AP - 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 ...
06-14-2008, 02:30 PM
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| Stay classy!  Independent  
| Black conservatives conflicted on Obama campaign AP - 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 the Illinois senator 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." Perhaps sensing the possibility of such a shift, Republican presidential candidate John McCain has made some efforts to lure black voters. He recently told Essence magazine that he would attend the NAACP's annual convention next month, and he noted that he recently traveled to Selma, Ala., scene of seminal voting rights protests in the 1960s, and "talked about the need to include 'forgotten Americans.'" Still, the Arizona senator has a tall order in winning black votes, no doubt made taller by running against a black opponent. In 2004, blacks chose Democrat John Kerry over President Bush by an 88 percent to 11 percent margin, according to exit polls. J.C. Watts, a former Oklahoma congressman who once was part of the GOP House leadership, said he's thinking of voting for Obama. Watts said he's still a Republican, but he criticizes his party for neglecting the black community. Black Republicans, he said, have to concede that while they might not agree with Democrats on issues, at least that party reaches out to them. "And Obama highlights that even more," Watts said, adding that he expects Obama to take on issues such as poverty and urban policy. "Republicans often seem indifferent to those things." Likewise, retired Gen. Colin Powell, who became the country's first black secretary of state under President George W. Bush, said both candidates are qualified and that he will not necessarily vote for the Republican. "I will vote for the individual I think that brings the best set of tools to the problems of 21st-century America and the 21st-century world regardless of party, regardless of anything else other than the most qualified candidate," Powell said Thursday in Vancouver in comments reported by The Globe and Mail in Toronto. Writer and actor Joseph C. Phillips got so excited about Obama earlier this year that he started calling himself an "Obamacan" Obama Republican. Phillips, who appeared on "The Cosby Show" as Denise Huxtable's husband, Navy Lt. Martin Kendall, said he has wavered since, but he is still thinking about voting for Obama. "I am wondering if this is the time where we get over the hump, where an Obama victory will finally, at long last, move us beyond some of the old conversations about race," Phillips said. "That possibly, just possibly, this great country can finally be forgiven for its original sin, or find some absolution." Yet Phillips, author of the book "He Talk Like a White Boy," realizes the irony of voting for a candidate based on race to get beyond race. "We have to not judge him based on his race, but on his desirability as a political candidate," he said. "And based on that, I have a lot of disagreements with him on a lot of issues. I go back and forth." Michael Steele, the Republican former lieutenant governor of Maryland who lost a Senate race there in 2006, said he is proud of Obama as a black man, but that "come November, I will do everything in my power to defeat him." Electing Obama, he said, would not automatically solve the woes of the black community. "I think people who try to put this sort of messianic mantle on Barack's nomination are a little bit misguided," he said. John McWhorter, a self-described political moderate who is a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute and a New York Sun columnist, said Obama's Democratic Party victory "proves that while there still is some racism in the United States, there is not enough to matter in any serious manner. This is a watershed moment." "Obama is probably more to the left than I would prefer on a lot of issues," he adds. "But this issue of getting past race for real is such a wedge issue for me. And he is so intelligent, and I think he would be a perfectly competent president, that I'm for him. I want him to get in because, in a way, it will put me out of a job." James T. Harris, a Milwaukee radio talk show host and public speaker, said he opposes Obama "with love in my heart." "We are of the same generation. He's African American and I'm an American of African descent. We both have lovely wives and beautiful children," Harris said. "Other than that, we've got nothing in common. I hope he loses every state." Moderate Republican Edward Brooke, who blazed his own trail in Massachusetts in 1966 as the first black popularly elected U.S. senator, said he is "extremely proud and confident and joyful" to see Obama ascend. Obama sent Brooke a signed copy of his book, inscribed, "Thank you for paving the way," and Brooke sent his own signed book to Obama, calling the presumed Democratic nominee "a worthy bearer of the torch." Brooke, who now lives in Florida, won't say which candidate will get his endorsement, but he does say that race won't be a factor in his decision. "This is the most important election in our history," Brooke said. "And with the world in the condition that it is, I think we've got to get the best person we can get." Williams, the commentator, says his 82-year-old mother, who also hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate, has already made up her mind. "She is so proud of Senator Barack Obama, and she has made it clear to all of us that she's voting for him in November," Williams relates. "That is historic. Every time I call her, she asks, 'How's Obama doing?' They feel as if they are a part of this. Because she said, given the history of this country, she never thought she'd ever live to see this moment." source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080614/ap_on_el_pr/black_conservatives_obama [link] | ||||
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06-21-2008, 05:50 AM
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| minor irritant &/or non-entity News Moderator Contrarian Birmingham, UK
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I cant really think of anything sadder than this, ..., well not easily. In all honesty I think Obama should go on this geezers radio show & beg such people not to vote for him. OTOH Perhaps Williams is just trolling for publicity for his show etc? Please tell me its so. | ||||
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06-21-2008, 11:11 AM
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| Never, never, never give up  Conservative Party High Point, NC 
| It is surprising. These guys are admitting they might vote for Obama for one reason only. His skin color. That is against everything I have ever been taught and teach my kids. | ||||
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06-21-2008, 03:10 PM
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| ipsa Scientia Potestas est  Pragmatist North Carolina
| I don't understand how they could vote for someone because of his skin color if they don't think he'll govern by the principles they believe in.. Seems racist to me  | ||||
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06-21-2008, 03:58 PM
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| Administrator  libertarian Oklahoma
| Originally Posted by motivez I dont understand it either. I dont think I'd call it racists though...
