Black Republicans

As I travel across the country speaking to many groups, I find the same common concern among black Republicans and the black clergy that supported George W. Bush in 2004. Most are not convinced that the Republican Party really feel that it’s worth the effort to go after the black vote, and others feel the Republican party does not want or feel that they need the black vote to win.

They cite several reasons for their belief. Please let me share a few of them with you.

• They learned that the Republican Bush/ Cheney campaign only spent $2,000,000 to reach black voters during the 2004 election but spent several times that amount on political consultants.
  
  
• During the campaign, the Republicans courted the black clergy and convinced many that Republicans really wanted to develop a long term relationship with the black community, and therefore increase the number of black Republicans. But since the election, there has been very little dialogue and virtually no dollars spent to establish that relationship, nor has there been any financial investment for outreach programs to the black community.
  
  
• Grass-root Republicans -- both white and black Republicans -- have consistently asked for financial assistance to reach black voters, only to hear the party does not have the money. In contrast, they have seen expensive television advertisement on social security reform, on the confirmation of Judge Roberts and on other subjects that are dear to the Republican Party (all paid for by the RNC and/or friends of the Republican Party) and have therefore concluded that reaching the black voter is not a Republican priority.
  
  
• They say RNC Chairman, Ken Melhman will dialogue with various black groups during an hour long speech but he never backs up his dialogue with dollars or a specific program to reach black republicans or the black community.

Everyone knows votes are not free -- they are bought. They are bought with expensive campaign strategies. During each campaign, members of both parties target the voters that they really want with television and radio ads, along with brochures, posters and other campaign literature including the latest books that promote their cause, all costing hundreds of millions of dollars just to get the vote. Unfortunately most of these campaigns target blue collar workers, women voters, and middle class families, but few have ever targeted the Asian, the Latino and black voters which are all members of these other groups, but with uniquely different issues.

During the week of November 28th, C-Span aired a panel discussion by a group of moderate and conservative Republican strategists. They all agreed that in order to win in 2008, the Republican Party must broaden their base (i.e. increase the number of black republicans), but confessed that they have seen very little effort on the part of the Republicans to do this.

In the October 2005 issue of Black Enterprise magazine, it indicated that there are serious questions among blacks as to whether Republicans are serious about their relationship with African Americans. One black clergy who supported Bush in 2004 said, many of the black clergy that voted for Bush in the last election may switch their support back to the Democratic Party if Republicans do not do a better job in proving that that they really value black republicans and want a relationship with blacks.

Today Republicans have access to a multitude of educational materials that will appeal to the black voter. Among them include:

• Michael Zak’s book on the history of the Republican Party
• David Barton’s books and DVD on historical relations between blacks and Republicans
• A Historical Civil Rights Calendar produced by a Republican Congressman from California
• A new video produce by black Republicans of Florida
• And Rev. Perryman’s book: Unfounded Loyalty, the only book written by an inner-city minister to inner-city ministers on the history of blacks and both the Democract and Republican parties.

These are the types of resources that grassroot black Republicans in Denver, Detroit, Dallas, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Kansas, New York, New Orleans, St Louis, Cleveland, and Florida are trying to fund to distribute to the black clergy in their communities. As of this date, the national Republican Party and their wealthy 527 financial supporters have not offered their support. This is most unfortunate, because the moral issues that attracted the black clergy to the Republican Party in 2004 are not likely to be the key issues in 2008.