The Obama Campaign And The Rise Of The Black Conservative Castrati? Bookeristas Comment

Several black center-right bloggers - including myself - are wondering about high-profile black conservatives, who have formed an informal "Black ConservativesFor Obama" group. On Satarday, I posted an Associated Press article titled, "Black Conservatives Conflicted On Obama Campaign." Not too many people would be surprised to read about Colin Powell (moderate Republican) or certainly John McWhorter (moderate-liberal Democrat) respectively publicly hedging and publicly declaring support for Sen. Obama for president. However, Armstrong Williams, J.C. Watts, and Joseph C. Phillips - staunch conservative Republicans - may vote for Sen. Obama? What is going on here? Is this a growing generational or gender dynamic among the black center-right? Mere opportunism among the higher-profile folks?

This cross-pressure is not news to Booker Rising readers. I, a moderate-conservative independent (in 2006, I gave 58% of my ballot to Republican candidates and 42% to Democratic ones). I've written about what a black president would do for black progress, self-esteem, and increasing knowledge that Black America is full partner within America, and how it could undermine the victimologist mindset. On the other hand, I've written that I only agree with about 20% of Sen. Barack Obama's policy positions? Do I go with my self-interest (which would be to vote for Sen. John McCain, 70% of whose policy positions I share) or do I go with group interest based on a communitarian mindset and then pressure Sen. Obama to not go with his liberal impulses? Heck, just last week I received mail from Barack Obama's campaign - clearly targeted at me as a black and swing voter. A Political Season, a black moderate-conservative Republican blog that is supporting Sen. Obama for president, has discussed reconciling support for Sen. Obama with disagreements about his positions on social issues like abortion. Stanley Crouch, a black moderate-conservative columnist, is supporting Sen. Obama's candidacy. However, we are not bona fide conservatives but rather reside somewhere right of moderate and left of conservatives. It would be bogus to our cred as part of the center if we didn't swing out of our normal policy arena at least 30% of the time. But what gives with these staunch black conservatives?

Juliette Ochieng, a black conservative Republican, warns her male counterparts to "don't fall into the trap": "One of [Saturday]'s Yahoo News headlines informs us that 'Black conservatives [are] conflicted on Obama campaign.' Armstrong Williams, Rep. J.C. Watts, General Colin Powell, Senator Edward Brooke and, sadly, my friend Joseph C. Phillips may be falling into the trap which I have repeatedly described--one lined with pride and with fear: pride of race and fear that Obama is the last chance for a black president to be elected. (GOPAC chairman Michael Steele isn't going for the okey doke, however; but that may be only due to his position.). People say that women have problems thinking objectively and strategically. Well, I'm seeing a whole group of men who are having that problem. Friends, you're letting the nearness of a dream's seeming fulfillment blind you to what will likely come after that ephemeral happiness is dissipated, after the novelty has worn off: the nightmare. And guess who will get blamed for that short-sightedness? Not just you. With 90+ percent of black Americans voting Democrat regardless of who the candidate is, it will be bad enough as it is. But I, for one, expect you, black conservative Republican men to have enough balls to stand on principle, not on your emotions. You've shown your testicular fortitude by being publicly conservative against a tide of Identity Politics. Don't start behaving like castrati now. Stop thinking selfishly. We're not choosing a President of Black American Dream Fulfillment; we're choosing a President of the United States."

One of Ms. Ochieng's readers responds: "Thank you for your this. I am a proud black man in a [sic] early 30's and [I] will not support Obama. I think that McCain is the best candidate based on principles and [I] will not vote on race. Let me give you another example. I am [C]atholic and when the great J.P II passed away, some of us wanted a black pope. I prayed that we have a good Pope regardless of his race. And thank god we had one! Stick to your principles and to your faith, that is all we have in this world."

Politik Ditto, a black conservative Democrat who supports Sen. John McCain for president goes for the jugular in response to the Associated Press article, in a post called "Armstrong Williams Is An Idiot": "How do you call yourself a conservative and vote for Barack Obama? Easy, if you're narcissistic phony like Armstrong Williams...This is just dumb, yet Williams was never really known for being too bright. And if Armstrong wants anyone to believe that his little guessing game isn't just a cop-out because he's gonna ignore all his principles and vote for Barack because he's black, somebody needs to slap him."

