In a More Diverse America, A Mostly White Convention

foundit66 · #1 (**permalink**) 09-04-2008, 11:48 PM

As the country rapidly diversifies, Republicans are presenting a convention that is almost entirely white.

Only 36 of the 2,380 delegates seated on the convention floor are black, the lowest number since the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies began tracking diversity at political conventions 40 years ago. Each night, the overwhelmingly white audience watches a series of white politicians step to the lectern -- a visual reminder that no black Republican has served as a governor, U.S. senator or U.S. House member in the past six years.

"It's hard to look around and not get frustrated," said Michael S. Steele, a black Republican and former lieutenant governor of Maryland. "You almost have to think, 'Wait. How did it come to this?' "

Republicans spent much of the past decade working to improve their minority outreach, particularly to blacks and Hispanics. But a number of setbacks, including an anti-Republican national mood, anger over the response to Hurricane Katrina and the Democratic nomination of Sen. Barack Obama, have largely negated their efforts, several Republicans said.

washingtonpost.com
I remember reading a news story a couple years back about how the GOP was pressing for the black vote. Trying to ask people why they thought the Democrat party was so much better for blacks than Republicans...

Can we just acknowledge that they have answered the question for themselves...

bhkad · #2 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foundit66

As the country rapidly diversifies, Republicans are presenting a convention that is almost entirely white.

Only 36 of the 2,380 delegates seated on the convention floor are black, the lowest number since the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies began tracking diversity at political conventions 40 years ago. Each night, the overwhelmingly white audience watches a series of white politicians step to the lectern -- a visual reminder that no black Republican has served as a governor, U.S. senator or U.S. House member in the past six years.

"It's hard to look around and not get frustrated," said Michael S. Steele, a black Republican and former lieutenant governor of Maryland. "You almost have to think, 'Wait. How did it come to this?' "

Republicans spent much of the past decade working to improve their minority outreach, particularly to blacks and Hispanics. But a number of setbacks, including an anti-Republican national mood, anger over the response to Hurricane Katrina and the Democratic nomination of Sen. Barack Obama, have largely negated their efforts, several Republicans said.

washingtonpost.com
I remember reading a news story a couple years back about how the GOP was pressing for the black vote. Trying to ask people why they thought the Democrat party was so much better for blacks than Republicans...

Can we just acknowledge that they have answered the question for themselves...

Is it because Blacks are only interested in nuzzling up to the political party which offers them handouts and entitlements as a sugar teat?

Quote:

Mr. Obama claims to offer a tax cut to moderate-income families, but a significant portion of Mr. Obama's tax plan is a welfare giveaway costing more than $648 billion over 10 years, according to the Tax Policy Center.

How so? He would authorize a hodgepodge of refundable tax credits covering everything from education, mortgage payments, child care and other items for people who do not pay income taxes now.

About 38% of U.S. households pay no income tax today. Under a President Obama (whose policies would shave 15.3 million households off the tax rolls) that share would grow to nearly half of all American households.

Why Obama Can't Close the Sale - WSJ.com

If the GOP offered the same wouldn't you expect more Blacks would be attracted to the GOP?

saltwn · #3 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 12:14 AM

I heard a black person addressing that at the convention. He said instead of mouthing the words and expecting minorities to show up, Repulicans needed to bring their friends and neigbors to a convention or other Republican function to see for themselves.

saltwn · #4 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 12:16 AM

To see for themselves that this is the party for them.

(just thought I'd finish my thought.

)

cnredd · #5 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foundit66

I remember reading a news story a couple years back about how the GOP was pressing for the black vote. Trying to ask people why they thought the Democrat party was so much better for blacks than Republicans...

Can we just acknowledge that they have answered the question for themselves...

Nah...

When a black person says they're a Democrat, it's because that's where they're "supposed" to be...

But when a black person says they're a Republican, the cries of "traitor" and "Uncle Tom" are screamed from...(if you'll pardon the pun)...the ivory tower...

Uncle Tom Goes Incendiary

Aunt Jemima Rice, Uncle Tom Powell?

Uncle Tom Powell Stumps for Massah Bush

A Traitor to Her Race Condoleezza Rice: the Devil's Handmaiden

Here's a nice little read from the South Florida Times which explains it well...I have an urge to bold every sentence in this thing, but I won't...

THE POLITICS OF BLACKNESS: Black Republicans unfairly marginalized, demonized and vilified

Quote:

What is it about black Republicans that makes black Democrats cuss them, ignore them, or call them names?

When I was a Democrat, I never paid much attention to the negativity hurled at black Republicans. That’s probably because I never bought into the habit of gossiping about people or calling them names.

My main focus had always been about people’s deeds – whether positive or negative. I judged people by what they did, not by whom they were.

