The Plight Of Black Republicans

Only a tiny bit better than that of gay Republicans (hey, at least they aren't trying to divorce you). And some dealt with the last election with a modicum of self-respect:

Don Scoggins, 63, has been a Republican for nearly 40 years. Yet on Nov. 4, he voted for a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time. Scoggins is president of the 1,000-member Republicans for Black Empowerment, a Washington-based group that primarily aims to mobilize black conservatives. For months, he struggled over whether to support John McCain. The selection of Alaska governor Sarah Palin as McCain's vice-presidential running mate "was the nail in the coffin. She didn't exude any intellectual acuity," he says.