5 Reasons There Are So Few Black Americans In The Republican Party

[Conservadude]

How is it that the party of Lincoln, a party that led the way in opposing slavery, Jim Crow laws, lynching, the KKK, poll taxes, led the way on integration and voting rights for black Americans, and percentage wise, voted for the 1964 Civil Rights Act in greater numbers than Democrats is now only getting about 10% of the black vote? Democrats say racism, but any objective observer would quickly discard that explanation given the significant number of popular black Republicans. If even a large percentage of Republicans were racist, certainly Allen West, Herman Cain, Clarence Thomas, Michael Steele, Tim Scott, Mia Love, Condi Rice, Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Star Parker, and Larry Elder couldn't exist, much less be popular with conservatives. Additionally, although Republicans don't support Affirmative Action, very few black Americans actually benefit from it and many are harmed as well.

So, why are Republicans doing so poorly with black Americans?

1) Economics: Black Americans are suffering economically compared to the rest of the country. "In 2009, the average net worth for white households was $113,149 and $5,700 for black households." 14.1% of black Americans are unemployed compared to 7.4 percent of whites and "black households’ median annual income fell" more than twice as much over the last two years as white Americans.

Since black Americans have been monolithically voting for the Democratic Party for 40 years, those numbers are actually a terrific argument for voting Republican. Unfortunately, as a practical matter, it doesn't work that way. People who are doing poorly economically tend to welcome any short term help they can get, even if the increased dependence on the government ultimately makes it more likely that they'll remain mired in poverty. Combine that with the fact that black Americans are dramatically over-represented amongst government workers (11.6% of the population vs. almost 20% of the government work force) and there are strong short term incentives for many black Americans to stay in the Democratic Party even if they'd ultimately benefit more from adopting a more conservative philosophy.

2) The skin color of the speakers: One of the great ironies of the race debate in America is that Republicans have internalized Martin Luther King's famous saying, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character," while most black Americans have rejected it. This creates a bit of a Catch-22 for Republicans. Black Americans are much more likely to listen and consider what black Republicans have to say, but there just aren't a lot of black Republicans to say it. This is a problem that's slowly, but surely being corrected as more and more black Americans are rising to prominence within the GOP, but we're just not there yet.

3) Racism culture: Even black Americans who are extremely prosperous and have never been significantly harmed by racism in their lives feel compelled to talk about America as if Democrats like George Wallace and Bull Connor were still running wild. There are three reasons for that.

A) It's at the core of the Democrats’ political strategy in dealing with black Americans. No matter how poorly served black Americans are by the Democrats, they won't listen to what Republicans have to say with an open mind if they're falsely convinced we hate them.

B) If you say that racism is no longer a serious problem for black Americans, then there still has to be some sort of explanation given for why black Americans aren't doing that well compared to white Americans. Many black Americans fear that other Americans might conclude that the old school Democratic racists were right and they are inferior. This is why pointing out that racism isn't a serious impediment for black Americans today can almost come across like a slap, as opposed to a plain statement of obvious fact.

C) Shouting "racism" is easy and it doesn't require you to do anything other than complain. Tackling other issues that are hurting black Americans like children being born out of wedlock and out of control crime in the inner cities is really hard.

Most Republicans do not consider racism to be a significant impediment to success anymore and that puts us up against a deeply ingrained, shared cultural belief with black Americans.

4) Outreach: That last item is the biggest factor in the GOP's mediocre, almost but not quite, non-existent outreach to black Americans. White Republicans assume what they say will be de facto ignored because of their race at best or they'll be called a racist no matter what they say at worst. Moreover, most Republicans have an almost instinctive dislike of identity politics that keeps us from creating a conservative NAACP and hiring our own Jesse Jackson's and Al Sharpton's to push the conservative message to black Americans. So, the solution to this problem has been to do very little outreach and hope that black Americans will just drift into the Republican Party on their own. Judging by the number of black Americans voting for the GOP, this strategy isn't working and isn't likely to work in the foreseeable future.

