GOP Insiders Seeing Disaster As Party Returns To Racist Roots

4:06 pm EST September 19th, 2007 | News | 6 Comments

Bush and Rove tried to stop this dam from breaking, but the 2008 Republican candidates are so beholden to the nativist, racist elements in the base they are on the edge of disaster.

“We sound like we don’t want immigration; we sound like we don’t want black people to vote for us,” said former congressman Jack Kemp (N.Y.), who was the GOP vice presidential nominee in 1996. “What are we going to do — meet in a country club in the suburbs one day? If we’re going to be competitive with people of color, we’ve got to ask them for their vote.”

Making matters worse, some Republicans believe, is that the decision to bypass the Morgan State forum comes after all top GOP candidates save McCain declined invitations this month to a debate on Univision, the most-watched Hispanic television network in the United States. The event was eventually postponed.

“For Republicans to consistently refuse to engage in front of an African American or Latino audience is an enormous error,” said former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.), who has not yet ruled out a White House run himself. “I hope they will reverse their decision and change their schedules. I see no excuse — this thing has been planned for months, these candidates have known about it for months. It’s just fundamentally wrong. Any of them who give you that scheduling-conflict answer are disingenuous. That’s baloney.”

Former Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman urged candidates to “reconsider this opportunity to lay out their vision and other opportunities in the future.”

“Every one of these candidates I’ve talked to is sincerely committed to offering real choices to African American and Hispanic voters, and in my opinion have records that will appeal to many of these voters,” he added.

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6 Responses to “GOP Insiders Seeing Disaster As Party Returns To Racist Roots”

  1. Enlightened Liberal says:
    September 19, 2007 at 4:23 pm

    When NEWT GINGRICH is telling their party that they need to be less racist, you know there are some white sheets in their party.

  2. megamoze says:
    September 19, 2007 at 4:50 pm

    I’ll never understand why there are black or latino Republicans at all. Or gay Republicans. Or any Republicans that aren’t rich, white, Jesus-freaks.

  3. Dr. Victor Davis Handjob says:
    September 19, 2007 at 5:36 pm

    There’s no other way to put it: the Southernization of the GOP means the GOP has a major race problem on their hands. There’s no place in the country where race is such a clear predictor of your vote as in the deep South.

    National average for white vote for 2004: Bush 58-41

    Mississippi white vote: 85-14 Bush (34% Black population statewide)
    Alabama white vote: 80-19 (25% Black)
    South Carolina white vote: 78-22 (30% Black)
    Georgia white vote: 76-23 (25% Black)
    Louisiana white vote: 75-24 (27% Black)
    North Carolina white vote: 73-27 (26% Black)
    Texas white vote: 72-16 (12% Black)
    Virginia white vote: 68-32 (21% Black)
    Tennessee white vote: 65-34 (12% Black)
    Kentucky white vote: 64-35 (8% Black)
    Arkansas white vote: 63-36 (15% Black)
    Florida white vote: 57-42 (12% Black)

    http://lawandpolitics.blogspot.com/2004_11_01_lawandpolitics_archive.html

    On the plus side, the South was almost completely out in the cold politically from basically the Civil War until FDR, so it’s historically an anchor for whatever party claims it. Let the GOP have the most unequal, racially polarized, economically stagnant part of the country — and I say that as a Southerner. It’s the best part of the country except for the conservative politics, which have always been our great failing.

  4. Red Dog says:
    September 19, 2007 at 10:53 pm

    The GOP roots are Lincoln, Democrats roots are the KKK ask Robert Byrd.

  5. SpiderJ says:
    September 19, 2007 at 11:39 pm

    So Red Dog, aren’t you ashamed at how far from the principles of the original Republicans your party has fallen? Because I’m glad that the Dixiecrats are out of my party.

  6. Dr. Victor Davis Handjob says:
    September 20, 2007 at 12:05 am

    Red Dog: Southern conservatives used to be in the Democratic party. Since 1964, they fled for the GOP. Also, google “Reagan + Philadelphia, Mississippi” sometime.