But many are now discovering the Republican Underground Railroad.
Posted on 02/08/2006 7:55:37 AM PST by West Coast Conservative
Far away from the speeches of Jesse Jackson, the demands of Al Sharpton and the ranting of Louis Farrakhan, a quiet revolution is taking place in the role African-Americans play in politics. In the very heartland of the nation — in Pennsylvania and Ohio — the Republican Party is getting set to nominate black candidates for governor in the coming elections. In a nation that has not a single African-American governor — not one — from either party, this is its own little revolution.
These are not throwaway candidates in states where the GOP has no chance of victory. These are real candidates, chosen when there were plenty of white alternatives, that are en route to their party's nomination, with real chances to win.
In Pennsylvania, former football great Lynn Swann stands poised to be designated as the Republican candidate at next week's State Convention. The former wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, now enshrined in the Hall of Fame, is seeking fame of another sort, trying to be the state's first black governor.
In Ohio, a key swing state, Ken Blackwell, the Republican secretary of state, is running for the gubernatorial nomination in a state Republicans can win. In Maryland, Lieut. Gov. Michael Steele is seeking the open Senate seat.
Add these men to the possibility that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice might heed Laura Bush's advice and run for president, and a revolution may be in the making.
Salena Zito, a political columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, notes that "to an extent, Democrats have been blindsided by this growth of black Republicans running for high-profile offices."
The backdrop for this sea change is sketched out in a new book by an ex-Bush White House staffer, Ron Christie, Black in the White House: Life Inside George W. Bush's West Wing. He catalogues a range of policy initiatives which, particularly in education, have led to achievements that rival the best of the Clinton years.
Partly as a result of President Bush's No Child Left Behind legislation, the achievement gap between white and black fourth-grade students in reading is at its lowest ever and the math gap is, too. (The eighth-grade tests also reflect a sharp narrowing of the gap.)
And as former Rep. J.C. Watts of Oklahoma found out, African-Americans who reject the entitlement ethic and stand for self-reliance and individual upward mobility are very attractive to white voters. Asked to accept liberal ideology and big tax-and-spend programs as the price of supporting black candidates, many voters say no. But given a chance to find black candidates who share the electorate's vision, most white voters jump at the chance.
Black candidates are highly threatening to white political leaders. Sources close to Rev. Al Sharpton, for example, attribute Hillary Clinton's comparison of the House of Representatives to a "plantation" to her fear of a Rice candidacy. "She boycotted the event for two years in a row and now, when Condi might run, she shows up and uses militant rhetoric," one of Sharpton's key people told me. "She needs to get Al to vouch for her in South Carolina if she goes up against Condi," he added.
The Democratic Party has always treated the African-American vote like a golfer's handicap. A Democrat takes the black vote for granted and a Republican, until recently, takes its loss as a given. But the growth of black candidates among Republicans — a result of the declining power of racism in politics — may force both parties to change that calculation. If the black vote becomes "in play" as the Hispanic vote has, there will be a whole new politics in this country of ours.
It is happening as black become more educated and affluent they are becoming Republicans one example is Charles Barkley whe he said I make too much money to vote and be a Democrat. It was priceless but very eyeopening.
The worst fear for Democrats: that black Republicans get elected and govern well.
If black voters start leaving the Democrats for Independent or Republican registrations, kiss the Dems goodbye.
You-are-mentioned ping
I've read about Ken Blackwell some, and he's pure solid gold. He's a true heir to the ideas of the Reagan revolution.
Hence, the Katrina race card cr*p from the MSM. Also, I thank Hillary for her "plantation" comment. Hehehehe....
That needed saying.
There, that's a little more accurate, I think.
Okay, Dick really has been phoning it in lately. This "article" has two major flaws.
First, he says America has never had an African-American governor of either party.
Doesn't he remember Doug Wilder from Virginia? He was governor, not that long ago either.
Second, who is this Al Sharpton operative? And why would Hillary need Al to vouch for her against Condi in South Carolina?
A. Al ran for president and got smoked in SC. Lost big time even among black voters. Why would anyone think that having Al "vouch" for you down there would be helpful.
B. Why would Hillary need anyone to vouch for her in SC? SC is an important primary but is not contested in general elections for president. Is this "Sharpton operative" suggesting they'd be in a primary down there? For which party exactly?
None of this makes any sense. Am i wrong?
Despite what the race pimps tell us, most people in this country are not bigots. The simple fact is, remove the words "black" and "white" from the above quote, and the meaning doesn't change one bit -- those qualifiers only serve to emphasize that voters are generally color-blind, caring far more about issues than the color of a candidate's skin.
I think you've mis-read, or more to the point, read in more than he said:
That's present tense -- of the 50 current governors, he's saying that none are black, and I think that's correct.
It would shove a knife right in the heart of the DNC if TWO Black governors are elected (which according to polling data is at least a 50/50 or better shot) in November...and both are Republicans!
In other words, unlike liberals (who race-bait everything), for conservatives, it's not about color, it's about positions on the issues.
We used to have black Governors in this country. Back during Reconstruction. And they were all Republicans.
He is, for sure.
Lynn Swann's looking better too.
Karl Malone and LL Cool J are two more famous Black celebrity Republicans. Also I hear even Eazy E was!!
Who the hell is Dick Morris writing to? Who is his audience? This information is common knowledge among the readers of frontpage, isn't it? What is a travesty is the inability of this news--the news that the Republican party is more diverse than the caricature drawn by the MSM and the 'rats--to get widespread acceptance and recognition. Instead, we're treated to idiotic ramblings like the ones we saw yesterday by Jimmy Carter and that "no more for the poor" preacher.
Don't forget Don King -- he campaigned for Bush. Ok, he's like the crazy uncle, but he on our side, at least.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.