Republicans snub black debate
A few weeks ago I wrote an article where I called out the Democratic Party for their “41 state strategy.” That is their presidential election strategy where they almost completely avoided Southern states because they knew they probably wouldn’t win them. This last week, the leading Republican contenders proved they weren’t all that different from their Democratic counterparts. Morgan State, a predominantly black college in Baltimore, Md., was nice enough to extend an invitation to all the Republican presidential candidates so they could debate major issues. Out of the four Republican front-runners guess how many came to the debate? Zero. Zilch. Nada.
I hate to say it, but the only practical conclusion I can come to is that the major Republicans are snubbing the black community. Perhaps these candidates fear that their record on the issues that matter most to blacks is sub-par. Perhaps these candidates feel that if they get the nomination, they won’t win the black vote anyway, so why try? This is without question a very flawed strategy. A candidate can’t achieve broad electoral support while shunning an entire segment of our population.
But what makes me really mad about this poor showing by Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson is that I believe there is a solid message Republicans can make to the black community. For starters, historically Republicans have always been on the side of Civil Rights. Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican President, ended slavery. Dwight Eisenhower sent the National Guard to Arkansas to protect nine black students entering their newly integrated high school. When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 came about, President Lyndon Johnson relied heavily on Republicans in Congress for passage of this legislation. And the Republicans came through, with a larger percentage of Republicans voting for the act than Democrats. Since then, Republicans have nominated the first black Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Advisor and two black Secretaries of State. And lastly, the only black to ever serve on the Supreme Court was nominated by a Republican.
Furthermore, Republican Presidential candidates need to make their ideas clear on how they plan to help the black community. Among the best ways to help blacks nationwide: Privatize Social Security. The National Center for Health Statistics reports that black males born in 1992 can expect to live to age 65, while white males born that same year can plan to live 73.9 years. Black females born that year can expect to live to 73.9 years old, while white females will live to 79.8. Black males born in 1992 won’t be eligible to collect their social security until they’re 67 years old. Statistically, that is two years after they die. If social security were a privatized system then these black males retirement would be kept safe, they would control the investments they make with it and, when they die, they can pass it on to their loved ones. Social Security is a racist, regressive system that must be stopped now.
If there is any single segment that shares the same social views as Republicans it is the black community. Polls indicate that the majority of blacks support making abortion illegal, an overwhelming 80 percent are against amnesty for illegal aliens, a vast majority is against gay marriage. In addition, black attend church at among the highest rates of any group. Former President Clinton realized this in the early 90s and went to numerous black churches on Sunday mornings. Of course, Bill Clinton looked very uncomfortable there, but it wasn’t because he was surrounded by black people. It was because he was in a church.
I know that it’s highly unlikely that a Republican would win a majority of the black vote. But that doesn’t mean that Republicans should just give up communicating their ideas to a large, and growing, segment of our population. If the Republican front-runners maintain this current mentality then it will be their fault when blacks vote 92 percent for the Democratic candidate … again.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 5 2007. Filed under Opinion.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
