By Brandon Whitney

Democrats are as close to losing the African American vote as they have ever been. Let’s be completely honest, the Democratic Party takes African Americans for granted. They have been so focused on trying to win independents that they have all but ignored their most loyal constituency. This has been made very apparent in the primary. Obama did not have a lock on the African American vote until South Carolina. The reason for his dominance with this constituency is not because he is African American, it is because the Clintons were so confident of African American turnout in November that they thought nothing of alienating Blacks. This is just an expression of elite Democrats failure to really make an effort to earn Black loyalty.

McCain is not a scary Republican. He is not George W. Bush or Pat Buchanan. McCain is an old school Republican who doesn’t lean so heavily on the southern strategy that he scares Blacks off. Hillary, and her salt the earth policy, have managed to split the Democratic Party. It is possible for it to be reunited but not by a Clinton. If Clinton manages to win the nomination by hook or crook there are large numbers of African Americans who are willing to cross party lines or sit out this election. Those who sit out have the potential to be reenergized but those who cross lines to vote for McCain have the potential to stay there. Part of what McCain represents is a shift of the Republican Party away from the far right. 2008 could be the opportunity that some have been waiting for to break up the Democratic monopoly of the African American vote.

Luckily for the Democratic Party, Republican attempts to woo African American voters have been rare and incompetently executed. Leaning on the incompetence ones opponent is a terrible way to fight a political battle. Hopefully the party elite of the party will wake up and avoid losing one of its most valuable and important constituencies.

Brandon is the creator of Homelandcolors.blogspot.com a blog that focuses on issues that affect the African American community. He is also a frequent guest on News and Notes’ Blogger Roundtable. Brandon has political experience as an outreach director for the Democratic party and is passionate about being a positive force in his community. African American issues.  He is also a frequent guest on News and Notes’ Blogger Roundtable.