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Posted on 05/10/2004 2:40:35 PM PDT by Amish
For Willie L. Talton, 60, of Warner Robins, there was no epiphany, no moment the lights flashed on and he realized he was a Republican. Neither did that moment occur for 30-year-old Nick Chester of Mableton.
"I have voted for lots of Democrats," says Talton, the chief deputy sheriff of Houston County. "But in the last two or three years, I have been an independent voter. And as you start voting, you start learning things. I realized all of the candidates I was voting for were Republicans, so I started watching them and I started attending meetings. It seemed like it was the party of opportunities and very family-oriented. That attracted me."
Come January, Talton, a 39-year veteran of law enforcement -- he was one of the first two black police officers hired in Warner Robins in 1965 -- will make history again when he is sworn in as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives.
If all goes well, he'll have company. Across the ballot, a number of exceptionally qualified blacks are running as Republicans, with pizza king Herman Cain in the U.S. Senate race and former White House aide Dylan Glenn running for Congress in the 8th District south of Atlanta. Though neither Cain nor Glenn has held elective office, both are solid conservatives and exceptionally polished campaigners. Both will be adequately financed, and if elected, will be instant national celebrities.
Cain may be the best first-time candidate Georgia has seen. While he is largely unknown to the GOP base, his speaking ability delivering a rock-solid conservative message captivates those who are seeing and hearing him for the first time, as most are. In one minute, two minutes or five, he delivers a disciplined, punchy and often memorable sound bite. But Georgia is a big state. The question is whether he can introduce himself to enough voters before the July 20 primary.
It's not really evident yet, but the iron-fisted grip of Democrats on the allegiance of blacks is weakening -- and just about the way Willie Talton describes.
Nick Chester, 30, of Mableton in Cobb County, is among a handful of black Republicans who hope to join Talton in the House of Representatives next year. "I wish I could tell you that being a black Republican for me was some sort of epic adventure, but the truth is, it is not," says Chester, the son of a career military family who spent eight years in the military himself before settling with his wife, Donna, in Cobb.
"Most African-Americans are naturally conservatives," he says. "I believe in smaller, more efficient government and I believe in the traditional family as defined as one man and one woman. I am a Bible-based Christian . . . I trust that the people, when given the opportunity, make the best decisions, not the government."
The recent legislative debate over whether to expand the definition of marriage to include people of the same sex positioned black legislators apart from much of their base. With four exceptions, black Democrats voted against allowing the amendment on the ballot -- even those legislators who represent communities out in the state that are deeply conservative on social issues.
Voters don't suddenly bolt from one party to the other. It happens, as with Talton, when voters begin to realize that they agree more with the principles of one more than the other.
"I often tell my African-American friends that we believe in the same things, except I belong to the party that cares about those things," says Chester, who is running in House District 33 against white incumbent Democrat Don Wix. The district is 31 percent black with a Republican base of about 43 percent.
Talton, as the first black Republican, is uncertain how he'll be received by black Democrats. "Both parties need to work together for the good of Georgia," he said. "If they have the same thing in mind, I think we are going to work together well."
If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)
Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.
LOL! That's easy for me: the most amazing thing is that it appeared in the AJC.
Bring it on Bump! I hope we see more stories like this.
Very encouraging news, and I hope more Blacks join the Party.
Agreed. Nick's a friend, and lives nearby. He's a good guy...
Agree wholeheardtedly. I have heard black shoeshine men at the airport express decidedly conservative views -- and they themselves told me they were just about to jump ship to the Republicans. The Democrats should be ashamed that they have brainwashed blacks for so long.
As for your estimate of changing outcomes -- blacks are 10% of the electorate, so a 10% shift in their percentages from D to R results in a 1% shift nationwide. But 10% in a close state like Michigan, or Florida, or Mississippi, could turn a state.
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