So it came as a culture shock when I switched to the Republican Party – mainly because of how other people began to treat me.

Here I was the same person, but with a different political perspective brought on by what I saw as hypocrisy in the way the black community was treated by the Democratic Party.

No longer was I “one of us.” I was now “one of them.” And then I saw the reality of viciousness. I even wrote a poem titled, “Why Do You Call Me Names?” published in 2000.

Eight years later, it still amazes me how deep the hatred goes for black Republicans – without any foundation. No one has ever been able to give me a rational determination as to why.

But it is there – a deeply engrained animosity – magnified by the level of horrific names attributed to us. This is even more apparent when we dare articulate our reasons for not voting Democratic.

And, Heaven forbid, we say something negative about Sen. Barack Obama. If this was Salem, we would be burned at the stake.

This framework makes the roadblocks set up by black Democrats for black Republican political candidates much more difficult to knock down. Decent, intelligent Republican candidates have a harder row to hoe.

Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele had his face painted like “Little Black Sambo” in a newspaper article when he ran for Congress. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was depicted as a welfare-cheating “Aunt Jemima” in a cartoon.

And we all know what has been said about Colin Powell, J.C. Watts and Alan Keyes – Uncle Toms, house (N-word)s. And those are just the names we can print.

Former NFL great Lynn Swann got elected to the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, taking the
Pittsburgh Steelers to the Super Bowl three times with black folk screaming his name. But he couldn’t get them to vote for him for governor of Pennsylvania in 2006 because he was a Republican.

He would have been the first African-American governor of Pennsylvania. By the way, there were three black gubernatorial candidates around the country that year, including Ohio Republican Kenneth Blackwell, who also lost. Only the Democratic candidate, Deval Patrick, won in Massachusetts.

And that’s the way it has been for almost every black Republican candidate, particularly those for Congress. One of my Democratic friends said that it would be 250 years before a black Republican would be elected to Congress.

Why? Well, he couldn’t really give me an intelligent answer. Just that they would have to be Democratic to get elected.

Translation: Black folk will only vote for a Democrat.

Funny, black folk swear that Republicans are racists. But when white Republicans will vote for a black Republican (man or woman) to represent them and black folk won’t, then who’s the real racist?

Thankfully, more and more black Republicans are winning their races every year, with Ohio (21), Florida (11), Texas (8) and Pennsylvania (7) leading the way.

So if you are a black voter who is not biased, there are opportunities this election season to elect great black Republicans to represent you.

Lt. Col. Allen West, a war hero, is vying for Florida’s 22nd Congressional District and is running on courage, competence and character. http://allenwestforcongress.com/Civil Rights Activist Barb Davis White, stressing love for her country, is running in the 5th Congressional District in Minnesota. See Barb Davis White for Congress.

An A.K.A., Dr. Deborah Honeycutt, is running for Congress from the 13th District in Georgia. See Dr. Deborah Honeycutt for Congress - Welcome!.

There are many others who want to give their service to their country, and to not vote for them because they are Republicans is unacceptable.

Such bias is blatant hypocrisy from a community demanding that all blacks vote for the black Democratic candidate for president.

Sometime not too long ago, I posted on the Bradley Effect...

Quote:

This theory suggested that statistically significant numbers of white voters tell pollsters in advance of an election that they are either undecided, or likely to vote for the non-white candidate, but that those voters exhibit a different behavior when actually casting their ballots. White voters who said that they were undecided break in statistically large numbers toward the white candidate, and many of the white voters who said that they were likely to vote for the non-white candidate ultimately cast their ballot for the white candidate.

I personally believe there is a comparable effect on Black Republicans (Not in numbers, but in philosophy)...These are people that SAY they are Democrats and would NEVER show up at a GOP function (especially a convention) when asked directly due to the fear of being attacked by their breathren for being traitors...But they DO vote Republican...You'll just never see them...

dabateman · #6 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhkad

Is it because Blacks are only interested in nuzzling up to the political party which offers them handouts and entitlements as a sugar teat?

If the GOP offered the same wouldn't you expect more Blacks would be attracted to the GOP?

Racism is alive and well in America... thanks for pointing that out.

bhkad · #7 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabateman

Racism is alive and well in America... thanks for pointing that out.

You are the racist if you can't recognize a societal/cultural reaction to a targeted enticement without playing the race card.

I see the Dems trying to create new generations of dependent peoples they can control and who will continue to vote Democrat as long as they have entitlement programs to dispense goodies.

You see the Blacks who respond to that as just randomly attracted to the Democratic Party.

Guess again.

Quote:

The Power of Nightmares (Part One)

[ TITLE: 11pm, JULY 25th 1967 ]

PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON: Law and order have broken down in Detroit, Michigan. Pillage, looting, murder…

VO: Only a few years before, President Johnson had promised policies that would create a new and a better world in America. He had called it “the Great Society.”

