Posted on 03/16/2009 4:14:41 AM PDT by RangerM
Today conservatism is stigmatized in our culture as an antiminority political philosophy. In certain quarters, conservatism is simply racism by another name. And minorities who openly identify themselves as conservatives are still novelties, fish out of water.
Yet there is now the feeling that without an appeal to minorities, conservatism is at risk of marginalization. The recent election revealed a Republican Party -- largely white, male and Southern -- seemingly on its way to becoming a "regional" party. Still, an appeal targeted just at minorities -- reeking as it surely would of identity politics -- is anathema to most conservatives. Can't it be assumed, they would argue, that support of classic principles -- individual freedom and equality under the law -- constitutes support of minorities? And, given the fact that blacks and Hispanics often poll more conservatively than whites on most social issues, shouldn't there be an easy simpatico between these minorities and political conservatism?
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Rush Limbaugh has been in Radio for over 20 years and the Republicans won 3 Presidential elections since then as well as capturing Congress from 1994-2006 with a lot of help from Limbaugh. You need to get your facts straight.
Only Hispanics have higher birth rates than Whites.
Excellent post. We get beat up all day on minority radio. We need to cross over and gain minority votes through social issues. Eventually, we can show them about economics as well.
One thing I notice literally every day at work (a GREAT company where just about everyone is extremely well compensated, maybe even overcompensated compared to the rest of the market — myself included) is that the black employees almost universally hang out exclusively with each other. It’s especially noticeable at the cafeteria. It sure can’t be because they are treated badly. We have first-rate, best-of-industry sensitivity training, and everyone I’ve ever met is extremely nice to one another, yet the self-segregation is nearly 100% universal. I suppose it can be interpreted in many ways, but from my view something definitely seems amiss in the black community, even among affluent professionals.
Nixon abandoned many conservative values in his quest for power.
As long as blacks desire to remain on the Liberal Plantation as victims, they will remain there - firmly bound in their self-imposed chains.
Not just get the message out, but refine the message into something can point to as an alternative. Look back at the “Contract With America” there were policies real choices.
Government Reform
Fiscal Responsibility
Taking Back Our Streets
American Dream
Job Creation
Wage Enhancement
National Security...
ect..ect..
Those were not messages that discounted the judgment or motivation of groups it was an affarmation of American values expressed in plan that looked forward.
Please tell me where I can find this in todays GOP?
Writing off those who question the current direction is just crazy and the fastest way to marginalize the party.
When did Hispanics become a non-minority. The shifting demographics are here:
http://www.census.gov/population/www/pop-profile/natproj.html
This was never a conversation about Blacks, it was a conversation about “Minorities” (and I added women).
Re: Obama voter, believe what you like, yes I am a provocative on purpose, I want to challenge people to think, no different than Allahpundit at hotair. Nothing new comes out of a echo chamber, you just hear the same thing, distorted.
The best conversations actually include different points of view, provoke thought.
Thou dost protest too much. I wasn’t attacking Rush, I was pointing out the Democratic goal, that’s all.
How do you respond to MrB's point that there is a great difference between appealing to married women versus single/divorced women? "Women" are not a uniform voting block.
That will/has stopped happening now that “minorities” are not really in the minority any more.
Republicans used to receive the majority of the Black Vote until Nixon’s Southern Strategy.
That dates the change to 1968, but Kennedy and Johnson won the majority of the black vote, too. I think the change really goes back to FDR.
I liked someone else’s response to
“angry white male” -—
How about the “bitter single female”?
“The recent election revealed a Republican Party — largely white, male and Southern — seemingly on its way to becoming a “regional” party. “
Steele erroneously believes he has identified the problem for the GOP, primarily based on the results of the last Presidential election. Then he attempts to demean the party by associating it with southern ‘rednecks.’ (And yes, I read the entire article.)
The GOP has been marginalized alright. But not by southern ‘rednecks.’ RINOS have marginalized the party, causing it to veer from it’s roots. The cause and effect came front and center this last cycle. The selection by the GOP of a proven panderer, whose philosophy is to reach across the aisle, exposed just how far the GOP had strayed.
Steele is right about one thing though. All the pandering in the world will not bring ‘minorities’ into the fold. So why pander?
