Black Conservatives Blasted For Pro-Obama Remarks

Two black conservatives -- one a pastor, the other a leader of an urban ministry -- say they can't understand why a number of black Republicans have publicly said they are considering voting for Sen. Barack Obama for president. It should be about character, they said, not skin color. Ken Hutcherson, an African-American pastor in suburban Seattle, said black conservatives who are supporting the liberal Democrat must remember what they have been saying about race for decades. Several prominent conservative and moderae blacks have said they are at least considering supporting Sen. Obama because of his race. The list includes talk-show host Armstrong Williams, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and former Congressman J.C. Watts (R-Oklahoma). But Pastor Hutcherson of Antioch Bible Church cannot believe what the purportedly conservative leaders are saying.

Rev. Hutcherson said he understands being proud of a black man, but he notes that for years black conservative leaders have screamed that it is not about color -- it is about the content and character of one's heart. "...[A]nd some of these same guys seem to be forgetting that that's what we're supposed to be doing now," he said. Armstrong Williams contended that history "thrusts" him to consider Sen. Obama. But Rev. Hutcherson argues that African-Americans need to forget about their "blackness" and talk about what they can do as citizens of the United States. "...[T]here will always be a race problem," the pastor maintained. "But conservatives vote on what is right and wrong." Rev. Hutcherson said that Mr. Williams is forgetting that principle because he is excited about Sen. Obama's skin color. "...[A]nd I think that that is absolutely wrong," he reprimanded.

Mr. Watts, who served in the U.S. House from 1995-2003, criticized the GOP for failing to reach out to blacks on issues of poverty and urban plight. But Rev. Hutcherson questions what Mr. Watts did on those issues as a member of the GOP, and what Mr. Watts did to get the Republican Party to reach out to African-Americans. "...[S]o, what is he saying?" he wondered. "Since he was black and couldn't do it, maybe Obama will since he's a Democrat?"

Rev. Hutcherson said he will not support any candidate, regardless of party or race, who does not support biblical values. In similar fashion, former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele says he is proud of Sen. Obama as a black man, but will do everything in his power to keep the senator out of the White House.

Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, founder and president of the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny in Los Angeles, concurs. He said he doesn't care about being part of an historic moment. "There's no way that I can vote for Barack Obama simply because of a historic moment and he is a black man. That doesn't make sense to me," he says. "We should judge people based on character and not color or historic moment." Rev. Peterson says he is not surprised that prominent black Republicans are leaning towards Sen. Obama. "There are a lot of black Republicans who are not real Republicans," he said. "They're in the party because they believe that blacks should be in both parties and they want to influence [the GOP] in a way that Democrats would influence it -- not necessarily because they're Republicans."