Ohio’s gubernatorial race pits white Democrat Ted Strickland versus black Republican Ken Blackwell.
I have huge issues with Ken Blackwell, from the Tom Noe dipshittery to the Dominionist taint to the stumping with Rod Parsley to the 2004 election irregularities. So I want him to lose and, honestly, I want him to lose big. I don’t want a squeaker.
Considering that Taft is hated more than any politician I can remember and drags down the Republicans in the state, and considering that Blackwell is trailing in the polls, I could get my wish.
And, as I said, Blackwell is black. I’m sure there are Ohio voters who will vote against him because of it. And I don’t know how I feel about that. Yes, any vote for “my” side is a vote for my side, but do I want my side to win so much that I hope the racists turn out in droves?
I know it doesn’t matter what I hope or don’t hope. I have no control over it. But it’s an uneasy sensation to realize that my side can benefit from racism.
So, is it unethical to hope the racists come out in droves and vote against Blackwell?
Would it be unethical to play up the race angle, hoping to spur the racists to the polls?
Is there any point where a candidate “has it coming” when it comes to feeling the backlash against his or her minority status?
Is there such a thing as a “wrong” reason to vote for any candidate (not legally, but ethically)?
I don’t think so. As you already noted, “hope” isn’t going to change things one way or the other. However, you might note that next time around if things are reversed you would be hypocritical to castigate someone else for hoping the same thing.
Yes, it would be unethical to do this. The ends do not justify the means.
These are very interesting questions, though. You might think about submiting them to The Ethicist. I never miss his column in the Sunday NYT Magazine.
How about voting for someone simply because you want that party in control even though you don’t like the person? I dislike my US Representative, but she is a Democrat and I’m not throwing my vote away on a 3rd party.
Sadly, I think there are more people voting ***for ***him because of his race.
A couple years ago, Blackwell rallied all of Ohio’s bigots to come out and vote against same-sex marriage. Maybe those same bigots will hand him his just deserts.
If you mean African Americans, then probably, but in some ways that’s legitimate. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing to feel that having more black leaders, regardless of party, is an important social good. However, I doubt that this will have much of an effect.
Blackwell is certainly ultra conservative though, I’ll grant you that. However, Democrats should realize that many African Americans are as well, and this constitutes a serious problem for them in the future.
I wasn’t old enough to vote when Mondale and Ferraro ran for the presidency, but when I became a card-totin’ feminist, I just assumed I would’ve been on her side to help further a woman into the oval office. Many years later, I now question the wisdom of doing something like that with a less-than-stellar candidate who might ruin chances for someone really qualified in the future and for the potential as a whole.
In other words, I think it’d be hard to come up with a good answer one way or the other.
No it doesn’t matter for the ethical question, aside from the fact that the “ends justify the means” would be doubly wrong since the means wouldn’t accomplish the end!