Bush pandered to the regime of the black caucus when he spoke before FM and FM back in 02. Here he endorsed and encouraged these GSEs to ensure home loans for folks EVEN with BAD CREDIT! Paraphrased: “everyone deserves to own a home ‘like the rest of us’...”
Remind me again, how is that working out?
Earth to GOP: Limited govt personal liberty.
“The very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism.”
Ronald Reagan.
AFAIK, Ike won a majority of that vote, and Nixon got the last highest Republican vote total at 20 something percent.
That would make my point that since 68, Republicans have bled black voters, not sure about Ronald Reagan though.
I agree with you on the GOP making its case to minorities. Too bad Michael Steele however has been doing just the opposite. His message has been:
‘Sure the old white guys in the GOP are out of touch, but I’m going to try to change them for you,’
rather than what it should be:
‘The GOP has been for education and opportunity and believing that minorities have just as much capability to pull themselves up with education, hard work and entrepreneurship as anyone. They haven’t thought that a welfare plantation where families have been paid not to have a father in the home and are assured that the government provides them all sorts of basic services, as long as they don’t acquire assets or take a chance on a demanding job, is the way to go. And they were right. I think it is the well-intended but misguided media and Democrats who have tragically convinced minorities that the GOP isn’t on their side, whereas it is the GOP that has offered the respectful and dignified solution all along. It is my great opportunity and obligation, now as RNC chair, to get the real message of the GOP out to the minorities in this country—and I couldn’t be more proud of or believing in my mission!’
I think you’re being way too emotional here, Jveritas.
The OP is not calling you a racist—you should stop calling him a liberal.
What he says has a lot of merit, and I agree with many of his points.
I also agree with you about how most minorities, at least today, will not vote Republican/Conservative. THAT is what this article is about. The question is twofold: Why, and can we change it?
I think we can, by NOT PANDERING, but by simply pointing out that the tired, old, white liberal ways of the past 50 years HAVE NOT WORKED. They are only making things worse in many areas. Even if only 25 percent of various minorities see this, that would be a great advantage.
We should strive not to make Republicans into Democrats, but make minorities into conservatives. If only “some” heed the call, that is far better than the reality we now face. With a strong enough message, we can do better than even “some”.
Reforming this program would be also popular with white people and the base of the Republican Party. It would not require selling out principles or running me-too policies.
That program is immigration.
The massive flood of legal and illegal immigrants puts pressure on the jobs that many black families rely on. It is not just lettuce pickers; the H-1B program is used to lower the wages of many of the office jobs that black workers have moved into (and let's not forget white workers).
Despite all the talk, Bush did not receive 45 percent of the Hispanic vote; he received less than 40 percent (and that after incredible pandering).
That level of support means three new Democratic for every two new Republican voters created by amnesty or legal immigration (Mexico alone receives 13 percent of annual legal immigration).
Mc Cain holding onto Bush’s share of the white vote would have offset the large move of non-white voters to Obama. In other words, winning just three percent more of the white vote would have given us president Mc Cain (a mixed blessing, I know).
Immigration reduction (legal and illegal) is popular with the base, popular with white voters in general, and popular with black voters. Amnesty and increased immigration is not even that popular with Hispanics.
Minority voters are, by and large, voting for hand-outs. They may share conservatives' views on abortion, personal responsibility and may be the most devout religiously, all of which would put them squarely at odds with Democrats. Yet every election sees them voting in large majorities for the big D
Back to the issue of discussion, I believe that it is absolute waste of time, money, and energy to go after the black vote. Republicans should not seek it. In the last 40 years the Republicans have won elections with over 90% of blacks voting against them and they can still win elections in the same fashion and despite this fact. It is almost impossible to change a culture or a way of thinking. When a majority of blacks see America in the prism of manufactured racism, entitlements, welfare, and raging against Whites and soon they will add Hispanics to their list of rage then there is nothing to do in this case. I am not saying that all of them are like this but for certain the majority of them are. Those are facts that cannot be disputed. We see it every hour in our daily lives.
As I said before, liberals are the worst racists on the planet because they have done every evil under the sun in the last 50 years to destroy the black families and have made a majority of them dependents on government welfare and affirmative actions and all that in exchange for the vote so these racist liberals can gain power.
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