Black Conservative Offers Advice to Republicans

Fox News ^ | Monday, June 16, 2003 | Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

[presidio9]

After years of butting heads with the Republican Party, conservative Alan Keyes (search) said the GOP has no clue how to engage black voters, a key constituency that can be won over on the issues, but not with empty campaign promises or race-baiting.

[presidio9]

ping

[mhking]

Bump for pinging the B/C list later...

[VaBthang4]

Keyes needs to stop frigging running his mouth to hte media and instead help to build stronger relationships between legitimate Black leaders and the Republican party [he may well be doing that].

I just am growing tired of folks I only hear about when they are complaining.

[xrp]

President of the United States Alan Keyes has a nice ring to it.

[RAT Patrol]

Go Alan!!!!!

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

"The center of gravity in the Republican Party right now is made up of white Southerners,” who are historically against civil rights, Bositis said. “By and large, [black voters] don’t trust the Republican Party and they don’t think the Republican Party is concerned with their interests."

We all know this is poppycock but the Stupid Party will never have the guts to refute it.

Therefore, Pubbie support among blacks will remain insignificant.

GOP should stop pandering to blacks.

[RAT Patrol]

Yes it does. My idea of political heaven would be a President Alan Keyes.

[Drango]

Keyes had some great ideas...but let's be honest, HE WAS (IS)THE MOST BORING SPEAKER, EVER!!!!

[RAT Patrol]

Really? See, I find him very persuasive myself. The only flaw I see -- and it is not small -- is that he comes across as somewhat arrogant and unwilling to listen. Now, I am not convinced that's true in any way other than style, but I think he needs to work on it. He's quite smart and probably deserves to feel a bit smug, but it doesn't sell in politics at all.

[kesg]

After years of butting heads with the Republican Party, conservative Alan Keyes (search) said the GOP has no clue how to engage black voters, a key constituency that can be won over on the issues, but not with empty campaign promises or race-baiting.

What is his evidence to support this claim? I don't think the problem here is with the Republican party, which is the majority party overall (i.e. they must be doing something right) and which is making significant inroads among other major ethnic and racial groups such as Hispanics. The problem is those large numbers of blacks who still live in the 1960s (or, in some cases, the 1860s or earlier) who still vote Rat in near monolithic numbers.

[HEY4QDEMS]

Although, I agree with Keyes' Idealogy to a larger degree, I think he would be well advised to the the old addage "Less is More".
Many people of all political bents, including myself, thinks that more often than not, he's nothing short of a rambling windbag.

[ArGee]

Bositis said any policies that include cutting taxes for the wealthy and leaving out breaks for the working poor are anti-black.

I can't remember when I've ever heard a more racist statement.

How do Dim's get away with junk like this?

Shalom.

[Coop]

I really like Alan Keyes, but his argument is quite flawed. If race baiting doesn't appeal to black American voters, then why do they flock to the Democrats?

[BlessedAmerican]

His basic point is right on. Here in MS we had a great young black man run against an entrenched D-representative, Bennie Thompson and made a very respectible showing with very little money and NO support from the Republicans here. After the race and the good showing our Rep. leaders actually came out and said they would stand beind him next time. Hope they are true to their word.

[Recovering_Democrat]

Keyes, the only black Republican ever to run a viable bid for president, has been trying to energize the black vote since he left the field of presidential hopefuls during the 2000 primary season....

I think Dr. Keyes has been doing this rather quietly, but I wish him all the success in the world. He's a dynamite speaker, a fine conservative, and I hope and pray his effort succeeds.

[OldFriend]

If black people want to vote against their own best interests I fail to see how this is the fault of republicans. The issues that republicans care about are issues that ALL families should honor. Those issues have NOTHING at all to do with color.

[outlawcam]

He's quite smart and probably deserves to feel a bit smug, but it doesn't sell in politics at all.

Perhaps...but in my experience, someone as logical as Keyes does not come to hasty conclusions. If you listen to the topics on which he focuses (abortion, school choice, taxation), you'll see that he demonstrates keen awareness of both sides of the issue, and has been willing to challenge what he thinks he knows in order to master the topic at hand, even if that means he must listen to others.

[outlawcam]

Hm. Okay. I agree with your conclusion about the issues being race-neutral...but let me rephrase what you said. Let me know if you agree or disagree.

If people want to walk away from good music, I don't see how it's the fault of the singer. The universal quality of good music is something ALL country music fans should honor. The idiotic statements that come from a singer's mouth have NOTHING at all to do music appreciation.

Though fundamentally true, would you agree that choosing a candidate, like choosing a record, has a lot to do with the way one markets himself. The question, as I understand it, has less to do with issues being wrong, but more to do with presenting them to a particular group who has historically (at least for the last couple of decades) voted against their best interests. Winning in politics isn't guaranteed if your cause is right. Not only must the product be good, but also it must be marketed well to the group to whom you are trying to sell it.

[Skywalk]

Huh?

It was pretty clear to me and a couple other people watching the debates that Keyes wasn't just the most intelligent and articulate of the candidates the GOP offered, but of ALL the candidates running.