Quote:
Originally Posted by OtterXO
Isn't the person who is voting for Obama because he's black not voting for McCain because he's not black? It's ethically different to vote FOR something but in this particular situation you are inevitably voting against someone else for the same reason, but it's their lack of being black - if I'm following the logic here. So really there's no moral highroad. I think the reason it's different here is rooted more in the history of our country rather than the moral difference. To me no one needs to explain it though, it all makes sense. It wasn't a factor in my vote for him but I get why it would be for others.
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Bad logic based on a faulty assumption.
That faulty assumption is that the blacks who were already active voters and vote in every election haven't been voting for white candidates for years and wouldn't have voted for a white candidate if Obama wasn't on the ticket.
Which, of course, is untrue. It isn't that these voters would've voted for McCain had he not been white or that they would've sat this election out if the Dem candidate was white. So there is no indication that these black voters are afraid of a white presidency and have distrust or negative feelings towards whites that manifest themselves during election time.
As for the black voters who are new registrees either due to age or due to previous voter apathy, as I said in a previous post, most of these people would've voted for whatever Democratic candidate there was if there was the same enthusiasm and voter outreach. For decades since blacks shifted from being Repubs to being Dems, blacks
unfortunately identify with the Democratic party and feel that Dems speak to their social, political, and economic concerns. That has never required a black Dem candidate.