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(Updated) A Secret GOP Program & Open Sore

February 26th, 2008
By SHAUN MULLEN, TMV Columnist

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Today’s Republican Party (as opposed to the Big Tent GOP of the Goldwater-Rockefeller era) has welcomed blacks with open arms — as long as they use the back door on their way to the kitchen or maid’s quarters — and has been only somewhat less unfriendly to women.

So the possibility that John McCain will be facing an African-American or a woman in the November election is scaring the bejeebers out of party bigs, who have launched a secret operation to try to determine how far they can go in attacking either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.

Before I go any further, please note that this is not a satire like my Saga of the Cedars. And pause to consider the extraordinary fact that one of the two major political parties in America has become so extreme that it has to take steps to try to immunize itself against what it sees as inevitable charges of racism or sexism.

And marvel that the secret operation is not meant to sensitize the party faithful, let alone draw in black and woman voters, but to gauge how to best attack Obama or Clinton.

Jack Kemp, the 1996 Republican vice presidential nominee, is one of the few prominent Republicans to speak out about the GOP’s raving intolerance.

Kemp tells The Politico that:

“You can’t run against Barack Obama the way you could run against Bill Clinton, Al Gore or John Kerry.

“Being an African American at the top of the ticket, if he makes it, is such a great statement about the country. Obviously you have to be sensitive to issues that affect urban America. . . . You have to be careful.”

More here. And here for a sneak peek at what the Republican attacks might be like if it’s Obama.

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I’ll be discussing this post with Jazz Shaw and the Lady Logician on Midstream Radio this afternoon from 1:30-2 p.m. Eastern Time. Click here to listen and participate.



This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 at 3:32 am and is filed under Barry Goldwater, Ideology, Scandals, Republican Party, Negative Campaigning, Newsweek Blogitics, Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Barack Obama, Racism, John McCain, Sexism, 2008 Elections. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Viewing 22 Comments

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    The real question is can conservatives (instead of Republicans) ever appeal to blacks. I believe the answer is no. Blacks are probably the most monolithic demographic group in the U.S. The party that does not favor quotas, set asides, separate and unequal treatment will always lose the black vote.

    And yes, the current rules of public behavior make it almost impossible for Repubicans to run against a black candidate. An example would be that an opponent cannot describe a black candidate as an empty suit no matter how dumb the candidate is or how many public gaffes that they make. It is also impossible to make up derisive nicknames (like Bushie, Chimpy McBush, etc for any black candidate). The main stream media could not even bring itself to call Cynthia McKinney intolerant or will not call Maxine Waters or Barbara Lee for their intolerance.

    The inability of the Republicnas to be consistent on conservatives positions and the incompetence of the Bush Administration had destroyed the Republican party.

    If you want to see what the future of politics looks like, we should look at how Mayors cases are held in big cities. The real election is the Democratic primary and the general election is an afterthought that the media does not even bother to cover.
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    Every party conducts oppositional research before elections. Racism can be manufactured where there is no overt intent, with a resulting backlash, that aids the black candidate. The GOP is unused to having to show racist or gender-based sensitivity in national elections, so the burden of it will prove a considerable handicap to their party's chances of success.

    Other problems they face:
    McCain- will be seen as an insider in a change election.

    It is difficult for the same party to stay in power after 8 years of an unpopular administration.

    Conservatives still haven't coalesced around McCain. It is difficult to judge the damage done by Rush, Sean, Ann etc, not to mention the lack of ringing endorsements from social conservatives.

    McCain, while a genuine American hero lacks the personal charisma of Obama. Also given all of his years in the Senate, there is much more of a record to attack in campaign ads.

    Obama has dwarfed McCain in fundraising prowess. More importantly, he has raised most in small donations, indicating greater grass roots support.

    I didn't include Hillary in most of my points because, imo, her campaign is dying out, and is now in its final throes before she concedes after the Texas and Ohio primaries. When she was the front-runner she was able to ignore her opposition. Now she is desperately going after Obama with all she's got, hoping for a miracle. In other years, she would have had the nomination sewn up. This time around, she could not compete with a gifted, younger black phenom.
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    I meant to add that McCain posesses the additional baggage of a history of unpopular positions on immigration, campaign finance and the Iraq War that will limit his appeal to voters from both sides.
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    SD:

    Your talking points are tired.

    Conservatives CAN appeal to blacks, but not the hard-core bunch that hijacked the Republican party.

    And blacks are NOT monolithic. In fact, there probably has been more movement in the black demographic in the last 30 years than among any other group.
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    Shaun,

    If Hillary Clinton cannot appeal to blacks, what makes you think that an conservative candidate can do it. The Republicans could come out for reparations tomorrow and not get one more black vote.

    How could any conservative appeal to blacks? Please describe with policy idea instead of saying to stop being racist.
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    Obama's middle name is Hussein.

    The idea that Republicans will be fastidious is a joke.
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    SD:

    Hillary Clinton, in part because of Bill Clinton, DID appeal to blacks early on and I fully expected a goodly number of them to support her through the primary season. This included some of my black friends, while my best source deep inside the Obama campaign had assumed from the outset that many blacks would not vote for his man. Then came a bump in the road called South Carolina.

    At the core of the contemporary conservative message is that entitlements are bad and by extension any program -- health, housing, education, etc. -- that gives someone a leg up because they lack the advantages of others is to be opposed vehemently. The S-CHIP expansion is a good example and one that cuts across racial lines.

    The conservative message that government should be smaller and less intrusive should appeal to blacks. Hell, it appeals to me in the abstract. But when it is subsumed by party leaders who have supported a spendthrift president who had intruded on American lives to an extraordinary extent and who with the rare exception of the Kemps and Roves go out of their way to NOT reach out to blacks, the inevitable result is charges of racism. That is a loaded and overused word, but it fits pretty damned well.
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    SD- If the GOP doesn't appeal to blacks its their own doing. Years of black voter suppression, caging and scare tactics about black criminals or black candidates have come back to haunt them.

    In addition their candidates have noticably snubbed events and debates at black organizations. There is also a long history of Republicans using the southern strategy (since Nixon).

    A quick look at the 10 candidates who made up the Republican presidential field---all middle-aged white male Christians tells you why there is a limited appeal to minorities. When they do back a black candidate, its often someone who's absolutely out of touch with their communities like Alan Keyes.
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    shaun,

    I disagree with you that blacks should want smaller government. Look at the percentage of African-Americans who work in the public sector (20%). Look at the out of wedlock birthrate. Look at the lower admission standards from magnet high schools, to colleges, to universities. Look at the 8A minority set aside contracting program. There is not one aspect of black life where the Republicans can make a good policy claim except maybe immigration and the black community just not see immigration as a big concern.

    I believe that blacks started voting for Obama not because of South Carolina but because he started looking like the winner. Look at those black politicians who have jumped between the two candidates. If Hillary Clinton cannot appeal to blacks and has to walk a mine field to keep from alienating them, then the Republicans have no chance.

    The same goes for Hispanics. Karl Rove thought that pandering to Hispanics would improve Hispanic support for the Republicans. All it really did was alienate the core Republican voters and severely damage President Bush and Senator McCain.

    Since you use anectodal story, I will too. I have several black co-workers who every March complain about their taxes. It is all I can do not to laugh in their face since every one is a hard core Democrat and would never vote for a Republican. The upper middle class blacks do not want lower taxes. They just want whites to be the ones paying them. Thus the support for reparations in the black community.
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