Like jumbo shrimp, deafening silences, and honest lawyers, Black Republicans are considered an oxymoron in contemporary American culture. Our culture is deeply ingrained with the notion that only the Democratic Party’s platform is compatible with black interests. In recent elections, black voters have supported the Democratic Party by margins of 19 to 1. Thus, it comes as some surprise that the first southern black Senator to serve since reconstruction is a Republican from South Carolina. However, those expecting newly-appointed Senator Tim Scott to be an advocate for black issues on the national stage will be disappointed. Scott is more interested in promoting his brand of uncompromising conservatism than identity politics.
Like many Republicans, Tim Scott is skittish of claims that there are differences in racial opportunity in the United States. During his service on the Charleston county council, Scott criticized the Clinton Administration’s attempts to increase black representation in the city. Scott took issue with the assumption that African-Americans could not be adequately represented by whites or vice-versa and referred to his own election by a majority-white constituency as a sign that race and representation were unrelated. In Congress, Scott continued his racial independence by refusing to join the Congressional Black Caucus, saying his campaign was “never about race.”
None of this is to say that Scott’s personal life and politics are not tightly connected. Raised in poverty by a single mother, Scott was at one point in danger of flunking out of school, but he found support from a mentor who taught him the value of hard work, entrepreneurship, and conservative values. The mentorship experience instilled him with a lifelong conservatism.
Since entering politics in 1995, Scott has taken uncompromising conservative stances in both social and economic policy. An evangelical Christian, Scott is critical of the secularization of American culture and has gone so far as to say that Christians are “a minority under assault.” As a Charleston County Councilor, Scott made restoring moral values his personal mission by installing a display of the Ten Commandments outside of council chambers. While the display was ruled unconstitutional and ordered removed, Scott fought the ruling as long as he could, saying “Whatever it costs in the pursuit of this goal is worth it.” Scott’s religious beliefs are the core of his opposition to abortion, gay rights, stem cell research and euthanasia.
Scott is also a staunch economic conservative and has made opposition to organized labor one of his signature issues. In Congress, Scott introduced legislation to make the families of striking workers ineligible for food stamps. In addition, he has gone on record questioning the legitimacy of the National Labor Relations Board. Scott believes that overly powerful labor protections only hurt economic growth. He credits South Carolina’s labor deregulation with attracting Boeing to move facilities from Washington State to South Carolina.
Tim Scott is a man who stands on principle, even when that means bucking party leadership. In 2011 during the debt-ceiling crisis, Scott was one of 28 representatives who refused to approve Speaker John Boehner’s last-ditch deal. The incident, which revealed that many right-wing politicians were willing to allow the country to default on its debt, was among the factors that led Standard and Poor’s to downgrade the United States’ credit rating from AAA to AA+. Scott does not see the downgrade as a reason to change tack or move toward compromise but has stuck to his guns, fighting for smaller government at any cost. Like his social positions, his stance on the debt is divinely inspired; Scott claims his vote on the debt deal was a direct consequence of divine communication.
Scott replaces Jim DeMint, a member of the tea-party movement who retired at the end of 2012 to helm The Heritage Foundation, a leading conservative think tank. Like his predecessor, Scott is a conservative purist on both social and economic policy. With his support of a hawkish foreign policy, repeal of the Affordable Care Act, lower taxes, and stronger restrictions on abortion, he will be one of the most conservative Senators in the 113th Congress.
For the time being, Tim Scott will be limited to being a loud but largely symbolic voice of opposition to the president’s objectives. However, should the Republicans win control of the Senate in 2014, (and if Scott wins the special election to continue his term), he may get a taste of real power. In Congress, he was chosen to sit at the leadership table twice by his peers and in the Senate his influence may continue to grow. As a senator from a solidly Republican state, Scott has little to fear in the way of liberal opposition at home. Moreover, Scott has support from GOP leaders like House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and prominent conservative figures like Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee. Liberals might tend to dismiss black Republicans, but they would do well to take Tim Scott seriously.