Michael Steele: African-Americans 'Don't Have A Reason' To Vote Republican

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Michael Steele: African-Americans 'Don't Have A Reason' To Vote Republican
The Huffington Post , April 22, 2010 * 1:03:52 PM (EST)

Earlier this week, RNC Chairman Michael Steele told a group of 200 students at DePaul University that African-Americans "don't have a reason" to vote for Republican candidates.

During his remarks he also acknowledged that for decades the GOP pursued "'Southern Strategy' that alienated many minority voters by focusing on the white male vote in the South."

Steele was asked to explain why an African-American should vote Republican at a university-sponsored discussion on the conservative movement. The RNC chairman's response: "You really don't have a reason to, to be honest -- we haven't done a very good job of really giving you one. True? True."





Steele also discussed with students his own experience being the victim of racial discrimination -- a subject that the he has openly addressed in the past. Steele told TV One's Roland Martin in November that even some of his fellow Republicans are "scared" of him because of his race.

Steele acknowledged his party's failure to reach out and connect with African-Americans and other marginalized communities. "We have lost sight of the historic, integral link between the party and African-Americans," he explained.

Steele went on to make a candid statement about how the disconnect between Republicans and minorities is not new and has been a part of the party's strategy for years. The Chicago-Sun Times reports on what the RNC Chairman had to say:

For the last 40-plus years we had a 'Southern Strategy' that alienated many minority voters by focusing on the white male vote in the South. Well, guess what happened in 1992, folks, 'Bubba' went back home to the Democratic Party and voted for Bill Clinton.


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Damocles said:
Maybe to begin work to fix that problem.
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then why not point to himself as change, he said "no reason"....if he is trying to fix the problem (which i don't believe is as big as dems make it out to be), then saying no reason is not going to fix it....

there are plenty of positive policies to point to, nothing wrong with pointing out the negative, but to say 'don't have a reason' is not helping our party....just look how the grand wizard toppy is taking it...he is loving it, youi know he believes this proves him right that every republican is a racist
 
Yurt said:
then why not point to himself as change, he said "no reason"....if he is trying to fix the problem (which i don't believe is as big as dems make it out to be), then saying no reason is not going to fix it....

there are plenty of positive policies to point to, nothing wrong with pointing out the negative, but to say 'don't have a reason' is not helping our party....just look how the grand wizard toppy is taking it...he is loving it, youi know he believes this proves him right that every republican is a racist
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Telling people you hear and understand their concerns is the first step in resolving a problem you may have between people.

Simply repeating the same arguments that have been stated for the past 20 years isn't working, time to try something new.
 
Topspin said:
Michael Steele: African-Americans 'Don't Have A Reason' To Vote Republican

Steele was asked to explain why an African-American should vote Republican at a university-sponsored discussion on the conservative movement. The RNC chairman's response: "You really don't have a reason to, to be honest -- we haven't done a very good job of really giving you one. True? True."



Steele told TV One's Roland Martin in November that even some of his fellow Republicans are "scared" of him because of his race.
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Pure comedy gold!

Thanks my rasta brother!
 
I don't necessarily agree 100% with what Steele is saying but I understand what he is saying and why he is saying it. Right now there is an obvious divide between the black community and the Republican Party. Michael Steele as a black man can stand up and say Republicans have ignored the black community but then offer to be part of that change going forward. As Damo said until we can get pass that past we can't go forward and this is what needs to be done.
 
The whole false outrage over reverse racism and the vile towards aa are hurdles to get over. Your not getting the black vote vs Obama but this change will take prove it to them action and years to accomplish.
 
cawacko said:
I don't necessarily agree 100% with what Steele is saying but I understand what he is saying and why he is saying it. Right now there is an obvious divide between the black community and the Republican Party. Michael Steele as a black man can stand up and say Republicans have ignored the black community but then offer to be part of that change going forward. As Damo said until we can get pass that past we can't go forward and this is what needs to be done.
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I think Steele's hip-hop outreach program is a good start. But, I don't think marketing the GOP with Rap bands and PR is what will make blacks vote for them in any significant numbers.

What policies has the GOP fundamentally changed that would attract support?

The problem I see, is that blacks are hip to the whole "states rights", and "get government out of the way" and "reverse racism" nonsense. I'm sure they understand the code and the dog whistles the GOP employs.
 
Damocles said:
Telling people you hear and understand their concerns is the first step in resolving a problem you may have between people.

Simply repeating the same arguments that have been stated for the past 20 years isn't working, time to try something new.
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time will tell
 
Wow, Steele has finally verified what everyone else has known for decades, and hardcore republicans have been denying for all that time as well. Couple this with Steele's claim that all this scrutiny of his job is based in some part on racism, and you have to wonder why he is a republican.
 
Socrtease said:
Wow, Steele has finally verified what everyone else has known for decades, and hardcore republicans have been denying for all that time as well. Couple this with Steele's claim that all this scrutiny of his job is based in some part on racism, and you have to wonder why he is a republican.
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so steele is to be believed now....lol
 
cawacko said:
I don't necessarily agree 100% with what Steele is saying but I understand what he is saying and why he is saying it. Right now there is an obvious divide between the black community and the Republican Party. Michael Steele as a black man can stand up and say Republicans have ignored the black community but then offer to be part of that change going forward. As Damo said until we can get pass that past we can't go forward and this is what needs to be done.
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You should work on getting past your present. TODAY your party is repeating the same mistakes by appealing to hate and bigotry at the expense of a specific group. You will pay for it, again, for several generations before voters will begin to believe that you have changed. You guys add new baggage every day.
 
RStringfield said:
You should work on getting past your present. TODAY your party is repeating the same mistakes by appealing to hate and bigotry at the expense of a specific group. You will pay for it, again, for several generations before voters will begin to believe that you have changed. You guys add new baggage every day.
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Personally, I've been telling GOPers for years to knock off celebrating the Confederacy, parading around with confederate battle flags, cracking jokes about welfare queens, babbling incessantly about how evil affirmative action is, and blaming the financial meltdown on home loans to low income black people. Black people ain't stupid. They're hip to the code. But, I can understand that the GOP has to hold onto the dixiecrats-turned-republicans. They can't be viable nationally without their southern conservative base. So it's a total conundrum.

, it's mostly the party of Dixies, Southernmans and Webbways now. That's the base anyway. I think this sort of advice is laughed off, ignored, or flat out disputed as "liberal lies".
 
RStringfield said:
You should work on getting past your present. TODAY your party is repeating the same mistakes by appealing to hate and bigotry at the expense of a specific group. You will pay for it, again, for several generations before voters will begin to believe that you have changed. You guys add new baggage every day.
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I want to respond to this but I going to crazy watching the draft and can't sit still for more than a minute.
 
Yurt said:
so steele is to be believed now....lol
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You would have to point out a time that I, or anyone, said he was unbelievable. Most of us all wondered the same thing, "why the hell is that guy a republican?", and now he validates what we were thinking. He was selected in year that a black president was elected. It was a very cynical and awkward choice. His attempts to make the party relevant to young blacks, by trying to modernize and urbanize the republican vocabulary was almost comical, and made the fact that the party does not understand black voters all the more apparent. The fact that he blames the difficulties he has had inside the party on, at least in part, racism, should provide the democratic party with enough good election year soundbytes, to help them generate fear of losing the house into a bad thing for black americans. That should help them make up for their lack of coherent reasons why anyone should vote for them.
 
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