GOP Nominee
Former Candidates
Back in September, when the then poll determined GOP front runners skipped the Morgan State University PBS sponsored debate, I asked, Are Rudy, Fred, Mitt & John Afraid Of Tavis Smiley?.
Notice a prominent given name not listed?
I bring this up because of a long conversation I had over the Christmas holiday with the leader of a prominent Black Republican group in the Washington, D.C. area.
This Black leader is a solid conservative who hates what liberal Democrat economic and social policies have done to Blacks since the 1960’s. He is a Reagan conservative who said he would never vote for Barack Obama, based on policy.
Yet, significantly and understandably, he leans heavily to Mike Huckabee, despite some of his unorthodox views, because he reached out to Blacks.
This DC leader wants the GOP to join him. After all, he joined the GOP and has put up with a lot within his community because of principle.
Clearly Mike Huckabee was not afraid Of Tavis.
Huckabee, like a lot of Southerners in general, have a distinct advantage in this area of race relations. He is comfortable around people that he has grown up with.
The damage done by the non-Huckabees that failed to show up for the Baltimore debate, but who have shown up for numerous others, is palpable.
Our nominee must reach out and get comfortable with Blacks. If we could get 20% of the Black vote we could destroy the vampire sucking the blood out of the Black community, i.e. the Democratic party.
Conservative policies are good for all Americans, including Blacks. We need to go to the hood and say so and ask for their votes.
My friend in DC knows this, and I know, from my inside experience that one finds much more racism inside the Dem party than the GOP. And I know that none of our candidates are racist in any way.
But we have to empower Black GOP leaders.
(I have not revealed the identity of the leader as I have not asked permission mainly due to the fact of my strong disagreements with Huckabee’s actual policy positions. I suspect I will discuss this matter further with my friend at a later date and write a more extensive blog on why I oppose Huckabee on substance.)
Mike Gamecock DeVine @ The Charlotte Observer
The HinzSight Report
The Minority Report
Huck is history in the Race 4 2008
“One man with courage makes a majority.” - Andrew Jackson
FRED08
December 26th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
Gamecock,
I know from past blogs that you have some major issues with Huck, so thank you for your fairness in posting this. Due to changing demographics, it’s essential that Republicans reach out to African-Americans and Latinos. The good news is at least 40% (I’d say closer to 70%) of African-Americans and Latino Americans are socons , they just have a distrust for the GOP as it is today.
Mike Huckabee has the ability to bridge that gap and get a winning % of those folks.
Huckabee/Powell 2008!
December 26th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
Tavis may be leaning toward Huckabee, but other black Republicans seem to be leaning toward someone else:
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/122900.html
http://www.usadaily.com/article.cfm?articleID=137617
http://teenagepundit.blogspot.com/2007/11/ron-paul-and-black-voters.html
December 26th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
mac, I am a strong defender of Huck supporters, if not Huck. I also think that we have a lot to learn from Huck (and he from me!) and that many of the attacks on Huck are over the top.
We should be able to criticize other candidates on policy without tearing them apart.
amen?
December 26th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Amen!
December 26th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
Gamecock, I am very impressed with this post. Thank you sir.
December 27th, 2007 at 12:11 am
#2. I agree that Huck has a lot to offer, but his policies, to many of us, are simply not conservative and leave a lot to be desired, and most importantly are fair game to debate. And just as you say “we should be able to criticize other candidates without tearing them apart” (which, as a Romney supporter, I 100% agree with), we should also be able to criticize Huck’s record and policies without suffering accusations of being anti-Christian or being labeled everything from “jealous” to “hateful” to a lot worse. As Romney haters like to point out, if a candidate (and his backers) can’t take the heat now, good luck in November when the Dems come after them.
As for the debates, I agree that GOP candidates can’t be seen as afraid to appear at a forum aimed primarily at African Americans or any other minority. But it is also understandable why GOP candidates would avoid debates early in the primary season which are not targeted towards traditional members of the GOP. After all, it’s GOP voters they are trying to reach at this stage of the game. Skipping a debate, generally speaking, is strictly a political campaign decision and should not be construed as racial. Campaigns, as you know, have a lot to deal with, from limited campaign finances to expensive media advertising to simply avoiding potential gaffes and gotcha traps (see the CNN debate for a prime example of that one). A GOP debate geared towards an audience already statistically Democratic and/or Liberal is just plain wasteful, from a political point of view. (Likewise, a Democratic candidates debate sponsored by the Club for Growth, for example, would surely see no candidates on their stage, for the same reasons.) If this was the general election campaign, avoiding a debate which deals with racial subjects would be a disaterous decision, and would be a decision correctly accused of racist undertones. During GOP primary season, however, I wouldn’t really expect anything else. It’s just wise campaigning.
December 27th, 2007 at 12:12 am
#4 Thanks!
#5 You make good points.
December 27th, 2007 at 5:27 am
How can blacks and Hispanics be social conservatives when both groups have an out of wedlock birthrate above 50%. To believe that conservative positions will ever appeal to blacks and Hispanics is naive at best and idiotic at worst. All of the Republican candidates showed up for the Hispanic debate with the result being little media coverage and blatant non-conservative pandering to Hispanics.
