As we close in on the November 4th general election, much attention has been paid to the possibility of a “Bradley Effect.”
Named for former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley who lost his 1982 gubernatorial bid despite having a lead in the polls, today some still wonder if racial fears will trump public professions when voters step inside voting booths on Tuesday. Yet in California, several conservative groups are counting on what political scientists may possibly refer to as the “Obama Effect.”
Supporters of Proposition 8, a proposal to amend the California state constitution in order to define marriage as an exclusive union between a man and woman, believe that an anticipated record turnout among African American and Latino voters in the state may indeed secure their cause. And Christian and cultural conservatives hope a common bond of homophobia will ally their efforts with minority voters energized by an Obama candidacy.
To be sure, the dominant evangelical orientation of the black church coupled with a large number of Catholic Latino voters may just provide the support Prop 8 needs—it has been said, “politics makes for strange bedfellows.” Yet I am hopeful that enough minority voters will view this amendment for what it is, state-sanctioned discrimination and a bible-based prohibition against exogamy, which is reminiscent of previous state bans on interracial marriage that defined America’s not too distant past. This is why I pray that a solid number of black and brown voters embrace Jesus’ ethic of reciprocity on Tuesday. In other words, the Golden Rule: “Do unto others, as you would have them to do unto you!”
