"Let me ask you something, if Coke made a fine champaign would anyone buy it? Even if it was the best champaign in the world, nobody would buy it because coke does not equal champaign in the common perception."
In the short term, not many. In the long term, it would depend on the ad campaign.
***
"You can tell them the truth all you want, but it will not make any difference because it does not fit the common perception."
If I want to tell them for one campaign season, it won't make any difference. If I do it over the course of 20 seasons, it will sink in.
"So when I say that the truth doesn't matter, it is not to equate blacks with children who can't be told the truth,"
I'm not saying you're doing that, only that this is how it must be presented to them, to make them aware that they have been infantilized by the Dems over the past 40 years.
***
"...it is to point out the fact that perception is indistinguishable from reality in politics."
That is certainly true, which is why I concede that it will take a long time, but not that it is impossible.
***
"The most effective appeal Republicans have to the AA community is on the basis of pragmatism. THe most effective short term tactic in seperating the AA community's support of the left would be for conservatives to run as democrats and attack the left on their home turf. The logistics are formidable but the spectacle of it would be priceless."
The price you would have to pay in terms of the people who run the Democratic Party would effectively castrate you as an effective politician. The Democratic Party is run by the left now, and if you want their money and their name and their endorsements and their support, you have to do as they say. Guys like Lieberman and Zell Miller are hold-outs but they'll be gone soon. Anyone bucking the left-leadership of the party would be just a momentary blip on the political radar screen, gone and quickly forgotten.
It's only in the Republican Party where you can say such things loud and proud...
This is true, but if Bush is re-elected look for the left, particularly the anti-war left to be castrated. They will be shoved in the basement of the Democrat party like the crazy aunt that nobody talks about. Politicians always can be counted on to put power before principle.
This election could change everything!
I know the logistics would be formidable, timing, ideal candidate (a total character), and particular seat are all serious considerations. But imagine the ideal situation and the possibilities. A democrat who attacks the left can not be labeled a racist, sexist, homophobe, or for the rich. He could appeal to all those democrats, and I am convinced they are legion, who are not leftists but can't identify with the Republican party. And imagine conservatives having a viable option. But enough about my crazy ideas.