What if there were no [fill in the blank]?

Josh Marshall notes a phenomenon that's been driving me crazy (granted, that's a relatively short commute for me):

Here at TPM we've repeatedly noted the tendency for Republicans (and also non-Republicans) to argue that non-white voters somehow aren't quite real voters. The point is often framed as noting how up-the-creek Democrats would be without black voters.

Thus we have a comment like Bill Schneider posed to Judy Woodruff a couple years ago on CNN ...

Judy, how dependent are Democrats on the African-American vote?

Without black voters, the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections would have been virtually tied, just like the 2000 election. Oh no, more Florida recounts!

What would have happened if no blacks had voted in 2000? Six states would have shifted from Al Gore to George W. Bush: Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Oregon. Bush would have won by 187 electoral votes, instead of five. A Florida recount? Not necessary.

Gee, Bill, there are black voters. You keep saying this same assinine damned thing again and again.

What if there were no Bill Schneiders and Judy Woodruffs? Well, gosh, the mean IQ on CNN would jump at least 3 points, Daryn Kagan and Kyra Philips notwithstanding.