5) Issues: The Republican Party is on the same page as most black Americans on "abortion, gay marriage, and being friendly to Christianity. Many black Americans also agree with the conservative stance on illegal immigration, school choice, being tough on crime, and supporting entrepreneurs." We have to do a better job of working with black Americans in areas where our interests coincide instead of expecting them to come to us. We also have to start using conservative principles to address issues that disproportionately impact black Americans. We need to find ways to implement enterprise zones and micro-loans to help black Americans in inner cities. It's also a disgrace that any American, in any neighborhood, has to worry about getting shot in his yard or drug dealers selling on the corner where his kids go to school. We're the law and order party. We should be effectively tackling that the way Rudy Giuliani did in New York. It's not enough for Republicans to say, "Look at the places we agree." As John Maxwell once said, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." We have to show black Americans we care, not just with words, but by rolling up our sleeves and tackling the issues the Democrat Party has been ignoring for decades.

The Co-Chair of our Republican party is a young black vet. Cool guy. Was hanging with him and the LT. Governor of Virginia a little earlier.

 

[bodecea]

The racism card is step 1 in their playbook.

You're a racist if you point out Obamination is stupid, black people break the law more than other groups, black people don't play hockey like white people, etc.

In 2016, a black man from Chicago brought up people like Obamination use the "white guilt" strategy because nobody wants to be called a "racist."

I love threads like this. I can just sit back and watch all the racists come post about how blacks are lazy and stupid and vote dem because they like free stuff.

Racism is the belief that one race is superior to another.
A racist is someone that practices racism.
Pointing out the truth, however unflattering, about a race is not based on the idea that one race is superior to another, and so doing do isn't racist.

Ah..the Race Card Card.

 

[auditor0007]

How is it that the party of Lincoln, a party that led the way in opposing slavery, Jim Crow laws, lynching, the KKK, poll taxes, led the way on integration and voting rights for black Americans, and percentage wise, voted for the 1964 Civil Rights Act in greater numbers than Democrats is now only getting about 10% of the black vote? Democrats say racism, but any objective observer would quickly discard that explanation given the significant number of popular black Republicans. If even a large percentage of Republicans were racist, certainly Allen West, Herman Cain, Clarence Thomas, Michael Steele, Tim Scott, Mia Love, Condi Rice, Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Star Parker, and Larry Elder couldn't exist, much less be popular with conservatives. Additionally, although Republicans don't support Affirmative Action, very few black Americans actually benefit from it and many are harmed as well.

So, why are Republicans doing so poorly with black Americans?

1) Economics: Black Americans are suffering economically compared to the rest of the country. "In 2009, the average net worth for white households was $113,149 and $5,700 for black households." 14.1% of black Americans are unemployed compared to 7.4 percent of whites and "black households’ median annual income fell" more than twice as much over the last two years as white Americans.

Since black Americans have been monolithically voting for the Democratic Party for 40 years, those numbers are actually a terrific argument for voting Republican. Unfortunately, as a practical matter, it doesn't work that way. People who are doing poorly economically tend to welcome any short term help they can get, even if the increased dependence on the government ultimately makes it more likely that they'll remain mired in poverty. Combine that with the fact that black Americans are dramatically over-represented amongst government workers (11.6% of the population vs. almost 20% of the government work force) and there are strong short term incentives for many black Americans to stay in the Democratic Party even if they'd ultimately benefit more from adopting a more conservative philosophy.

2) The skin color of the speakers: One of the great ironies of the race debate in America is that Republicans have internalized Martin Luther King's famous saying, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character," while most black Americans have rejected it. This creates a bit of a Catch-22 for Republicans. Black Americans are much more likely to listen and consider what black Republicans have to say, but there just aren't a lot of black Republicans to say it. This is a problem that's slowly, but surely being corrected as more and more black Americans are rising to prominence within the GOP, but we're just not there yet.

3) Racism culture: Even black Americans who are extremely prosperous and have never been significantly harmed by racism in their lives feel compelled to talk about America as if Democrats like George Wallace and Bull Connor were still running wild. There are three reasons for that.

