June 14th, 2008
Black conservatives conflicted on Obama campaign
Black conservative talk show host Armstrong Williams has never voted for a Democrat for president. That could change this year with Barack Obama as the Democratic Party’s nominee.
“I don’t necessarily like his policies; I don’t like much that he advocates, but for the first time in my life, history thrusts me to really seriously think about it,” Williams said. “I can honestly say I have no idea who I’m going to pull that lever for in November. And to me, that’s incredible.”
Just as Obama has touched black Democratic voters, he has engendered conflicting emotions among black Republicans. They revel over the possibility of a black president but wrestle with the thought that Obama doesn’t sit beside them ideologically.
“Among black conservatives,” Williams said, “they tell me privately, it would be very hard to vote against him in November.”
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.
And I won’t back down from my principles when I walk up to the voting machine come October (or November, should I forget to participate in Early Voting).
Related: baldilocks: Black Conservatives: Don’t Fall For It
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.
Amen.
Technorati Tags:
black,
conservative,
democrat,
identity politics,
liberal,
Politics,
race,
republican.
Filed under Commentary, Politics |
D.C.'s Quick Posts (via Facebook)
As satisfying as the ‘a pox on both their houses’ position would be, I can’t in good conscience vote for a third-party candidate this election cycle.
Obama may represent Nanny-Statism to a large degree, but there is a real need to spank the GOP for the Police-Statist corporate welfare that they’ve enacted on their watch (also, the current administration’s foreign policy, which McCain would continue, but I know we disagree on that point).
I have a feeling that a decisive win for Obama might trigger an overdue realignment on the conservative side of the aisle. I see signs of this in the LP candidate *loudly* repudiating White Separatists, and in various fracture lines appearing in the GOP between the Fiscal Conservatives + Small Government bloc and the Christian Dominionist + Unreconstructed Dixiecrat + Corporate Welfare + NeoCon bloc.
A decisive win for Obama coupled with a widespread defeat for GOP House and Senate candidates might just be the thing that cracks that nut wide open, creating a real mainstream conservative party without most of the ‘big tent’ baggage it’s been dragging around. It’s an open question whether that party will be called Republican or Libertarian.