D.C. Thornton, a black libertarian blogger, asserts that folks should vote their principles and not their race: "Sadly, many black conservatives that I know and respect feel this way. While they have every right to support the candidate of their choosing, I question the rationale in doing such — especially when said candidate runs contrary to where one stands on the issues. As a black man, I commend Barack Obama for achieving his party’s nomination for the presidency. As a kid, I once dreamed of being POTUS someday; today, the dream that has been dreamed by many black Americans is closer than ever to becoming reality — but at what cost? Today, the stakes are higher than ever. Unlike the failed campaigns of Jesse Jackson (whom I once was blinded by blackness as being the sole reason for supporting him) and Al Sharpton, it is ideology, political experience, and reason that will determine which path this country will take for the next four years (and possibly blaze the trail for years to come). As much as I welcome the possibility of seeing a black president in my lifetime, I cannot, and will not vote for Barack Obama for reasons that are well known to anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis. Blindly voting for John McCain is also out of the question for me, as he might as well admit that, with the exception of foreign policy, he more or less would be Obama Lite. I can’t support any candidate (whether they may be black, white, brown, red, yellow, or plaid) who wants to restrict my freedoms, tell me how to live, where to live, and is determined to put our economy, our resources, our sovereignty, and our republic as a whole in jeopardy. Since my Jesse Jackson days, I grew older and became wiser. I learned how to study and discern the issues. I also learned how to think for myself and know where I stand. I am often ridiculed by other blacks who disagree with me (but most often by white 'liberals' for not toeing the party line nowadays), but I’ve learned not to back down from my principles, no matter what."

D.C. does make a fair point here. Why do black conservatives who are usually quite partisan feel the need for racial unity, when black liberals saw no need for racial unity in electing former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele to the U.S. Senate? It is a question that has popped into my head recently in response to the cross-pressure regarding a black president.

Dennis Sanders, a black moderate-liberal Republican blogger, writes in "Confessions Of A Black Republican": "I stumbled across this Associated Press article in today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune about how black conservatives are considering voting for Obama, because he is the first serious black candidate for the White House. Now, I understand their feelings as a black man. I don’t want to vote for someone just because they share the same skin color that I do, and there is a lot I disagree with in Obama’s plans for governing this country. There are a lot of Obama’s policy positions that I just don’t support. John McCain is the GOP candidate that I wanted to be the nominee and I like that he has some values that at times seem lost in our society, themes like honor, sacrifice and independence. He is truly in my view, a 'different kind of Republican.' And yet, as a black man, do I want to pass up the history-making chance to vote for someone who does look like me to become the President, even if he is with the other party? Black Republicans are 'supposed' to not be so race conscious. At least that is the popular perception. But like all other African Americans, we were taught to be proud of our Black Heritage, to see that we had a role in the shaping of the country, that we invented things, led movements for change and were poets, writers and artists. So of course, when one of our own is just a stone’s throw away from becoming President, there is a pull to want to vote for them, ideology be damned. Does this mean that I am dumping McCain? No. I still like the Senator. But I also know that as an African-American I am faced with a choice, vote for the one that I agree with ideologically or take a chance and vote for history. I know, I’m not supposed to see color. But I can’t help it."

Devone Tucker, a black conservative Republican blogger, writes: "I guess you have to count me as one of the so-called "black conservatives" (What does that term actually mean, anyway? It's one of these media terms, like 'neocon', that has no clear definition) who is not conflicted about the Obama campaign. I respect what Obama has accomplished in his life, and I do agree that if he becomes President, it will mark a profound change in American life, but I'm not voting for him because I don't agree with him on anything. John McCain is closer to my personal views, so that's who I'm voting for. Where is the logic in voting for someone whose views you disagree with? If I think Obama is going to damage the already troubled economy through income-tax increases, show excessive caution in his antiterrorism efforts, and appoint Supreme Court judges who will make rulings similar to the nonsensical recent ruling that gave Constitutional protections to terrorist suspects being held at Guantanamo Bay, then why would I want to vote for him? For me, voting for McCain over Obama is no different than voting for George W. Bush because I disagreed with Al Gore and John Kerry."

What is not being said by folks in response to this Associated Press piece is an interesting angle. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004, got 88% of the black vote. 11% of black voters voted for President George W. Bush, and 15-20% in key states like Florida and Ohio. Folks are so focused on the white vote, but if Sen. Obama increases his black support to say, 95%, in a general election and does it in key states, without losing any major Kerry states, he moves into the White House. Is this an intriguing Obama swing-voter strategy? Again, I note how I got mail last week from the Obama campaign even though I pulled a Republican primary ballot in 2002 and 2006 (although I pulled a Democratic primary ballot in 2004).