hussein Obama has never espoused a single remotely conservative or “Republican” idea. Black “republican” support is therefore solely racial. QED.
Posted by Cassiodorus at 6:49 PM on August 18
That was an unnessessarily long article. Here is some advice for the writer: Next time you write on this subject, shorten it a tad. How about:
Race trumps EVERYTHING ELSE UNDER THE SUN for 99% of blacks.
Posted by at 7:04 PM on August 18
There is no question in my mind that darn near every black in the US will vote and vote for Hussein.
Too bad the white americans are not so dedicated to their race.
Posted by at 7:13 PM on August 18
I have said on this medium before, and I’ll say it again. Most black “Republicans” are only Republicans because the queue in the Democrats is too long, and because there are so few black Republicans, and because the Stupid Party panders, they’ll get to be a celebrity in a hurry.
Posted by Question Diversity at 7:14 PM on August 18
Deep down,we all know that is the case.All races know it.The difference between blacks and other races is that blacks are allowed to be racists,or to feel conflicted over racial solidarity and conviction.
Posted by Apocalypse Soon at 7:40 PM on August 18
What happened to voting for a man or woman who you believe would administer government along the paths you believe in? Blacks are making me sick to the point I am furious. The majority needs to take the black minority and pack them back to africa. They don’t have to like it!
Posted by Vindicator at 7:42 PM on August 18
“Culbreath (chairwoman of the Dallas Housing Authority), who is African-American, is supporting Barack Obama, insisting that it’s not out of racial pride but because she’s attracted to his character and vision for the country.”
Yeah, sure. It has nothing to do with voting for a black because he’s a fellow tribesman.
And there’s a Santa Claus too, isn’t there?
Posted by q at 8:11 PM on August 18
They are all liars - they act out of racial solidarity and nothing else. Their own rationalizations are so transparently false, it is impossible to conclude otherwise.
Posted by HH at 10:13 PM on August 18
It never ceases to amaze me that almost all blacks will vote for Obama just because he’s black while accusing whites of racism for not voting for him.
As a conservative, I will not be overly enthusiastic about voting for John McCain on November 4 — but I will be sprinting to the polling place to do so. And, surprisingly enough to those of you who cannot fathom it, this white American will be voting against Barack Obama not because he is black, but because he has repeatedly shown himself to be an empty suit with almost nothing to recommend him for the presidency. Also, I thought that John McCain ate him lunch in the Saddleback event.
Posted by JAKE at 10:49 PM on August 18
While some black Republicans (the few that exist) may vote for a black Democrat, most black Democrats would vote for a white Democrat over a black Republican! The welfare state trumps race.
Posted by Jay at 1:33 AM on August 19
Now come on. I don’t for a minute believe they are really torn but will follow their natural inclinations when the time comes. Black people will vote for black people, Mexicans will vote for Mexicans, Chinese Americans,will do the same,—“generally” speaking. Only whites will ignore their natural inclinations, and often to their own detriment. Two examples would be those white buffoons who support the Democratic Party, and those who re-elect Republicans who betray them on the illegal immigration and other issues, repeatedly. You can’t get much stupider then that,in my opinion.
Posted by Bobby at 2:56 AM on August 19
Race is everything. Blacks know it, mexicans know it, everyone else knows it. Why can’t whites figure this out? Why, even in awful places like south africa, can’t whites figure out that race is everything? That your only allies or friends in life will ever be your race? That blood is thicker than water?
Posted by at 7:08 AM on August 19
I have absolutely no doubt Condoleeza Rice will vote for Obama, but Colin Powell will not.
Posted by at 8:46 AM on August 19
All white people should be doing exactly the same thing: vote only on a candidate that looks like them. Anything short of that would be a (mild form of) betreyal.
Posted by A Reader at 12:03 PM on August 19
‘I don’t want him to have been elected president and for me to tell my grandkids that I was on the wrong side of history.’
What could this statement be saying more clearly than that the destiny of the United States is to become a black (or at least nonwhite) nation? Otherwise how could not voting for a “black” be on the “wrong side” of history? Also, I thought the whole concept of history is that it has the habit of vindicating those who do the right thing? Anyone who’s not a fool should realize that only time can tell us who was on the wrong and who was on the right side of history.
Posted by Tim in Indiana at 12:31 PM on August 19
“I have absolutely no doubt Condoleeza Rice will vote for Obama, but Colin Powell will not.”
Posted by at 8:46 AM on August 19
Colin Powell just endorsed Obama, proving tribal loyalty trumps loyalty to one’s country and ALL its countrymen.
Posted by ice at 12:50 PM on August 19
Well, as a proud white man, I’ll be voting for McCain because he’s WHITE…and for no other reason.
Posted by honky at 3:53 PM on August 19
“Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele”
Michael Steele is FORMER Lt. Gov. of Maryland.
Posted by at 8:24 PM on August 19
“While some black Republicans (the few that exist) may vote for a black Democrat, most black Democrats would vote for a white Democrat over a black Republican!”
Blacks would definitely not vote en masse for a black Republican. They don’t consider black Republicans as anything but contemptible house n—well, you know the word. Let’s just say despicable Oreos. Even white liberals hate them. It’s a shame that most of the accomplished blacks in this country are despised as acting white. What a suicidal mindset.
Posted by notawn at 8:34 PM on August 19
Obama is as far left as Ted Kennedy. So any black “Republican” voting for Obama is doing so purely on racial grounds, not because Obama espouses true conservative ideals such as limited, Constitutional government. I can however understand why they’re not enthusiastic about McCain, the least appealing Republican presidential candidate available.
Posted by Heteronormatively Privileged White Male Oppressor at 12:50 AM on August 20
Uh, if you’re a “black Republican” even thinking about voting for Obama, you’re not any sort of Republican at all. Obama doesn’t resemble a conservative, or even a centrist, in the least. It’s not as if the candidates are so similar in policy that one would have to consider other factors like race. McCain and Obama is as different as night and day (no pun intended) — the choice is a no-brainer for any Republican.
Posted by at 3:55 AM on August 20
Blacks aren’t “torn” between anything. Their political ideology boils down to voting for whoever promises them the most handouts.
Posted by at 7:35 AM on August 20
“Well, as a proud white man, I’ll be voting for McCain because he’s WHITE…and for no other reason.”
Ditto for me. America is a white country, founded on White principles by White people. The civilization we have today is due to White occupation, not black, asian, indian, or any other race or ethnicity. Look at the world. White counries are the best places in the world to live. Even in this country the best places to live lists always expouse white communities. They have the highest standard of living and the safest environments. And it’s not about poverty. People create poverty and third worlders created their own poverty. Look at the standard of living in any country and that will tell you all you need to know about what that particular demographic is capable of. And Obama is black through and through, as all mixed blacks are. They always cling to their black heritage no matter what their White parents did. Obama would be just another corrupt racist black ruler with a chip on his shoulder.
Posted by at 3:43 PM on August 20
obama was abondoned by his father, and was raised by his white mother and grandparents and he owes everything he has and is to the white side of his family, even his intelligence, yet in his own books that he has written he disavows his whiteside in favor of his black side. go figure. he is revengful toward whites.
Posted by danjack at 10:39 PM on August 20