This billboard greeted RNC attendees in Milwaukee. The Daily Show was on point with this ad. Where is the diversity in the ranks of the GOP?
African American Political Pundit has a great post up about the minimal numbers of Black delegates at the RNC.
Republican Party Still Segregated (and its not because black are not in the Republican party- we are excluded from the state party machine).
I like a number of black bloggers had the opportunity to attend the Democratic National Convention last week in Denver. I also had the opportunity to watch the Republican National Convention last night. Talk about tales of two conventions. At the Democratic National convention in was a sea of black folks, from all walks of life, people with disabilities, rich, economically challenged and the middle class. Candidly, thought I was at a NAACP, or Urban League convention there was so many black folks. At the Republic Convention that I watched last night, all I viewed was a sea of white faces. Blogger Shay of the blog, Booker Rising, reported about this earlier in the week. Watching the RNC Convention really made me remember segregation.
The Washington Post has a great article on how "Republican organizers conceived of this convention as a means to inspire, but some African American Republicans have found the Xcel Energy Center depressing this week. Everywhere they look, they see evidence of what they consider one of their party's biggest shortcomings. As the country rapidly diversifies, Republicans are presenting a convention that is almost entirely white. (read more here)
There were 36 Black delegates in attendance. The RNC had
2,380 total. The number of Black delegates seem to contradict the National Black Republicans claim about the GOP being the party for black people. (read more here) They toot the horn of how diverse the GOP is. Please. Every night that I viewed the proceedings at the RNC, it was obvious that this is a political party that lacks diversity.
If there was any doubt about the lack of diversity in the GOP, McCain's remarks during his acceptance speech pretty much spelled out what portion of America he is reaching his hand out to. "We believe everyone has something to contribute and deserves the opportunity to reach their God-given potential from the boy whose descendants arrived on the Mayflower to the Latina daughter of migrant workers. We're all God's children and we're all Americans." (source)
What about the people of The Middle Passage? The descendants of American slaves and freed people? We seem to have been totally excluded by McCain. And from my viewpoint his exclusion was not an over sight on his part. He was making it plain that he is reaching out to White America to help him preserve the state of the union.
So what say you Black Republicans? Where are your representatives at? Who is going to be in the forefront of your party? It obviously isn't going to be you. Unless you believe that your folks rode in on the Mayflower or willingly crossed the boarders from Latin America.
Related links:
NPR:RNC Has Fewest Black Delegates in Forty Years
Oliver Willis:The Mostly White Republicans
Jack and Jill Politics:I See Black People
2 comments:
i am not sure why any self-respecting black would want to be a republican. republicans definitely don't do much for the black community, so why rub shoulders with such a political party!?
"Mayflower to the Latina daughter of migrant workers"
You caught that, too? Ticked me off big time. When he said it, I'm like no he didn't! Because he either discounted the Middle Passage entirely or in his bigotry chose to remind his constituency that the Mayflower not only brought the Pilgrims to America but their slaves, too. Either way, McCain is not the man he purports to be.
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