Why Courting the Black Vote Won’t Work

Conservatives have a healthy distrust of the federal government and believe its powers should be limited to only those enumerated in the U.S. Constitution. To most blacks, however, limited government brings to mind “states’ rights,” which in turn evokes images of Southern whites and their resentment of federal intervention in local affairs during de-segregation.

The rights of the states are at the heart of a good constitutional republic, but blacks won’t easily forget it was the federal government that enforced their civil rights after Reconstruction, got them jobs under the New Deal and protected them from billy clubs, dogs and water hoses in the 1960s. Do you blame them for believing a bloated, central bureaucracy is still savior even in 2004?

This is correct. States Rights were a boot on our necks. Slavery and Jim Crow were defended strongly in the name of States Rights.

Federalism needs strong individual States in order to function properly. But let's be honest. Those who used States Rights for nefarious reasons are the ones who ultimately killed them. They had no one to blame but themselves.

You can look to the hostile rhetoric concerning black issues on this forum for your answer as to why courting the "black vote" is problematic.... You have to deal with the perception issues... Imagine if a black person other than myself read some of the things that are posted here.... There is a general sense of "black people are either whining or complaining or breaking the law or demanding a welfare increase" And the other thing that needs to be told more are the stories about the successful black conservatives... What I see way too much are discussions about reparations, affirmative action, Kobe, Michael, Jesse Jackson, etc... The biggest mistake that Republicans make when talking to black people is proceeding from the assumption that we are all the same... A black conservative like myself has too stand up and say "This is what I think and this is how I feel!" I too often see in many corners where we are not asked anything. We are told what we are thinking and why we are doing something we shouldn't and we are failing without anyone really listening to what we have to say....

Republicans and Democrats make too many assumptions about what we think. That needs to stop...

The negatives in the black community are well known.. But I think that just as whites get tired of hearing about slavery and having it thrown in their faces, we get just as tired of hearing about affirmative action, etc...

I think the divisive rhetoric that I see in Republican and Democratic Circles oversimplify our problems and issues. I see Democrats pandering and I see Republicans spending a lot of time scoring political points at our expense. I am not talking about what I hear the Democrats talking about in reference to Republicans. I am talking about what I hear the republicans saying....

If you really want to recruit blacks into the Republican Party, you could start with one simple question... "What's on your mind?"

I see the bad news mhking tells about blacks on a regular basis and I see the "I don't care" or "They deserve it" or "It's their fault" attitude. I know that racism is not at the core of many of the statements posted here. It is just the conservative way. But I say this... There have been just as many Allen Bakkes in black skin as in white skin. There have been people mistreated by law enforcement from all different backgrounds. The divisive rhetoric or the attitude that the only way I will be welcome in the conservative ranks is if I say nothing but bad things about the black community or black people... Needs a little work....

And there is a perception that also only ultra conservative blacks have a place in the Republican party... Most black people I know are conservative fiscally and moderate to conservative socially... More Colin Powells... Less Janice Rogers Brown... Too many black people look at her as the exception and not the rule... Powell is accepted and trusted in the black community because he is not ultra conservative on everything.... Get the moderates into the party....

And you will have a hard time convincing anyone that the Party of Lincoln is the same party of today... Everyone knows about Jim Crow, the compromise of 1877, Plessy vs. Ferguson, and all those other wonderful things that Democrats and Republicans let happen... Best thing to do would be to acknowledge that the past of both parties has some things that in retrospect, could be perceived as unfair, and find a way to look to a future where a meritocracy is the primary goal...

Never forget the past but try each day to make a better future... The Republicans can sell the future and where they are going.... They can sell it on merit... That is what the message from the Republicans should contain...

I think the article seems to be very well on point. The part that you are leaving out that needs to be put back in.... If you look at the Rodney King trial.... State Courts in certain jurisdictions did not provide what most people would call "acceptable justice"... I am not a fan of Rodney King either but no way can you tell me that he deserved what he received that night...

It was the Federal Prosecutions that gave the black community some sense of "acceptable justice"... What is scaring the he$$ out of the black community is the perceived swing toward conservatives in the judiciary.... This is why Janice Brown, Clarence Thomas, and others scare the black community... The Federal Government has given the black community "acceptable justice" .... When you talk about state's rights, the perception that you are talking about history that has usually not been kind to those with a good tan needs to be addressed... The Federal Government was a place where most of our protections that were denied in state courts have been affirmed and upheld...

Until a black person feels that he can get justice in Simi Valley and Orange County as well as LA, this affection for the federal government is going to exist...

You have to deal honestly and sensitively with the history if you want things to change...

What Martin Luther King said is true... At the state level, it has not been the behavior of the bad people.... It has been the silence of the good people...

And you have to remember that people's experiences which are still significantly different where race is concerned will have different perceptions of events....

When you have things like what happened in Tulia, TX and Jasper, TX (while Bush was Governor), please understand that limited government means to minorities that they have no protection against majorities...

Change that perception and the game is over... You must understand that your goal is an honorable one but difficult to achieve... Most people would say that states and local authorities have a poor record when it comes to fair treatment of blacks...

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