GOP Wooing Blacks and They May Be Listening

[Annie]

There are indications that blacks have recognized that their loyalty has been taken for granted, with little of substance in return:

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050321/21blacks.htm

A courtship worth watching
Conservatives come calling, and blacks may be listening this time
By Dan Gilgoff

What has new Republican Party Chair Ken Mehlman learned so far in his fledgling campaign to woo African-American voters? "Folks who don't necessarily agree with you appreciate that you're out there making the case," he tells U.S. News . In the past month, Mehlman has hosted town hall meetings with black audiences in Maryland and New Jersey, sat for a PBS television interview with African-American talk-show host Tavis Smiley, and traveled to Atlanta's Martin Luther King Jr. Center. "It's about building relationships," says Mehlman, the high-octane former campaign manager who helped engineer President Bush's victory last fall. "I don't go out and lecture. I listen and learn."

Mehlman has his work cut out. Blacks have long been the Democrats' most dependable voting bloc, backing John Kerry over Bush by nearly 9 to 1. "Republicans . . . are a group who opposed the civil rights movement and who African-Americans trust least," says David Bositis, political analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. The GOP is "talking optimistically about something on which there's been no success in 40 years."

But at the moment, Mehlman isn't the only optimist. Black conservatives--and disaffected black Democrats--are preparing a major push to convince African-Americans, first, that they've been taken for granted by Democrats and, second, that the Republican Party might be worth another look, especially if the GOP more directly addresses issues of concern to blacks. It's an effort that Republicans have made before--but this time, partisans on both sides believe it could pay real dividends...