Posted on 07/13/2005 8:50:21 PM PDT by Crackingham
It was called "the southern strategy," started under Richard M. Nixon in 1968, and described Republican efforts to use race as a wedge issue -- on matters such as desegregation and busing -- to appeal to white southern voters. Ken Mehlman, the Republican National Committee chairman, this morning will tell the NAACP national convention in Milwaukee that it was "wrong."
"By the '70s and into the '80s and '90s, the Democratic Party solidified its gains in the African American community, and we Republicans did not effectively reach out," Mehlman says in his prepared text. "Some Republicans gave up on winning the African American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here today as the Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong."
Mehlman, a Baltimore native who managed President Bush's reelection campaign, goes on to discuss current overtures to minorities, calling it "not healthy for the country for our political parties to be so racially polarized." The party lists century-old outreach efforts in a new feature on its Web site, GOP.com, which was relaunched yesterday with new interactive features and a history section called "Lincoln's Legacy."
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean spoke to the NAACP yesterday and said through an aide: "It's no coincidence that 43 out of 43 members of the Congressional Black Caucus are Democrats. The Democratic Party is the real party of opportunity for African Americans."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Until the Democratic Party apologizes for slavery and Jim Crow-- that's how we got where we were by 1972-- Mehlman has no business apologizing for the Southern strategy.
This won't satisfy them and is a waste of time. If Mehlman were ethnically African he would be declared "non-black" for being a Republican by this crowd.
What was that Dean said about the "hotel staff" at a speech sometime back?
When does Howard Dean admit that the race-baiting that the DNC does among the Black community was wrong? What's that? Oh, right. They still actively do it.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 15, 2005, 6:30 p.m. - Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean referred to blacks as "hotel staff" during a Democratic meetings meant to woo minorities last week.
The Washington Post in its Saturday editions quoted the former Vermont governor and presidential candidate as saying: '"You think the [Republican National Committee] could get this many people of color into a single room?" he marvels. "Maybe if they got the hotel staff in there."'
http://www.reddingnewsreview.com/newspages/2005newspages/Dean_05_0910005.htm
This is truly a moronic approach. It was no more wrong for the Republicans to play the race card than the Democrats. Indeed it is the Democrats who have most consistently stirred up racial hatred and division for political advantage.
The Republicans did nothing more than pick up the broken pieces that the Democrats threw away when they abandoned their former Jim Crow allies and jumped in bed with the civil rights movement, abruptly switching sides after a hundred years of oppressing blacks. It's fair to say that southern whites were a lot more openly racist when they were allied with FDR than they are now, as Republicans.
What Mehlman should be doing is appealing to blacks' self interest instead of confirming all the lying Democrat stereotypes about race. What have blacks gained by selling their votes to one party for a mess of pottage? What have the Democrats given them in return for their unprecedented 95% support?
That's it. I am done with these clowns!!
"Until the Democratic Party apologizes for slavery and Jim Crow-- that's how we got where we were by 1972-- Mehlman has no business apologizing for the Southern strategy."
I don't understand why the dumba-- Democrats should be our model. Democrats play to their fringe and refuse to be accountable; their result is continual losing. Republicans are aware of both their base and the swing voters, while recognizing the need to keep expanding that base. If that takes an apology -- especially for something which never was all that nice -- so be it. More votes for us.
Does he have the guts to link his apology to a demand for the Democrats to match? if so, do it; if not,hold.
The only question I have is whether conservatives want to expand the base, or whether they want to continue complaining about how the black community does not vote in their best self interests.
No party is perfect on race. The Republican party, imo, has a far better record but it DOES have it faults in past. Acknowledge them, make no excuses, apologize and build new communication. I have no fault with the approach so long as it is rooted in fact. If Republicans start apologizing for what they didn't do, I'd have a problem.
The Republican Party under G.W.B. is the first in my memory to make SERIOUS efforts to change the status quo of the voting patterns. This is a part of that effort and there is nothing morally wrong in this approach. Quite the contrary.
