OP-ED: The Controversial Power of Black Conservative Votes

Republicans are racists. At least, these days, it seems that way. The face of the GOP, through somewhat fabricated media coverage and chatter, has been relabeled as a safe house for white supremacy. Even to conservatives themselves, the strong principals of what it means to be a Republican have been completely lost in a sea of nonsense.

Because our system is currently so split, it seems incredibly radical to think of a black person identifying with conservative views and even voting for Trump (gasp!). This is statistically and historically accurate. In every presidential election since 1968, 90% of the black population has voted for a Democratic candidate. We don’t think about this too much, as it is just the norm by now, however, the monopoly the Democrats have on black votes ends up hurting everybody in the long run. Could diversifying the votes of people of color benefit the black community?

Recently, VICE published a YouTube video entitled Black Conservatives Debate Black Liberals on American Politics. The title caught my eye, and before I knew it, I was invested in every word of the 38-minute long video. The documentary, set in a casual open environment, asked several controversial questions to eight black men and women. Each person in the documentary explained that they automatically voted for Obama twice, and most of the conservatives leaned right in 2016 because of the very policies Obama put in place. Regardless of political belief, a universal problem becomes very apparent if one takes a step backward: the black community needs more conservative voters.

Back in 2008, Barack Obama became an obvious frontrunner with his successful campaign. He worked diligently gaining votes in general and specifically ended up acquiring 90% of the black vote in the primaries and 95% in the national election.

One can assume that the majority of the black voters who voted for Obama did, in fact, align with his policies, as voters typically do. However, conservatives in the documentary were candid in revealing how they blindly supported Obama.

“It was promoted to me that just because he was biracial, he was somehow going to have my best interest at heart [and that he] came from the same experience I did,” explained Rob Smith, a proud black gay conservative Iraq veteran. Smith went into more detail, drawing contrast to the way he grew up in the projects in Ohio, while Obama was raised in wealth and privilege his entire life.

“The idea that this person is more connected to me just because we share the same skin color is crazy. But I bought it, and it was sold to me.”

The other conservatives featured in the documentary all voted for Obama, for a number of different reasons. However,  everyone interviewed seemed to agree with the point the young man made.

Obama was a fabulous public speaker and was known for making grand promises to the people throughout his presidency. However, once he paid persuasive lip service to the black community, in some people’s eyes, he was done.

The black community is the only sector of people in the world that vote 90% one way. Across the board in regards to every religion, race, sexual orientation, gender, and financial status, no other group of people even approaches the distinct majority in which black people vote in this country.

Stephen Smith, a radio personality and firm believer in the change of black votes, uses an excellent analogy to describe this.

“If you go to buy a house or car, you don’t just see something you want and say ‘I want that. Tell me what the price is and I’ll pay for it,” he says. “Somebody has to flatter you in order to garner your dollars and support.” The same thing, he believes, should apply to the African American vote.

Let’s assume the black community voted closer to a 50/50 split for each party. Both candidates would have to significantly campaign harder for the black vote, and follow through with their promises, period.

When a party has that much of certainty that one group of people will vote in their favor, as long as they prove they support the black community more than their opposite counterpart, there is no need to act on the issues discussed. Just as we saw with Obama, some promises were held to the black community, and others were put on the backburner for the entire duration of his presidency. We have to ask ourselves, are black voters voting on a democratic ticket because  they support the actual beliefs of the party, or is their support as a result of just sticking with the majority?

I would argue that most  Galloway students would argue that the GOP is truly rooted in racism, and that any black person who votes conservatively has fallen into some sort of white trap. This topic was brought up in the VICE documentary, to which the conservatives, and several liberals as well, argued that this is false. The unadvertised truth, they claimed, is that there is racism on both sides of the political spectrum.

“A binary system for black people is always going to be choosing the lesser of two evils… I’m always choosing my death either as a blunt force blow or a death by a thousand paper cuts,” one liberal man stated. He went on to explain that he thinks most African Americans vote democratic because the “thousand paper cuts” (subtly racist policies) are not as obvious as the overtly racist policies conservatives put in place. However, they have similar effect.

For example, several policies over the years that democratic presidents put into place have hurt the black community more than GOP policies. The Three Strikes and You’re Out laws were pushed by Bill Clinton; a democrat. In fact, although his campaign advertising would argue otherwise, Joe Biden himself wrote Clinton’s crime bill.

Neither side may be able to lead black people to true liberation from oppression, but perhaps equality in voting is a solid first step forward. If politicians have to truly fight for black votes, for example by visiting predominantly black cities when campaigning or hosting town halls to find out how the people themselves feel about racially motivated policies, the results will be far better than anything we’ve seen before.

Perhaps the black community will never swing over more than a few percents, which isn’t necessarily a terrible thing, but the unknown rise of the “Blexit” movement (“black exit” from democratic voting patterns) brought on by staunch conservative Candace Owens is picking up speed. It’s also worth noting that although the attendance of Blexit conferences isn’t sky high, the page has an impressive internet following, suggesting that many support the movement but are too ashamed to come out.

However, as the black community may approach a more bipartisan mindset, it is important to put stereotypes aside, and instead listen to where people are coming from. My greatest takeaway from the VICE film was one thing: every conservative in the documentary agreed that they have never experienced racism in this country until they came out as being a Republican. And for those who have experienced racism and cannot understand how someone in the black community could support the GOP, I encourage you to take party affiliation out of it and think strictly about effect. If the black community actively works to diversify its voting, politicians will have to truly campaign for their votes and deliver on their promises. With that, everyone benefits.

By Annie Levy