If Huckabee wants to pander to blacks and Hispanics while supporting open borders and unlimited immigration, he should be running in the Democratic Primary where people like Tavis Smiley vote.
December 27th, 2007 at 6:03 am
Yeah, Huckabee may win over new constituencies, but he’ll lose twice as many.
Is it worth it to nominate Huckabee and lose the entire libertarian wing of the GOP? And I say this as a hardcore loyal Republican who catches hell, extreme hell, every single day from hardcore more extremist Libertarians for supporting the GOP in the first place.
Libertarians across the board hate Huckabee.
We libertarians are disunited at the moment. Most are supporting Ron Paul. But a few brave souls like me are supporting more mainline Republicans like Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney.
We are being spat upon by our fellow Libertarians for such a stance.
If Huckabee were to win the nomination it would be even worse. Even mainstream libertarians like me would have back off from supporting the GOP nominee. There’s no way in hell we could support this guy. He represents EVERYTHING that we oppose: Big government, tax increases, and diehard social conservatism.
We can take moderate social conservatism, but not of the fringe variety like Huckabee.
Please Republicans DO NOT MAKE THIS MISTAKE!!! I do not want to have to support the Libertarian Party nominee for President. I am a Republican, and I wish to stay in the Republican Party.
If you all nominate Huckabee you will be spitting in the fact of the GOP’s entire libertarian wing, and telling us to hit the road.
That means the Libertarian Party with their 48 state ballot access could see a boom in 2008, which would spell disaster for the GOP in the general election.
December 27th, 2007 at 7:15 am
I’m sure a majority of Libertarians hate Huckabee, but I know of at least two bloggers and a national talk show host that are Libertarian and Huckabee supporters.
I live in Florida. While I’m just a small town hick white boy that doesn’t know a lot, I did play sports with, I work with, go to church with, and am friends with African-Americans and Latinos. Based on my experiences, comment #1 is accurate.
Most church going African-Americans and Latinos are socons, many are pro-military hawks, fewer are ficons, but despite Huck as the alleged socialist, I think his main street fiscal conservatism would sell big time in minority communities, there are a lot of African-American and Latino entrepreneurs that would love the Fair Tax.
December 27th, 2007 at 7:21 am
“We need to go to the hood and say so and ask for their votes.”
It might be a good first step to learn that all blacks and hispanics don’t live where you apparently think.
December 27th, 2007 at 7:34 am
I see more people have been smoking the same thing that Karl Rove smokes to believe that Republicans can appeal to blacks and Hispanics. There is no reason to believe that Hispanics are social conservatives just because they go to church. Look at the personal life decisions of blacks and Hispanics. There is nothing there that indicates that they are social conservatives. Also, how can someone run as a Republicans while supporting set asides, Affirmative Action, and Quotas. They are the opposite of conservative but are support overwhelmingly by blacks and Hispanics.
Look at the voting records of black and Hispanics politicians. They are the two most liberal groups in the government. They are more liberal than Jewish voters. Selling out middle class whites to get a few black and Hispanic votes is pure insanity.
December 27th, 2007 at 8:41 am
Didn’t Huckabee win something like 48% of the black vote when he ran for Governor?
For a Republican candidate to do that in the South is absolutely astounding.
Why the other contenders blew off Tavis is beyond me. They could not all have been so dang busy that they had to make a point of slighting the black community. I seriously doubt they are racist, but when they do crap like that, they tell the black community that they have written them off.
I agree that there is much more racism in the Democratic party, it is what Reagan called “the soft racism of low expectations.”
December 27th, 2007 at 8:58 am
#6 Alaska Jake said it best. I grew up in the S.F. Bay Area and worked there after college graduation. My best friend in elementary and in junior high were blacks (two different girls). However, in the workplace, I saw minorities frequently blame white folks for racism in situations that weren’t racist at all. Racism is a consistent, name-calling crutch for social blackmail. “Don’t do what I want? Then you’re a racist. You have to do what I want to prove you’re not.”
It’s been my sad experience that NO group is more racist than blacks, as a whole (and yes, I am acquainted with exceptions). NO ONE that carries more animosity against other skin colors, expects rights based on skin color than blacks. When I was in college, we had an African prince in our crowd. He refused to date American blacks because he was shocked at the attitude and culture found here in America among blacks. I’ve live in England and blacks there speak just like everyone else, no chip-on-the shoulder-attitude, none, and they blend right in. The world is our mirror. Do I think racism exists? Yes. As long as there are double digit IQ’s there will be racism, it is found between the Japanese and the Koreans, it is found between the blacks and the Latinos, it is fostered among the ignorant. But in America, something is severly out of balance. Because those who cry foul about racism the loudest these days are often among those who practice it the hardest, keep it alive, label innocent people as racists, grossly overplay the victim card, cover up rather poor decision-making by blaming others, and it has become a self-defeating, self-perpetuating cultural behavior with no end in sight.
December 27th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
#11 Its an expression I got from Blacks. Of course ALLLLLLLLLLL don’t line in a hood.
please
December 28th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
GodVoter.org Picks Romney: http://www.godvoter.org/news-romney-disdorsement.html