Posted on 06/16/2004 9:50:14 AM PDT by JulieRNR21
WASHINGTON - With the presidential election only a few months away, it is time for President Bush to unleash his secret weapon - his relationship with black and Hispanic voters.
The president is already winning a third of the popular vote among Hispanics, according to a Zogby International poll taken this spring. With advertisements and outreach focused on reforms to allow easier immigration for workers, the president has a good chance to add to his numbers among Hispanics.
But in a close race, the key to re-election rests on the president's ability to increase his percentage of the black vote. Here, he has the chance to make tremendous gains - if only because he now has practically no support among black voters. A May Washington Post/ABC News poll showed the likely Democratic nominee, Senator John Kerry, with a 79 percent to 6 percent lead over Mr. Bush among black voters. If the president gets only 6 percent of the black vote this year he will have achieved the near impossible task of getting a lower percentage of black votes than he did in 2000, when he won 8 percent.
But the president has the opportunity to flip the script. With a direct appeal, President Bush could win at least 20 percent of the black vote - and the White House.
How can he attract those votes?
Continued here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/16/opinion/16WILL.html?ex=1088386784&ei=1&en=4b70924f6edba46f
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I agree...
I don't know about you, but I get sick at my stomach every time I see a white politician standing in a black church trying to "sound black" and convincing good people that they are working for them when they have done nothing but use them.
As a voting Republican, I have been associated with a lot of Black people over the years and find that they are as independent and as savvy as anyone. Some of these people are close friends of ours.
I know a lot of them who will vote and do support the Republican party.
I think there is simply a "presumption" on how Blacks, as a whole, vote. I don't find that to necessarily be the case.
But I'm not dense to the "voting block" of Black folks that do support the Dems however.
I am just saying, there are many that DO vote Republican. And they don't like to be considered a part of that Dem voting block.
Let me guess:
Pandering?
That's not true of JW at all. He's a liberal and as such, sometimes drives me crazy. But he thinks for himself and is himself a man of faith. He would understand Pres. Bush'e integrity and Kerry's lack of it. He also knows that that is important to a lot of blacks as well. I'm glad to see this.
"We have a better chance of converting them one at a time as friends, neighbors, and co-workers."
That about sums it up. Most of my black friends aren't entirely on Bush's side, but they think Kerry's a joke. It's also galling to MANY Blacks that Clinton is considered the first black president. Furthermore, most Blacks (when discussing issues point-blank) lean far more to the right than election numbers suggest. The problem, as I see it, is marketing. The Dem's have been patronizing and race baiting for so long, it's become entrenched. The Republican advocacy of a truly color blind society leaves people of color with the impression that Rep.s don't care about minorities.
Keep trying...one at a time.
...>click<.
"I'm Irish and Cherokee and I want to be called an American and if a man does what's right for America, he gets my vote. Currently that man is George W. Bush."
I'm Scottish and Blackfoot and I want to be called an American and if a man does what's right for America, he gets my vote. Currently that man is George W. Bush. ;>)
I think that applies to reaching out to those whose values are contrary to ours, like homosexuals. To "reach out" to them would be like reaching out to tax-and-spenders. They are contrary to our core values. But the minority issue is different. These people already share our values. We should counter the left's lies by competing for their vote. I wouldn't say that if I didn't think we could win. Of course we will never win the liberal black vote, but so many blacks are actually conservative. Their liberal/conserative split is probably around the same as for whites. It is crazy that conservatives would vote RAT based solely on their skin color. It doesn't make sense. We need to set the record straight.
Considering what I have seen here and with my black friends in Kansas It's not a matter of putting out a welcome mat. Juan is just softening the coming blow. Black conservatives are busting out all over the place. I pity the soul on either side of the asile that tries to hold the door closed on them cause that sucker is coming off the hinges.
Check out the home page of True Black Man. I don't think kerry is going to keep him out of here.
Exactly
Go here for my artsy side. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1154470/posts?page=14#14
The only thing Rove has up his sleeve is his arm. That guy is luckier than he is good, and Florida should have taught GWB that lesson.
many of these conservative minded church going folks do not believe that any Republican has their best interests in mind. I know anti-abortion low tax business people that think Gore was robbed and that W is not to be trusted. Ask them about issues and they are with W. Ask for their vote and they say, not W. hard to change that mind set.
Good job!! I liked it very much.
It will be hard, but it's impossible if we do not try. Too many times we have chosen to not compete. I think that should change.
The problem early on in the Bush administration was that those within the community that had supported Bush did not receive much thanks. Bush was reaching out to the usual suspects instead of saying that times had changed. Don't know if the attitude has changed.
I'm all for doing away with the self-appointed unelected leaders.
As is the case with many elections past, the key is not really to reach out to any particular demographic, but to energize and activate the Conservative electorate as a whole.
Voter apathy is a major problem in this country. But over and above that, voter ignorance is more far-reaching in the potential to sway an election. I'd rather have a scenario of ignorant people not vote at all rather than cast their votes based on shallow and/or erroneous information. (By ignorant, I mean under-educated and mis-informed/under-informed leeches on society.)
Let's lay our cards on the table here -- ignorant people are simply more impressionable and more easily influenced to adopt an opinion and cast a vote based on half-truths, rhetoric and propaganda. They don't really care to educate themselves on the processes of government and politics, yet they readily stand in protest of things that don't satisfy their "needs". They want to have a government program they can fall back on for each and every one of their own inadequacies. When they don't get it -- it becomes a case of being held down by the man all over again.
In order for President Bush to "reach out" to people usually kept at an arm's distance from Conservative values, he would have to either start doing things they like or try to give the impression he is doing so. Either way, this man would be compromising his values and principles. He is certainly a man of principle, a fact that in and of itself scares people who have little or no principles themselves. After all, why should they be held responsible for securing their own future and being responsible for their own actions? Isn't that what the government is there for?
You know, the fact that this country is so polarized and liberals hate our President as much as they do puts me at ease and tells me we are on the right path for long-term greater good. If they liked his policies and actions, I would have to seriously question our path.
Likewise, the fact that he won't get a lot of the votes from certain demographic groups assures me that his policies are on the right track.
Of course, that may mean we don't get another four years. It's a bad Catch-22 we're in, seems to me. So, then -- what is the answer?
The prospect of a repeat of 1992 sickens me, I must admit. I really do not want to see another liberal pinko step in and take the credit for the hard work and forward thinking actions of others. As much as I know President Bush is the right man at this time in our country's history, a small part of me thinks he was elected four years too early.
Had algore won in 2000, he would have had to deal with all the issues left over from the clinton years and try to pick up those pieces.
- The economy would have still tanked because clinton did nothing to underpin and sustain the economic growth he inherited from Reagan/Bush...
- We would have still had the 9/11 attacks...
- There would still be the urgent need for us to counter radical Islam as the greatest threat to world peace and stability since communism....
- He would have failed miserably and our country would be far worse off than we are right now because he would have tried to do as clinton did and placate an enemy who wants nothing less than our total demise...
Maybe that would have showed the leftist, socialist pansies in this country the error of their short-sighted ways.
Then again, knowing the small-mindedness of these "people", they would still find a way to shirk responsibility and blame the Republicans....wouldn't they?
Yes, they certainly would......
Thanks. My profile page is full of my simple little rhymes. It keeps my brain awake.
I agree. I see him on FOX News Sunday and Brit Hume's program regularly, and even if he is an unabashed liberal, he's sincere and forthright. Some of his outbursts are a real hoot, but sometimes he comes through with real insight. Ceci is just barfy.
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