Black Conservatives For Obama? An Oxymoron? More Black Conservatives Comment

Several black center-right bloggers - including myself - have been wondering about high-profile black conservative Republicans, who were quoted in an Associated Press article on Sunday about possibly supporting Sen. Barack Obama - a liberal Democrat - for president. Of course, the article generated some buzz on talk radio, television, and the blogosphere. On Monday, I posted the responses by several black center-right bloggers, including myself. While I wouldn't go as far as my peer Juliette Ochieng in calling these folks castrati, I did wonder if this was a generational, gender, or opportunistic dynamic.

Yesterday, Armstrong Williams appeared on Laura Ingraham's new show on the FOX News Channel. I heard him backtracking from his earlier comments in that AP article that he was seriously considering voting for Sen. Obama. However, the article is still creating a buzz among black center-right folks. Today, I highlight various views that have been put up on the Yahoo! Black Conservatives usergroup since the AP article:

"d1blackmogul": "It is dangerous to assume that Obama will represent the interest of black conservatives simply because he self-identifies as a black man...First, the 'color of his skin' is not the same as mine... We have been conditioned to visually identify a wide range of skin colors as black...We even know how to identify white people as black by those little 'traits'...Second, his life experience is not that of the black American experience...He grew up with whites and Asians - does that mean he cannot identify with black people - NO, of course not, but there is more to being black than the fact that you 'look like us'...Third, true conservatives are true to conservative ideals, not to perceived skin color...Gov. Bobby Jindal [of Louisiana, who is of East Indian descent] is closer in ideology (and ironically also in skin color) to some black conservatives than Sen. Obama is."

"adamsjrcn": "It's strange to me that there is a conflict in the minds of conservatives of any color with Obama. His policies are way too far to the left to be construed andanything but liberal. For those that think anything is better than what we have now, don't forget things can and will get a lot worse under Obama. Our enemies will snicker as he tries to talk to the unreasonable actors in the world. Our financial issues will worsen as he expands the size of government. Healthcare for all will create a rationing system that is worse than what is present. Black skin is black skin. It does not confer any particular qualification (or nullification). Big sounding ideas are cute, but putting them into action requires real work. If he wins, a change will come. It will be for the worse. The mess he can make in 4 years will take more than hope to repair, but it will require audacity."

In another post: "I hope you hold you hold your nose if need be and vote for McCain. I fear Obama will let our enemies have their way again, and we'll return to using law enforcement to 'deal' with our enemies, not our military and intelligence apparatus."

"torrie": "Obama, is the close[st] and maybe the best Black America has gotten in years. I don't agree with everything he does, but at least he kind-of makes sense.

In another post: "I feel like I am caught in the middle, I don't agree a lot with both can[didates] for president. Yet, I have to vote."

"robot": "I'm not voting for either one of those fools. I'll probably write in a candidate for president and vote for the most conservative person running in the state and local elections."

In another post: "The fact that McClown and HilLIARY have a lot in common is exactly why I'm NOT voting for him [McCain]."

"rich": "Obama is an extreme Liberal, as close to a communist as we have gotten historically. Moreover, he supports gay marriages and abortion while claiming to be down with Christ. He may be black, but is not the right man to represent black folk let alone America IMHO."