Matt Zeitlin

Ta-Nihisi Coates does some thinking on the question:

Also, Vogeli gets at the essential problem of conservatives and black voters–the dodginess of the “limited government” defense. To oppose Affirmative Action and hate crime legislation from the perspective of limited government is an honest position that probably could be explained to the African-American voter. But it can’t be explained when the people who hold that position support other massive intrusions of government–like the drug war,and the expansion of prisons. Unfortunately, that leads to my critique of the article–I didn’t see anything on what a conservative pitch to African-Americans would look like. I’ve said this before–if conservatives want the black vote, it’s not enough to outline what your against, you have to say what you’re for. I didn’t get that from the piece. I still have no idea why any African-American should ultimately support a Republican.

One other thing. For those who wonder why I’m so into this subject, I say the following. I’m a liberal, no doubt. But as a black person–and I guess as a liberal–I’ve never thought it was a good thing that nine out of ten black people think that basically half the American electorate would like to see them back in chains. I’d much rather that nine out of ten blacks vote Democrat out of a serious committment to liberalism, not because they basically don’t have a choice. That sense, that there really is only one electoral option, is not good for black folks, and it’s not good for the country at large.

I happen to agree with Coates about the large point that it isn’t ideal for a large racial minority to be voting 9-1 for one party. It means that their votes get taken for granted by one party, and that the other party simply doesn’t care about them. But, unlike Coates, I think there are plenty of “good” reasons (i.e. similiar to the reasons most other people vote Republican) for some Black people to vote for Republicans. After all, if you’re a middle class black person, or especially a wealthy one, then Republicans being tough on crime won’t really affect you, it’s not your children that are making up the horrifically high numbers of black men in prison. Obviously historical and cultural considerations come in to play, and that’s why Blacks vote in such high margins for Democrats, but it’s not like the Republican message is especially off-putting for all Blacks.

I should add that another weird racial-political distortion we have is Voting Rights Act mandated districting. David Epstein explained in a TAP article from 2006 that guaranteed minority-majority districts aren’t necessarily the best vehicle for repersenting minority political concerns:

The fact is, the voting arrangements that elect the most minorities as possible to office are not the same as those that do the most to promote the policy goals supported by minority voters. This wasn’t always the case; it used to be that the best way to get pro-minority legislation was to construct districts that were sure to elect minority-supported representatives. But with the decrease in polarized voting in the South, and increased polarization between the parties in Congress, this equation no longer holds. Indeed, research I have conducted with Sharyn O’Halloran shows that with the rise of the Republican Party’s fortunes in the South, the “hazard rate” in that region is now 2 to 1: for every extra majority-minority district created, that is, two extra Republicans get elected from surrounding districts. This means that, on average, each additional majority-minority district results in the loss of one vote for minority-supported legislation.

Of course, it sounds like you’re forcing black voters to the back of the bus by saying that the Democrats will be able to pass their preferred legislation, but that they won’t have any black representatives. After all, other identity groups don’t have to pass some sort of litmus test to have their representation recognized as legitimate. But still, reforming the Voting Rights Act seems like a conversation worth having. It’s not at all clear if these districts designed for black representation have actually improved the lot of African Americans, or if the basic structure of African American politics (vote Democratic! Get government jobs!) has really worked out for anyone besides those politicians.