A) It's at the core of the Democrats’ political strategy in dealing with black Americans. No matter how poorly served black Americans are by the Democrats, they won't listen to what Republicans have to say with an open mind if they're falsely convinced we hate them.

B) If you say that racism is no longer a serious problem for black Americans, then there still has to be some sort of explanation given for why black Americans aren't doing that well compared to white Americans. Many black Americans fear that other Americans might conclude that the old school Democratic racists were right and they are inferior. This is why pointing out that racism isn't a serious impediment for black Americans today can almost come across like a slap, as opposed to a plain statement of obvious fact.

C) Shouting "racism" is easy and it doesn't require you to do anything other than complain. Tackling other issues that are hurting black Americans like children being born out of wedlock and out of control crime in the inner cities is really hard.

Most Republicans do not consider racism to be a significant impediment to success anymore and that puts us up against a deeply ingrained, shared cultural belief with black Americans.

4) Outreach: That last item is the biggest factor in the GOP's mediocre, almost but not quite, non-existent outreach to black Americans. White Republicans assume what they say will be de facto ignored because of their race at best or they'll be called a racist no matter what they say at worst. Moreover, most Republicans have an almost instinctive dislike of identity politics that keeps us from creating a conservative NAACP and hiring our own Jesse Jackson's and Al Sharpton's to push the conservative message to black Americans. So, the solution to this problem has been to do very little outreach and hope that black Americans will just drift into the Republican Party on their own. Judging by the number of black Americans voting for the GOP, this strategy isn't working and isn't likely to work in the foreseeable future.

5) Issues: The Republican Party is on the same page as most black Americans on "abortion, gay marriage, and being friendly to Christianity. Many black Americans also agree with the conservative stance on illegal immigration, school choice, being tough on crime, and supporting entrepreneurs." We have to do a better job of working with black Americans in areas where our interests coincide instead of expecting them to come to us. We also have to start using conservative principles to address issues that disproportionately impact black Americans. We need to find ways to implement enterprise zones and micro-loans to help black Americans in inner cities. It's also a disgrace that any American, in any neighborhood, has to worry about getting shot in his yard or drug dealers selling on the corner where his kids go to school. We're the law and order party. We should be effectively tackling that the way Rudy Giuliani did in New York. It's not enough for Republicans to say, "Look at the places we agree." As John Maxwell once said, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." We have to show black Americans we care, not just with words, but by rolling up our sleeves and tackling the issues the Democrat Party has been ignoring for decades.

Good well thought out essay. Too bad it wasn't yours. You know the rules. You are not to copy and paste an entire article, and you definitely must give credit by providing a link. Here, let me help you with that.

5 Reasons There Are So Few Black Americans In The Republican Party - John Hawkins - Page 1

 

[bodecea]

Why are liberals so obsessed with color?! Who honestly counts how many whites, blacks, asians, hispanics there are in each party? GET A FUCKING GRIP already..

Like the Liberal who started this thread, right?

 

[bodecea]

Why are liberals so obsessed with color?! Who honestly counts how many whites, blacks, asians, hispanics there are in each party? GET A FUCKING GRIP already..

You're the one yelling.

I didnt' realize you had a bionic ear?? How many blacks are there in Boston, Ma? How many Hispanics?? Come on now.. How many blacks are there in Vermont?? Liberal Vermont MUST have LOTS AND LOTS of blacks.. why it proves their liberal and not racists!!!????


Idiots obsessed with race..

Like the idiot that started this thread.

 

[bodecea]

If the party of Lincoln is now 90% white, then conclusions can be drawn from that fact.

If the party of Jefferson attracks 90% of blacks, 65% of Hispanics, and a majority of women, then conclusions can be drawn from those facts.

Psssst, shit fer brains - Jefferson started the Republicans. The democrats were founded by Andrew Jackson and Aaron Burr.

A fraud like you isn't likely to know any American history...

Oh, and at the time of Lincoln, the Republican party was 100% white, moron.

Fakey, you are an incredible fool.