Ken Mehlman, the Republican National Committee chairman, this morning will tell the NAACP national convention in Milwaukee that it was "wrong.""Hispandering," however, is perfectly acceptable. That is called "strategery." Hopefully the Hispanics are not as sharp as the blacks and will think the GOP actually cares about them. < /extreme sarcasm >
I'm sorry, but I can't keep up with all the pandering any more.
also the economic vitalization of the south which accompanied the breaking of the chokehold the Democrats had on the region back to the slavocracy did more for people of all races than any Democrat government largesse ever could.
I think Soul Seeker hits it right on the mark:
"No party is perfect on race. The Republican party, imo, has a far better record but it DOES have it faults in past. Acknowledge them, make no excuses, apologize and build new communication. I have no fault with the approach so long as it is rooted in fact. If Republicans start apologizing for what they didn't do, I'd have a problem."
Gusopol3, I think you're not thinking politically enough or, frankly, ethically enough. On ethics: why should one person's apology be contingent on another's? Either you think you did something wrong or you don't. On politics: we don't WANT the Dems to apologize for slavery and Jim Crowe. Urban blacks, in my experience, tend to have a certain victim mentality when it comes to politics. They think everyone's screwing them. If Republicans come clean about past abuses, while Democrats keep claiming angelic superiority, the Republicans will appear to have the high ground.
I completely agree that government largesse is a bad thing. That's not the point.
his apology will never get past the spin ( look at the article--busing didn't turn out to be a wedge issue--nobody liked it) whereas hanging their legacy on the Democrats could.
Totally moronic.
A power base for Jesse, Al and Maxine, et al.
What could be more important than that? Not to mention, valuable...???
"This won't satisfy them and is a waste of time."
BTTT!
"What Mehlman should be doing is appealing to blacks' self interest instead of confirming all the lying Democrat stereotypes about race. What have blacks gained by selling their votes to one party for a mess of pottage? What have the Democrats given them in return for their unprecedented 95% support?"
Yeah, let's get them pork! Buy `em off! That will make them vote Republican! And it'll make the GOP even less conservative. What a great idea! /sarc
This is unbelievable, the Democrats supported slavery and Jim Crow and ran the South from 1800 to 1994. Lincoln a Republican freed them, Eisenhower sent in Federal troops to Little Rock. Nixon started affirmative action and 3 Supreme Court nominees appointed by Republicans voted to keep it, Bush appoints blacks to high positions in government and still only 10-15% of blacks vote Republican.
Do you think any more pandering will help, keep winning elections is the key Mehlman, stop pandering to the NAACP.
Will these guys ever learn, this will be in the NAACP hit ads against Republicans next year saying you see we told you the white christian party exploited race to win elections.
Will these guys ever learn, this will be in the NAACP hit ads against Republicans next year saying you see we told you the white christian party exploited race to win elections.
Agreed!
And this is so like the Republican Party, to pull up something almost no one was thinking about, and putting it up on the radar. (Or, maybe they know a s-storm is coming, and they want to get out in front of it.)
"And this is so like the Republican Party, to pull up something almost no one was thinking about, and putting it up on the radar."
No one already in the Republican base, true. Mehlman was trying to expand the base. And politically-minded blacks think about this stuff all the time.
"And politically-minded blacks think about this stuff all the time."
Okay. Interesting. But you got to your conservatism on your own terms. I just don't see this kind of thing being very persuasive with that African-American who typically, reflexively, votes Dem, no matter what. No more than I see Hillary's fit-and-start "centrism" working on real conservatives.
For sure, most blacks will continue to vote Democrat for the forseeable future. But there's no reason that Kerry's 88 or 89% can't be cut to, say, 84%. If Republican attempts to make amends can cut even slightly into this solid block of Dems, I'd say it's well worth it. Screw the Democrats -- if they don't want to apologize for their sins, it's their loss.
I assume Mehlman is referring to the 2002 NAACP "James Byrd" television ad.
White Guilt is an ugly and pathetic thing, especially when it comes along with this type of groveling and pandering from a top Republican. This will not gain one vote for the GOP, but instead it will embolden those on the far-left to demand more and more from the GOP. Bush surrendered on racial preferences already, who knows, maybe in another ten years or so it will be reparations.
It seems the Dems are free to actively and openly seek the vote of each and every racial and ethnic group, but for the GOP to be open about a desire to get more white votes is somehow taboo.
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