I talked to a friend of mine about who's always voted conservative/republican. He mentioned that he was probably voting for Obama. While he disagrees with a lot of his policies he thinks its something the black community needs and that they need role models that emphasize personal responsibility, the young generation also needs to see that the USA isn't the segragated racist society that it once was. Not sure that justifies voting for the guy but at least he made a reasonable point other than "he's black like me" | ||||
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06-21-2008, 04:03 PM
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| ipsa Scientia Potestas est Pragmatist North Carolina
| I don't think his position is any different than "he's black like me" .. in fact, that's exactly what it is. He's voting for someone because they're black, basing his decision entirely on race, and thus discriminating against McCain because he's white. Sounds racist to me. | ||||
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06-21-2008, 04:31 PM
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| Administrator libertarian Oklahoma
| Originally Posted by motivez I dunno, my knee jerk reaction was the same thing, but we had a decent conversation about it, theres more to it other than "he's black" as I briefly pointed out earlier. It's definately not smart...but I would probably stop short of calling it racist unless it was solely because he was black...who is armstrong williams by the way?
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06-21-2008, 08:58 PM
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| Member  libertarian Kutztown PA
| Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95 I'm tempted to agree. If you view racism as an issue, which I think you legitimately can do, then you can justify voting for Obama based on one issue. I do think it does (or at least CAN) do deeper than "he's black, so am I". If a black president was elected it would be huge for the black community and be a monumental step forward with regards to race relations in this country. I still think it would be a mistake to vote for him SOLELY based on this issue, but if that is the issue thats means the most to you (as I'm sure is the case with many black people) then I don't think I would call it racist.
I've never heard of armstrong williams either... | ||||
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06-21-2008, 09:51 PM
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| Administrator libertarian Oklahoma
| Originally Posted by Smull That ws the point that my buddy was trying to make. They disagree on about 50 or even 60% of the issues...but he said the impact on the black community and the potential good it could do outweighed the potential negative political consequences, especially considering a lot of the political screws could be easily fixed. Giving this opportunity to the black community is what pushed him over the edge IMO.
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06-21-2008, 11:19 PM
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| Noob Conservative
| Voting for Obama because he is black is just as racist as not voting for him because he is black. Voting for him because he is black is actually a more disgusting form of racism because you that kind of racism gets a pass in society. | ||||
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06-22-2008, 02:17 AM
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| helluo librorum The Lab Moderator  Humanist Chicago Suburbs
| Originally Posted by DeadtoSin So it's more racist to approve of someone based on skin color than it is to hate them for it?
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06-22-2008, 02:37 AM
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| ipsa Scientia Potestas est Pragmatist North Carolina
| Originally Posted by Scrum He's essentially voting against McCain because of his race, I don't see how it's any different really.
Making a decision about someone or something based entirely on race is racist in itself. | ||||
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06-22-2008, 09:45 AM
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| Noob Conservative
| I didn't say it was more racist to vote for Obama based on his skin, I said it was a more disgusting form of racism in my eyes. It is a form of racism that is accepted in every day society, and all it is doing is perpetuating this entire cycle that we've built. | ||||
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06-22-2008, 10:01 AM
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| ipsa Scientia Potestas est Pragmatist North Carolina
| I dunno if I'd say it's more disgusting, but it's still deciding that someone is a superior choice based on their skin color | ||||
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06-22-2008, 11:05 AM
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| Member libertarian Kutztown PA
| its not exactly a choice based on skin color though, its what Obama can accomplish because of his skin color. McCain simply just doesn't have the ability to move race relations forward in the nation the way Obama can, in fact, through no fault of his own, his becoming president may actually set them back. | ||||
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06-22-2008, 01:32 PM
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| Never, never, never give up Conservative Party High Point, NC
| Originally Posted by Smull It will be interesting to see if what you say is true if he does win. Will black graduation rates rise? Will black poverty fall? Will black single family homes and teen pregnancy lessen?
People already said months ago that if Obama doesn't win many people will cry racism. But if blacks do worse in society will they blame McCain as well? Of course they will. If blacks do worse or don't do better in society will they blame Obama? Of course they won't. | ||||
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06-23-2008, 06:31 AM
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| minor irritant &/or non-entity News Moderator Contrarian Birmingham, UK
| Even if one accepts the view that an Obama presidential victory would be a 'good thing' in terms of combatting racism or defusing claims of minority persecution or providing role models etc, (& I do, the prospect of chopping repellant hate-mongers such as Sharpton off at the legs delights me), one should surely take care to emphasise such a view rather than allowing perceptions of racism, ..., not least coz its an bovious risk & is counter to the supposed position anyway. Despite some weakness I really liked Obama's speech where he sought to make race a non-issue & as such I feel he should tackle attitudes such as these headon & specifically ask 'black republicans' not to vote for him. I even think it benefit him electorially, but I'm probably a poor judge of this. I'm more confident in my view that it would greatly aid his presidency, should he get it, internationally | ||||
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06-23-2008, 06:45 AM
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| ipsa Scientia Potestas est Pragmatist North Carolina
| Originally Posted by Smull Of course it's a choice based on skin color. He thinks someone who's black is better able to do something because they're black.
That's a racist way of thinking. | ||||
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06-30-2008, 07:18 PM
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| Noob Democrat
| Obama's race doesn't matter with an opponent like McCain who doesn't know the difference between al-qaeda and iran, who doesn't think that knowing about gas prices is important, who knows diddly about the economy, who's relying on racist southerners to carry him to the presidency, who is older than dirt, who flips flops on every issue... Oh and did I mention he's old? | ||||
