More young blacks ready to embrace GOP

Boston Globe reported Adam Hunter, an ambitious law student with bright eyes, an easy smile, and plenty of charisma, seems practically destined for politics. A half century ago, his grandfather helped register blacks living in rural South Carolina to vote. Hunter's father, born on a tobacco farm and taught in segregated schools, was inspired by the civil rights movement to join the Democratic Party. His parents have both headed the local Democratic committee in their New Jersey town, and Hunter himself worked as a campaign volunteer before he was old enough to vote.

Hunter, 22, is a first-year law student at Howard University, a historically black campus with a long record of liberal activism. He has political ambitions of his own -- but not with the Democrats. Instead, Hunter, who as an undergraduate headed Howard's chapter of College Republicans, sees himself as part of a younger generation of African-Americans. He is ready to cast aside traditional loyalties to the Democratic Party and forge his own political identity. ''My father and I are not that different, ideologically, but if you look at the time period we grew up in, that's where we're different," Hunter said. ''My foundation doesn't make me beholden to the Democratic Party. To me there's nothing more undemocratic than the idea that you have to vote for a Democrat or don't vote at all come Election Day."

This is one smart lad. I have been amazed at the fact that most Blacks voted lockstep with the Democratic party, when it has been a long time since the Dems really did anything for Blacks, and since they really kept Blacks in poverty with their Welfare Programs that gave them an incentive to just stay on the dole and not try to improve themselves. Republicans offer the opportunity to improve yourself, if you just want to.

Hunter is one of a growing number of young African-Americans leaving the party of their parents and grandparents in favor of the GOP -- or choosing not to have a political affiliation at all. A July Gallup Poll of minorities' political opinions indicated that black voters overwhelmingly favor the Democratic Party, and the percentage of African-Americans who consider themselves Republicans lingers at about 9 percent. However, according to the poll, of those blacks who vote GOP, most are under age 50 -- a generational shift that could be an opportunity for Republicans and a headache for Democrats.

I hope so.

Democrats have had a decades-long hammerlock on the black vote, stemming largely from the civil rights battles of the 1960s. Senator John F. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, received an estimated 88 percent of the African-American vote in 2004, 2 percent less than Al Gore won in 2000, according to exit polls. Jeffrey M. Jones, who conducted the Gallup Poll, said it is too early to tell whether a slight increase in young black voters identifying with the Republican Party represents a long-term trend. But if those numbers rise another 5 or 10 percent next year, people should take note.

Another thing Blacks should take note of is how many black Secretaries of State have the Dems named? I believe the number is zero, while for Republicans it is two, and one is a Black Woman.

''There's a lot of hints out there that something is going on," he said. ''Nothing is totally conclusive, but the more hints there are out there, the more evidence you have that this could be real." However, Republicans, billing themselves as ''the party of Lincoln," have launched a high-profile campaign to chip away at what has been a reliable voting block for Democrats. While older black voters still have strong attachments to the Democratic party, political specialists say, younger African-Americans are less likely to be bound by tradition: They grew up in an integrated society, they don't have personal memories of the civil rights movement, and they are more focused on entrepreneurship and opportunity, two of the GOP's selling points. However, Republicans, billing themselves as ''the party of Lincoln," have launched a high-profile campaign to chip away at what has been a reliable voting block for Democrats. While older black voters still have strong attachments to the Democratic party, political specialists say, younger African-Americans are less likely to be bound by tradition: They grew up in an integrated society, they don't have personal memories of the civil rights movement, and they are more focused on entrepreneurship and opportunity, two of the GOP's selling points.

Hugh Hewitt blogged The Boston Globe reports on the increasingly likelihood that young African Americans will align with Republicans. So the Dems are split on both of the great issues of the day, and the GOP is widening its outreach. That's an excellent way to end the summer.