Posted on 08/28/2006 2:32:24 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
One Republican senator described his house painter as a "little Guatemalan man." Another called an Indian man a "macaca," a type of monkey.
Just as the GOP is pushing for minority voters, the two recent gaffes have fed the perception among some blacks, Hispanics and Asian-Americans that Republicans are out of touch with the changing face of the nation.
"There is disconnect at some level," said Michael K. Fauntroy, a professor of public policy at George Mason University. "The country is becoming browner and new voters, particularly new immigrant voters, don't respond favorably to (offensive) comments.
"They may have already missed the boat on this."
Reports surfaced last week that Sen. Conrad Burns (news, bio, voting record), a Montana Republican, called his house painter a "nice little Guatemalan man" during a June speech. Burns, whose re-election campaign is pressing for tighter immigration controls, also suggested that the man might be an illegal immigrant. It turns out the worker is legal.
Earlier this month, George Allen, a Republican senator from Virginia, twice referred to an opponent's volunteer using a term for a monkey, considered by some to be a racial slur. "Let's give a welcome to Macaca here," Allen said. "Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia."
Allen has since apologized to S.R. Sidarth, who was born in Virginia and is of Indian descent.
Republicans hardly have a lock on offending minorities. Former Democratic congressman and civil rights leader Andrew Young, who is black, said this month that Asian, Jewish and Arab shopkeepers in black neighborhoods sold shoddy goods to blacks and drove away their businesses. And, amid protests, the Democratic party this month pulled an advertisement from its Web site that compared Hispanic immigrants to terrorists.
But the comments by Burns and Allen have garnered heavy attention as their party is trying to improve its showing among minorities. Neither senator returned phone calls seeking comment.
"These misstatements are not reflections on the (Republican) party," said Tara Wall, director of outreach communications for the Republican National Committee. "We've had a long-term commitment to inclusion."
Wall said that since taking the helm in January 2005, RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman has "stepped up" the party's outreach to minorities. That effort has included holding nearly 100 town hall meetings with black, Latino and Asian-American groups, she said.
The party also is strongly pushing the candidacies of black Republicans in upcoming elections: Ken Blackwell for governor of Ohio, Michael Steele for Senate in Maryland and Lynn Swann for governor of Pennsylvania.
This summer, Bush spoke at the convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for the first time in his presidency. The crowd cheered when he said many blacks don't trust Republicans.
At last summer's NAACP convention, Mehlman acknowledged the need to mend fences. "Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization," he said. "I come here as Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong."
Said Frances Rice, chairman of the National Black Republican Association: "I think Republicans have an excellent chance of winning over a good percentage of minority voters."
Some say that's already happening. In 2004, 46 percent of Hispanic men, for instance, backed Bush compared to 36 percent in 2000, according to the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center. While only 11 percent of blacks voted for Bush in 2004, it still was up from 2000.
But there's a long way to go. Associated Press-Ipsos polls from June to August show that 81 percent of blacks, 62 percent of Hispanics and 69 percent of Asian-Americans identify with Democrats over Republicans and independents.
Outreach to minorities can ring hollow if it's not backed by strong policies, said Louis DeSipio, a professor of political science and Chicano/Latino studies at the University of California, Irvine. "Even a candidate that says something offensive, if he then came out and advocated a path to citizenship (for illegal immigrants), then I think voters would pay more attention to that," he said.
Immigration promises to be a key issue with Latinos in the contentious November elections. A House measure approved last year that would make it a felony for illegal immigrants to be in the U.S., helped spark massive street demonstrations this spring. Organizers have worked this summer to register more Latino voters and get those who qualify to become citizens.
Many black voters remain angry over the Bush administration's slow response to Hurricane Katrina last summer, when thousands of New Orleans' poorest residents, mostly black, faced deadly floods. "Katrina hurt the Republicans' credibility with the African-American community," said Stacie Paxton of the Democratic National Committee.
Donna Brazile, a longtime Democratic strategist, agreed. "Republicans are sending mixed messages to people of color, in particular African-Americans and Hispanics. On one hand they would like us to come into the big tent. But once you get in you will see the unwelcome mat remains on the inside."
To them, this is probably huge, but to everyone else, Labor Day weekend is coming up. Who needs the liberal P.C. rantings to spoil it.
Blah, blah, blah. Meanwhile Bush has the most blacks in his cabinent of any prior president, black home ownership and black incomes are at an all time high as well.
By the way, if Burns' house painter is a "little Guatamalen man," then how is that somehow racist? If I was little and some described me as a "little American man" I would take it as a racist comment.
And the macaca thing, spare me. It was Allen mispronouncing the man's name. I REALLY doubt he was aware that in Africa this is a derogatory term.
This is such reaching by a media machine that has made itself a wholly owned subsidiary by the Democratic party.
Meanwhile, they all ignore the racist comments about Indians by Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton mocking them all as convenience store clerks. No problem there according to the MSM!
If I was little and some described me as a "little American man" I would take it as a racist comment.
I WOULD NOT take it as a racist comment I mean.
This is a joke right? Since when did the GOP get minority votes ???
Gee, I don't know. That 44% of Hispanics who voted for Bush in '04 and that put him back into the White House I would say was just a little more than a token minority vote.
when they realized that the hezbocrats are worse
Bush got 44% of Hispanic vote and all he had to do was make sure the southern border was left WIDE OPEN !!!
The border is not "wide open." There are more than double the number of INS patrol agents on the border than before Bush came in office including now several thousand National Guard troops building fencing and barriers. No serious person would deny the border is tougher now than it was. More needs to be done to be sure, but to claim the border is wide open is just nonsense rhetoric. Here in California agriculture employers are seeing labor shortages because of tighter border enforcement.
By the way, don't waste your time replying. I don't waste more than one post replying to stupid comments and you've now exceeded your stupid comment reply quota by 2.
this story is much-caca
Gee, Whiz, how would they like to be called swamp dwelling, trailer trash rednecks? Face it, folks, the GOP DOES have an arrogant, patronizing, and condescending faction. I sure hope it ain't a fatal condition.
Often, I wonder if all of us are Republicans, for the same reasons.
What about the DemocRAT senator who referred to some people as "White 'N-words'"?
That this piece is not immediately condemned by an overwhelming majority of fair journalists is depressing.
That's ok Mike, I'll reply anyway.There is one stupid poster here and you're it if you actually believe the border is closed and since your original posting cited 04 I'd quite positive there was even less security then,but hey a smart guy like you knows that right ???
Hey I'm proud to be a swamp dwelling redneck.
The fact that the double standard is lamentable is no reason to pretend that it doesn't exist, or that it doesn't impact us negatively.
We and our candidates have to polish our phrasology so that we don't give the MSM ammunition. Just as a "minority" person cannot use "life is not fair" as an excuse for not trying, and for failure; so we cannot use that as an excuse for our failure. We are only victims of the MSM if we give them the bullets to shoot back at us.
And finally in the 8th paragraph we read:
"Republicans hardly have a lock on offending minorities. Former Democratic congressman and civil rights leader Andrew Young, who is black, said this month that Asian, Jewish and Arab shopkeepers in black neighborhoods sold shoddy goods to blacks and drove away their businesses."
Dream on! So because of some comments made, I am going to vote for the rats? I don't think so.
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