*sigh* Another black Republican down

[Alcon]

I'm suprised Vermont had ANY black statewide office holder, regarldess of party.

You shouldn't be.  The people of Vermont are some of the most open minded in the country... Except for supporting flatlanders =).

I assume that was more on the statistical basis that Vermont is less than 1/100th black.

[Alcon]

Honestly, putting race aside, there's little rationale for voting for voting for any candidate, other than party and positions on issues.

Lord, I strongly disagree.  Competence is such an important measure, especially in a state office!  I would happily vote for an ultraconservative/ultraliberal AG, for instance, if they did a good job and weren't overtly political.

I'll vote for the candidate with the right positions on issues, regardless of race or gender.  I think candidates like Blackwell and Steele are put up with the knowledge that some people do vote based on race.  I don't see that they were/are any worse than the typical Republican or Democratic candidate.

I agree.

I think the absolute worst quality candidates/politicians out there are black Democrats who represent heavily black districts/cities.  They're positively dreadful, and there's far less rationale to vote for anybody with any brain activity to vote for them than there is to vote for a Blackwell or a Steele.

I really don't think ultra-white, ultra-liberal districts do all that better.  It just tends to be that the most Democratic districts are often the most black (with some significant exceptions).