The 2004 Presidential Election will go down in history as one of our country’s most divided elections. Despite this, the African-American community continues to be unified in its approach to politics. This year the Republican Party garnered 11% of the black vote, an increase of 2% from 2000.
It has been recently argued that African American votes have been traditionally ignored by one party and taken for granted by the other party. I feel that the time has come for blacks to become more diversified in our approach to politics in order to reap the benefits of whichever party is in power.
The recent small increase in African Americans voting Republican has been attributed to support for pro-life and anti-gay marriage issues. These values issues have played a substantial role in motivating Christians of all colors.
The values debate between the political parties also goes to the heart of our differing notions about the roles of government in improving the quality of life. Americans are increasingly being asked whether they want social policy to foster dependency in its citizens or whether the government should foster citizens’ independence. Traditionally, African Americans have supported the expansion of social programs and thus have supported Democrats. But the question that we really need to ask ourselves is, have these programs really worked?
In 1972, the black poverty rate was 29%. Today, 24.4% of all African Americans live in poverty. Strangely, one of the things that we realize about poverty is that moral values play a part. If a child finishes high school, marries before having children and weds after the age of 20, he has an 8% chance of living in poverty. Compare this to the fact that 48.6% of single-parent households are poverty-stricken. Despite trillions of dollars being spent of federal programs, there has been a disconnect between values and policy and all we have to show for it is a doubling of the rate of births to unwed mothers and a sharp increase in the number of households headed by single women with a 50% high school graduation rate.
A 2003 survey by Black America’s Political Action Committee found that while 80% of all African Americans have a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, only 40% of blacks feel that the Democrats have treated us well over the past four years. In addition, 40% of African Americans feel that the Democrats have taken our vote for granted. Another recent poll by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies revealed that the number of blacks registering as Republicans more than doubled since 2000. With these trends already taking place, I believe that it is smart for African Americans to begin to bargain with politicians for their vote.
I state my case by looking at the Hispanic vote, which has been traditionally divided between Democrats and Republicans. Between 2000 and 2004, the Hispanic support of Republicans jumped by nine points from 35% to 44%. Because Hispanics are not pigeon-holed as being Democrats, both parties tend to cater to their interests. Alberto Gonzales’ appointment as Attorney General as well as President Bush’s support of a form of amnesty for undocumented workers signifies that the Republicans are beginning to cater to Latino interests. With more black support, I feel that the Republicans will do more to promote our interests, as well.
In the past, there have been many reasons for African Americans not to support Republicans. However, I feel that President Bush have reached out to the black community in ways that previously did not happen. Pres. Bush, unlike any former Republican has appointed fairly diverse staff to his Cabinet and to very high positions in his administration. In addition he has worked diligently to support faith-based charities, homeownership, education, entrepreneurship, lower taxes, strong defense, and religious values.
Although I do realize that a dramatic increase in African-American support for the Republican Party in the short-term is extreme. It is my hope, however, that we would begin to consider the viewpoints of the “other” political party in order to amass influence for our people and our issues regardless of who is occupying the Oval Office.