Seriously, do you think that it would have mattered?
on April 26th, 2007 at 6:51 am
According to this writer, Republican candidates missed an opportunity during the Imus controversy.
Don Imus controversy made clear the GOP party is still clueless when it comes to race and representing the kind of party that is inclusive to African-Americans and perhaps, minorities as a whole.
Republican presidential candidates missed an opportunity to make political gains with a broader electorate outside of the usual hardcore conservative base. There was an opportunity for presidential hopefuls — former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Senator John McCain, former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and other candidates to win some hearts and minds from an unlikely GOP voting block.
What Imus said was wrong. This was a legitimate issue; it would have been appropriate to speak out. More importantly, it was the right thing to do. Instead John McCain and Rudy Giuliani both accepted his apology even before the Rutgers women’s basketball team did; Mike Huckabee criticized Imus’ comments but also mentioned that Bill Maher and other celebrities should be fired as well. While it is accurate that Maher and other celebrities have said some outrages and offensive things; those are separates issues and they have nothing to do with the comments made by Imus. Likewise, the rest of the republican field stayed silent. (more…)
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To most Black Americans, the Republican party will ALWAYS be the party of racists. It does not matter how many initiatives this party targets towards the Black community, most Blacks will forever raise the bar of expectation for Republicans while continuing to accept the usual from the Democratic party. Somewhere in the halls of the DNC, folks are laughing their butts off every time another Black activist group demands that the Democrat party should earn their vote. They are laughing because since the Civil Rights era they have absorbed the black vote without having to earn it. Oh sure, Democrats have involved Blacks when they needed our vote. But when I look at the condition of our schools or the continuous problem of homelessness that historically hovers within Democratic districts, it kinda makes one wonder (This is the point where a hard core Democrat will chime in by suggesting that it was the Republican party that hindered Democratic progress. Man, just stop it! Hold Democrats to account for once).
This is also the point where some may think that I will give some sort of “alter call” to receive salvation from the Republican party. Let me put a halt to the organ music right now by telling you that the Republican party is no more the party for Blacks than Democrats. Both parties have made it very clear that their new political Negro are illegals from Mexico as they have virtually ignored the effects illegal immigration is having on our schools and other social services frequently used by us.
The Democratic party has successfully made itself a permanent part of Black Americana, so any efforts by Republicans at this point persuade Blacks en masse is futile. As it stands now despite recent efforts in the past few years to recruit more Blacks in the Republican fold, a Black Republican (or Conservative for that matter) is still considered an “Uncle Tom” and “sell out” while a Black Democrat is considered “authentically Black” (man, you cannot buy that kind of loyalty). No initiative in the world could erase that ideology. Black critics like the writer of the excerpt above is simply continuing the game of dangling the carrot only to yank it at the last second. If she really believes that some “formal” announcement from the RNC against Imus would have yielded potential Black voters, I have a couple of fortified levees in New Orleans she might be interested in.
P.S. Mind you, notice how she mentioned nothing about the fact that Obama had to be prodded by the media to comment on the same issue.
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