[ TITLE: President LYNDON JOHNSON, 1964 ]

JOHNSON: The Great Society is in place where every child can find knowledge to enrich his mind. It is a place where the City of Man…

VO: But now, in the wake of some of the worst riots ever seen in America, that dream seemed to have ended in violence and hatred. One prominent liberal journalist called Irving Kristol began to question whether it might actually be the policies themselves that were causing social breakdown.

IRVING KRISTOL: If you had asked any liberal in 1960, we are going to pass these laws, these laws, these laws, and these laws, mentioning all the laws that in fact were passed in the 1960s and ‘70s, would you say crime will go up, drug addiction will go up, illegitimacy will go up, or will they get down? Obviously, everyone would have said, they will get down. And everyone would have been wrong. Now, that’s not something that the liberals have been able to face up to. They’ve had their reforms, and they have led to consequences that they did not expect and they don’t know what to do about.

Transcript - The Power of Nightmares - Part 1

Because the Dems have aimed their policies at buying Black patronage it is the Dems who are the racists.

dabateman · #8 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhkad

You are the racist if you can't recognize a societal/cultural reaction to a targeted enticement without playing the race card.

I see the Dems trying to create new generations of dependent peoples they can control and who will continue to vote Democrat as long as they have entitlement programs to dispense goodies.

You see the Blacks who respond to that as just randomly attracted to the Democratic Party.

Guess again.

Because the Dems have aimed their policies at buying Black patronage it is the Dems who are the racists.

Wow... I'm not the one claiming that African Americans are too blind or unintelligent to make their own decisions. That is essentially what you are claiming. You should be ashamed.

saltwn · #9 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 01:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhkad

You are the racist if you can't recognize a societal/cultural reaction to a targeted enticement without playing the race card.

I see the Dems trying to create new generations of dependent peoples they can control and who will continue to vote Democrat as long as they have entitlement programs to dispense goodies.

You see the Blacks who respond to that as just randomly attracted to the Democratic Party.

Guess again.

Because the Dems have aimed their policies at buying Black patronage it is the Dems who are the racists.

There were a lot of other factors that caused the 12th street riot going back even to the 1940's, but here was one of the main culprits:

Quote:

Even with Detroit's high home ownership rates, affordable housing became an issue, with unemployment, misguided urban renewal, and deed restrictions.[1] By 1967, the neighborhood around 12th Street had a population density that was twice the city average[2]. Black schools in the city were overcrowded as well as underfunded [3]. After the riot, respondents to a Detroit Free Press poll listed poor housing as the second most important issue leading up to the riot, right behind police brutality.[4]

In order to construct Interstate 75, "Black Bottom" (Paradise Valley) was demolished, displacing most residents to the 12th Street area, changing its demographics dramatically [5]. Black Bottom was the focus of the black community. Its loss resulted in racial tensions due to the loss of community as well as of housing.[4]

Many homes which were privately owned were bought on land contracts at high interest rates and very short foreclosure schedules[6].
http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/...-riot-of-1967/

It appals me that you would try to blame policies that were aimed at relieving so much suffering. And Johnson's policies did indeed relieve suffering.

bhkad · #10 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabateman

Wow... I'm not the one claiming that African Americans are too blind or unintelligent to make their own decisions. That is essentially what you are claiming. You should be ashamed.

I'm Black and I know what we do and I see what you do.

Hypocrite. Ignorant asshole. Bullshitter.

A proud, strong race of people have been played upon by manipulative Whites for far too long. The key to independence is to eschew handouts and entitlements and to instead exert one's own intelligence and strength of character and will and use the freedoms provided by this great country to make one's own life. Make one's own way.

Why do we vote Democratic? Because they give stuff away and some think it would be foolish to NOT take it.

You don't understand how important it is that the Republicans stand strong by their principles of self reliance.

Otherwise there would be little reason not to believe that jumping on the gravy train isn't the best thing to do.

Blacks would ALL sign up for entitlement programs and then 50% of Americans would have to work to support the other 50% who chose not to.

Did you even read this?

Quote:

Mr. Obama claims to offer a tax cut to moderate-income families, but a significant portion of Mr. Obama's tax plan is a welfare giveaway costing more than $648 billion over 10 years, according to the Tax Policy Center.

How so? He would authorize a hodgepodge of refundable tax credits covering everything from education, mortgage payments, child care and other items for people who do not pay income taxes now.

About 38% of U.S. households pay no income tax today. Under a President Obama (whose policies would shave 15.3 million households off the tax rolls) that share would grow to nearly half of all American households.

Why Obama Can't Close the Sale - WSJ.com

Anyone who works has to resent Obama's plans.

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