Posted on 12/03/2012 1:57:15 PM PST by SeekAndFind
After the shocking loss in the November election, Republicans are once again considering whether to change leadership at the top. Reince Priebus wants a second term as RNC chair and still has considerable support for another go, but apparently some committee members have begun recruiting alternative candidates, among them former Congressman J.C. Watts. Watts tells Politico that he's not sure he'll run, but he's interested:
Watts, an African-American conservative who served in the House from 1994-2002, said the GOP defeat on Election Day demonstrates that Republicans need to broaden their appeal to minority voters, and cannot continue on their current path if the party is to be successful in presidential races.
“My concern right now, and I don’t say this necessarily as a candidate [for RNC chairman], my concern is that as a Republican, every single Republican in America ought to be concerned about what has happened in 2008 and 2012,” Watts said in an interview with POLITICO. “In this business, if you’re not growing, you’re dying.”
Watts would not identify who is lobbying him to challenge Priebus, and reiterated that he has not made a decision to definitely jump into the race.
Watts also says that he believes the RNC needs to fundamentally rethink its “ad hoc” approach to outreach:
Watts complained that Republican efforts to reach out to minority groups have not been sustained or consistent during his 20-plus years as a politician, but rather are executed on ad hoc basis – usually in election years. In Watts’ view, and that of many other Republican leaders and party operatives, if the GOP doesn’t dramatically improve its image with black and Hispanic voters, it will not be able to win back the White House.
“These old, tired, pathetic models of saying, ‘Okay, in the black [community], when there’s a presidential election, we will form an African-American Coalition for [Mitt] Romney or [Sen. John] McCain,’ I’ll never do that again. That is a joke, that is so tired,” Watts said. “It’s window dressing to say, ‘African Americans for Romney’ or ‘African-American Coalition’ or ‘African-American Advisory Council.’ That’s insulting to the people that they ask to do it when you don’t put an permanent infrastructure in place to give it credibility.”
I think Priebus did a pretty good job, considering the state of the RNC when he first took over. The organization was deeply in debt, and fundraising was in disarray. The RNC didn’t have a credible GOTV effort in 2010 in the week before Election Day in those midterms, and ended up relying out outside groups to drive their message. They were better prepared in this cycle, but just got out-organized by Team Obama and the DNC.
That said, I’m a big fan of J. C. Watts for precisely the kind of insight he has here. Republicans cannot compete with the kind of lackluster effort that has been made in urban centers. It isn’t just the infrastructure that’s the problem, though; it’s also a lack of vision and specific policies from candidates and the party to put conservative principles to work in these communities to make the lives of voters better. We need both infrastructure and policies, on an ongoing basis, and not just — as Watts says — in the last few months before an election. Republicans have to make themselves part of these communities, not just occasional tourists.
Perhaps Watts won’t run for RNC chair, or the RNC will think someone else will serve better. They’d better find a way to put Watts in position to make his insights a reality, though, if the GOP wants to compete in future elections.
That would solve a lot of our problems is why it will never happen without us screaming & throwing a fit to make it happen!!!
“watts voted for obama.. he’s a rino’
That would contradict everything I have heard and seen of the guy, and I did hear him speak in person once. I was able to find this:
“Is Watts serious about Obama?
“Well, no, I didn’t say that,” he told Sean Hannity on his national radio show today. “What I said in the article was that I was a free agent. No one should assume that J.C. Watts should vote one way.”
Watts, a former Southern Baptist associate pastor, blasted the Republican Party for taking both blacks for granted and evangelical Christians.
“Pastors need to be careful in this endorsement game,” he said.”
And as far as his criticism of McLame goes, I will fully admit that even with the delightful Sarah, pulling the lever for McLame was one of the most difficult decisions of my life. Without Sarah I would have seriously considered staying at home - that’s how little regard I have for the guy.
Great Choice! Go for it! He would shake things up! He’s a great speaker too.
Watts, Steele, what’s the big difference?
I nominate my dog to head the RNC.
Qualifications:
Black Lab. We’ve got the racial identity politics portion taken care of.
Female. We’ve got the gender identity politics portion taken care of.
Well trained. She obeys the commands of the conservative base (in this case, me).
Intelligent. They say a smart dog has the IQ of a three year old. That puts her light years ahead of anyone that has been running the RNC for a generation (human years, not dog years).
Back when - J C Watts came out of a meeting on the impeachment of Clinton, and a reporter asked him about a letter he supposedly sent out. He looked at the guy and told the reporter, I just came out of a meeting to impeach the President of the United States, and you ask me about a LETTER?! The reporter didn’t answer back, and it was dropped. That answer worked then and if he could give those kind of retorts, he might be ok for Speaker.
J.C. Watts would be a great choice!!
Sorry, but Watts is very much a racist and will abandon anything he says he stands on to vote for someone just because of his color.. he proved that in 2008 when he gladly voted for Obama. He’s part of the GOP establishment and part of the problem, America does not need him in office. I would never trust anyone who would stoop to vote for Obama or any of the other dems. No thank you!!
He may very well be.
But, NO CONSERVATIVE with at least a semblance of a clue EVER voted for Barry Soetoro Hussein 0baMao.
So, yeah, ol' J.C. may be exactly what the RNC is looking for in a chairman: another wishy-washy, malleable black RINO. Then, hopefully he can preside over the death of the statist GOP.
If the Republicans are going to let the voter fraud go on and do nothing. If the Republicans can’t explain anything to the public. If the Republicans think they can play fair with the left. If the Republicans are scared to stand for anything but what the Dems want. It’s no wonder they lost. I, for one, am SO disappointed in those who are supposed to represent us. They stand closer to the Dems than they do the conservatives out here. They can’t win without us...and they aren’t going to get votes from the left.. so what are they thinking?
J.C. Watts would be a great choice!! Another would be Marco Rubio!!
Really, how much more screwed up can the STUPID Party be? Some days I just think there is no hope.
Why was this necessary? Why did his race have to be mentioned instead of simply stating that he is a conservative?
But, more to the point, why J. C. Watts, specifically? Is it because he's more conservative than the RNC has been for a few decades, or are we putting OUR black guy up against THEIR black guy so that we don't look so lily white??
The racial overtones of this are disturbing. I like Watts and would have no issue with him as RNC chair but, the way this is being presented smells.
THAT would be encouraging!
Do you have a link to that statement?
Then he threw everything aside to support the community agitator.
I nominate Sarah Palin.
She is used to rooting out corruption.
Especially Rove and his syncophants.
I agree. That’s why I nominated my dog.
Inside Politics
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
February 9, 1999
Semantical disconnect
Rep. J.C. Watts, Oklahoma Republican and chairman of the GOP House Conference, says he never uses the word “conservative” before black audiences because they tend to view the term as racist.
Mr. Watts, in an interview with USA Today political columnist Richard Benedetto, said part of the GOP “disconnect” with blacks is the party’s careless use of words such as “conservative,” which many Republicans
wear as a badge of honor.
Although Mr. Watts is known as a conservative, “I don’t ever use the word,” he said. “It conjures up thoughts to
many folks of [Alabama Gov.] George Wallace standing in the doorway of the University of Alabama to block Negroes from entering or [Birmingham Commissioner of Public Safety Eugene] ‘Bull’ Connor turning police dogs and fire hoses loose on black folks who wanted to sit at a lunch counter to have a hamburger and a cup of coffee.”
Something tells me that this is not true. He was debating such because he didn't know if the (R) was going to be more conservative than what Big Ears initially represented himself to be. In the end I believe he voted (R).
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