Republicans Convene: Whitey Whites and the Whitey White Whites White White White

[BurtWorm]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/03/AR2008090303962_pf.html

In a More Diverse America, A Mostly White Convention

By Eli Saslow and Robert Barnes
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 4, 2008; A01

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 3 -- Organizers conceived of this convention as a means to inspire, but some African American Republicans have found the Xcel Energy Center depressing this week. Everywhere they look, they see evidence of what they consider one of their party's biggest shortcomings.

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?' "

...

The good news, Republicans said, is that they think Sen. John McCain can still win this election with the kind of demographics on display in St. Paul. In an interview with Washington Post reporters and editors Tuesday morning, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis outlined a strategy in which his candidate targets women and white working-class voters and essentially cedes the black vote.

Obama's "strategy is, 'If I can just deliver the votes that I know exist, whether it's in the minority community or the youth,' or whatever the coalition is that he's got . . . 'then I can win this election,' " Davis said. "We can run our campaign the way we want to run it and not be in direct conflict with a lot of voter groups he is trying to get."


...

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Great subject line...

I cannot help but feel that in this day and age..the term "Black Republican" is an oxymoron....just like "Gay Republican", and frankly, "Woman Republican" should also be in that category.

[mwb970]

7. Or "thinking Republican". /nt

[redqueen]

8. It cracked me up!

:rofl:

Reminded me of the segment on TDS... :D

[AllieB]

2. Someone said it looked like aq cross between a Country Club and a Nuremburg Rally

Maybe Stephanie Miller?

[AspenRose]

3. Or a Klan meeting

:rofl:

[davepc]

4. "You almost have to think, 'Wait. How did it come to this?' "

Richard Millhouse Nixon.

yeay for the Southern Strategy!

It's actually kind of sad, that the same party that freed the slaves, made a calculated political move to appeal to racists which forsook its abolitionist heritage.

[BurtWorm]

5. You have to give Franklin (and Eleanor) Roosevelt and LBJ some credit too.

[JBoy]

9. "You almost have to think"

But that would be elitist.

[EffieBlack]

6. Wash Post had a story today about this . . . and blamed everyone but the Republicans for 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."

So the national mood, anger and Obama are the reasons that blacks don't support Republicans? It couldn't possibly be the Republicans' narrow-minded attitudes, exclusionary and cruel policies, or blatant race-baiting had anything to do with this?

[barack the house]

10. How did it come to that Steele asks they are on the wrong side or history.

[yellowdogintexas]

11. I have never understood how any person of color could vote for a Republican

for anything, even dogcatcher

[BurtWorm]

12. kick

[Love Bug]

13. That's .015%!

[butterfly77]

14. You forgot..

old,old,old, and rich,rich,rich mainly men..

[AkFemDem]

15. They take the phrase "White House" too literally. They're just confused is all.

[Forkboy]

16. I don't get the gist of your subject line.

Stop beating around the bush and just be out with it. :rofl:

[BurtWorm]

17. It's my form of speaking in tongues.

I just let the spirit move me.

;-)