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For years, white politicians –particularly Democrats– have made assumptions that black voters were some kind of uniform group that could be counted on to act in a particular way.

You always hear that making assumptions is something you don’t want to do because they could come back and haunt you.

For years, white politicians –particularly Democrats– have made assumptions that black voters were some kind of uniform group that could be counted on to act in a particular way. In other words, they assumed year after year that blacks would vote for Democrats.

A new poll of black South Carolinians by Winthrop University and SCETV may shatter preconceived notions about black voters. In short, the poll suggests blacks aren’t a monolithic group that behaves in one particular way.

“The assumption was blacks are uniformly liberal,” said Scott Huffman, who conducted the poll at Winthrop’s Social and Behavioral Research Lab. “No, they’re not.”

“There’s a higher chance of a black South Carolinian saying he is liberal than a white South Carolinian, but if you speak to 1,000 African Americans here, only 121 are going to say, ‘I’m very conservative’ and only 119 are going to say, ‘I’m very liberal.’”

In fact, one out of every three blacks in the state – some 31.5 percent – say they’re very conservative or somewhat conservative. A similar group of white South Carolina voters in an earlier poll showed about half said they were very conservative or somewhat conservative, Huffman said.

The point is, however, that black South Carolinians are as different politically as whites, as several black leaders point out.

“The white community is as diverse as any community in the world,” said the Rev. Dallas Wilson Jr., who pastors in the poor Eastside area of Charleston. “The black community is even more diverse.”

Professor John Simpkins of the Charleston School of Law wasn’t particularly surprised by the poll’s results. For years, he’s said the reason a Republican politician like Strom Thurmond was able to attract black support was because his conservative values appealed to a portion of the black electorate.

David Smalls, president of the Walterboro-Colleton County Chamber of Commerce, said he found the poll results to be interesting, but also not surprising.

“My experience is African Americans aren’t as liberal as people say, but they are moderate,” he said. “On some social issues, they are pretty conservative.”

Among results of the poll:

Abortion: 29 percent of black South Carolinians said abortion should be illegal; 56 percent said it should be legal only under certain circumstances.

Homosexuality: 62 percent of blacks felt sex between two adults of the same sex was strongly unacceptable.

Interracial marriage: 63 percent of blacks thought interracial marriage was strongly acceptable.

Bush: 90 percent disapprove of President George W. Bush’s handling of the Iraq war.

War: 84 percent believe there should be a timetable to withdraw troops from Iraq.

Interestingly, 67 percent of black South Carolinians said they were Democratic, while only 3 percent said they were Republican. But more than half said they thought the national and state Democratic parties had taken black voters for granted. About the same number said the GOP was working to attract black voters.

Why black voters tend to vote for Democrats over Republicans may do more with specific issues, such as political approaches to education, the Iraq War or government’s role in society. But Smalls said he could see how conservative politicians could make inroads in the black community by appealing to issues on which they tended to be conservative.

Bottom line: Because blacks aren’t monolithic, politicians of all stripes shouldn’t assume they can’t win black votes. Republicans have opportunities they’re not tapping. And if Democrats don’t treat black voters as a diverse constituency, they could lose what has been a strong base. Andy Brack, publisher of S.C. Statehouse Report, can be reached at: brack@statehousereport.com.