Political Behavior Blog

Oddly enough, I’m somewhat familiar with this new vanguard of black Republicanism. Through a New York-based email list of black, young professionals that graduated from Harvard, Yale Princeton, Columbia, U Penn, Wesleyan, Georgetown and the like, I received an invitation from African-Americans for Bloomberg to attend an info session/rally for the Republican mayor. Hastened by a Billionaire-subsidized open bar, rare musical performances and a chance to schmooze with New York’s black par nevu petite bourgeoisie, I went.

Standing in a gentrified Harlem among gentrified African Americans and West Indians, I too observed the “diversity� of the black vote: middle-class, old-age pensioners—mostly former blue-collar workers—living out their halcyon years; young lawyers—poor ones from the ADA’s office and rich ones from the city’s top law firms—living no life but work; and, young and middle–age black entrepreneurs struggling to start new enterprises or keep old ones afloat in this new New York—a city without crime, rent-control or pervasive racism. They were black like me: mahogany and caramel faces, jocund spirits and green pockets.

The place was packed. After bumping into the spitting image of Fredrick Douglas, I joked: “I haven’t voted Republican since 1864.� My friend laughed. Then, with as much earnestness as she could muster, she responded: “Bloomberg isn’t really a Republican.� And there’s the rub.

The crowd disassociated Bloomberg Republicanism from Bush Republicanism. In one breath they bemoaned Bush’s response to Hurricane Katrina, calling it racism, and, in the next, they lauded Bloomberg’s outreach to New York’s black community and his effective governance of the city. If this new, local, black republican ideology has any sinew and consistency, it’s about good government—not big government or small government. This new ideology is also about the race. These black Republicans support the safe, crime-less streets of strong Republican rule because it benefits the race. They support pro-business economic policies because it benefits black enterprise. They support faith-based initiatives because it is black non-profits that will receive the grants and render the services. At the same time, they do not support the dismantling of the welfare state. They support school choice and harsh testing regimes because, in their view, black students will benefit. Though not New Dealers, they believe that certain segments of the community still deserve a safety net.

Additionally, I didn’t see a huge divide on cultural issues. These weren’t values voters sipping on gin martinis and snacking on crab cakes: no one spoke of gay marriage or abortion. I would have to attend the late-night rival at the store-front, Pentecostal church down the block to hear such concerns. Even then, the pastor may have sermonized against sodomy but supported Ferrer. Other black religious leaders have endorsed culturally-liberal mayor. It seems access and the new patronage of faith-based programs have made strange bedfellows. As this split among New York's black religious class reveals: black politics is undoubtedly complex now. But it's still racially-oriented.

Despite the prognostications of Fernandez’s article or the wishful thinking of African-Americans for Bloomberg, do not expect a huge vote for the pseudo-Republican mayor. Al Sharpton and other traditional black politicos support Ferrer and will mobilize their networks of activists and associations on his behalf. Furthermore, if Bloomberg wins a substantial proportion of the black vote (around 30%), it will not be a victory for new-age conservatism. If anything, it will be a win for old-style, good-government progressivism. And, according to these black do-gooders, it will be a victory for the race.