[nathanbedford]

I have enormous respect for Shelby Steele ever since I read his insightful piece which explained much about the election of Obama which was otherwise inexplicable to a white male middle-class conservative. He also appeared on C-SPAN and delivered a talk in which he outlined the reasons for Obama's appeal. Reading this piece today, one comes away even more impressed when one considers his personal odyssey in arriving at conservatism.

Shelby Steele identified the psychology which led to Obama's election. Essentially, Obama personified expiation for centuries of slavery and segregation. He struck an implicit deal with white America. He would not rub white America's nose in its original sin of slavery and segregation and white America would accept the proffered expiation simply by voting for him. The deal carried through the election because Obama persisted in being what conservatives complain of: an empty suit. So long as Obama kept his part of the deal and did nothing flamboyant (think of Reverend Al Sharpton), white America kept its part of the deal and Obama was elected. White America's part of the deal was the reciprocal of Obama's forbearance from behaving "black" by acting the empty suit. White America would never suggest that the emperor had no clothes and, of course, would vote its myopia.

Shelby Steele, I believe, brilliantly captured the psychology of the election. Now he tells us the psychology of black America. Like the election, the mindset of black America today is not a matter of the intellect but of the emotion. To unlock the hold the of the Democrat party on the African American race, Republicans must find an emotional key.

[RangerM]

I hadn’t read much Shelby Steele before. I never miss a Thomas Sowell (etc.) column. I’ll have to add Shelby Steele to my list.

I’ll look for that C-Span video on their website. They keep a good (online viewable) archive. Thanks for the info.

[jveritas]

To unlock the hold the of the Democrat party on the African American race, Republicans must find an emotional key.

It is not going to work. There is not a single emotional key that will make blacks vote Republicans not even 25% of them will do so. Republicans trying to get the black vote is an absolute waste of time, money, and energy.

[Little Ray]

Ain’t gonna happen.
One problem we have is that the Democrats can always promise more “free stuff” and they can always give minorities excuses for whatever they have failed to achieve on their own.
The most conservatives can offer is freedom and opportunity. And that doesn’t sell to people mired in perpetual victim-hood.

[Girlene]

Shelby Steele, I believe, brilliantly captured the psychology of the election.

I agree.

Now he tells us the psychology of black America. Like the election, the mindset of black America today is not a matter of the intellect but of the emotion. To unlock the hold the of the Democrat party on the African American race, Republicans must find an emotional key.

Steele writes this, "The appeal of conservatism is the mutuality it asserts between individual and political freedom, its beautiful idea of a free man in a free society. And it offers minorities the one thing they can never get from liberalism: human rather than racial dignity.

It seems Steele conversion was intellectual vs. emotional. He understood the true nature of conservatism. Conservatism does not care about the color of your skin, rather the strength of individuals who organize in defending their freedoms.

I suppose if one wanted to appeal to emotion, a TV commercial during black history month embracing the words of Dr. King espousing his "I have a dream" speech might have been effective. Correlating his words with conservative ideology might get a few minds thinking about the Conservative movement.