Jefferson started the Democratic-Republicans which morphed into the Democrats under Jackson against the Whigs. The Republican party didn't even start until the 1850s from Free Soil Whigs and disaffected Northern Democrats.

Talk about "incredible fools". When are you going to have a post with correct facts? That will be an occasion to remember.

 

[M14 Shooter]

It is not.

It is; your reliance on a single example to prove your point proves this.
If the "actual" reason was to deny people the right to vote based on race, you'd have more examples.
I didnt say anything about felons, and so your point here is irrelevant to what I -did- say.

The point of requiring id to purchase a firearm is to prevent felons from buying them.

Wrong. The point is to verify the ID of the buyer -- the need for a photo ID significantly predates any sort of check to verify felon status.

You brought up id's and firearms sales. Fuck you're dumb.

Says the guy that can't stay on topic or address the arguments put to him.
I never once said anythng about requiring a photo ID in order to stop felons; my argument, which you havent addressed, revolves around positive identification of the prospective voter.
So, my questions:

What better way than a photo ID to positively verify that the guy claiming to be you is actually you?
How pissed would you be if you showed up at your polling place and were told that you had already voted?
Who would you blame?
How would it be their fault?

That's never happened to me.

Please do not dodge the questions - it makes it look like you want to avoid them because you don't have an answer that does not destroy your position.

I ask again:
What better way than a photo ID to positively verify that the guy claiming to be you is actually you?
How pissed would you be if you showed up at your polling place and were told that you had already voted?
Who would you blame?
How would it be their fault?

Why do you oppose showing an ID to vote but support showing an ID to buy a gun?

I've already answered that.

Actually, you havent - all of your arguments against voter ID apply equally as well to ID for a firearms purchase.
So.. explain the difference.

 

[candycorn]

I love threads like this. I can just sit back and watch all the racists come post about how blacks are lazy and stupid and vote dem because they like free stuff.

I wonder why he brought it up; he had to know what was going to happen.

 

[Political Junky]

This could be why 0% of blacks will vote for Romney, and why most of them are Democrats.

This is how the votes were distributed on the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Civil Rights Act of 1964 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By party and region
Note: "Southern", as used in this section, refers to members of Congress from the eleven states that made up the Confederate States of America in the American Civil War. "Northern" refers to members from the other 39 states, regardless of the geographic location of those states.
The original House version:
Yea Nay
Southern Democrats: 7–87 (7–93%)
Southern Republicans: 0–10 (0–100%)
Northern Democrats: 145–9 (94–6%)
Northern Republicans: 138–24 (85–15%)
The Senate version:
Southern Democrats: 1–20 (5–95%)
Southern Republicans: 0–1 (0–100%)
Northern Democrats: 45–1 (98–2%)
Northern Republicans: 27–5 (84–16%)
[edit]

 

[M14 Shooter]

This could be why 0% of blacks will vote for Romney...

This is a lie, of course.

 

[Political Junky]

This could be why 0% of blacks will vote for Romney...

This is a lie, of course.

NBC News-WSJ poll: Romney is not in the black — literally - PostPartisan - The Washington Post

Rare is the time that a poll number makes me gasp. But there is one in the latest NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll that elicited one. While it was no surprise to see that President Obama snared 94 percent of African Americans surveyed, the presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney got nuthin’, zilch, niente, a big fat 0 percent.

 

[M14 Shooter]

This could be why 0% of blacks will vote for Romney...

This is a lie, of course.

Rare is the time that a poll number makes me gasp...

You REALLY mean to say "nearly 0%", because a literal claim of 0% is a lie.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Five reasons there are so few afros in the Republican party:

1) Afros are worthless animals.
2) Afros are worthless animals.
3) Afros are worthless animals.
4) Afros are worthless animals.
5) Afros are worthless animals.

Anything else gives afros more respect than they deserve.

you forgot no. 6.....
6)Ariux is a worthless piece of shit.......

Afro voting preference is based on your silly evaluation of myself?

no thats your voting preference.....if i gave you any more than that,i would be giving you more respect than you deserve.......