A NEW GOP – AT 11:46 A.M. ET: The Republican Party is learning that it must reach out to minorities, and it is doing so. From WaPo:
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Following President Obama’s reelection in 2012 — a win powered in part by historic black voter turnout — Republicans launched an aggressive outreach effort aimed at African American voters. Never again, they vowed, would they concede that sort of overwhelming demographic advantage to Democrats.
Now, heading into an election without Obama at the top of the ticket, many Republicans say they are positioned to make inroads with black voters.
That sense of opportunity was clear Friday when the party establishment’s favorite, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, addressed the annual meeting of the National Urban League in his home state. He spoke to the predominantly African American crowd about his record of helping blacks and his plans to do more. He touched on his removal of the Confederate flag from the state capitol grounds, his gubernatorial record on diversity and how his education reforms helped black students.
“If we don’t create an education system that allows young people to reach [the rungs on the ladder of success], we’re setting them up for a lifetime of failure,” he said. “So you and I have to call this situation what it is: the worst inequality in America today, and the source of so many other inequalities.”
Bush, and his party, think that sort of pitch may resonate with black voters. Some Democrats worry they may be right.
COMMENT: It will be difficult. The Dems, in the person of Her Gracious Majesty, Hillary Clinton, are already pulling their scare tactics. Hillary appeared before the same meeting of the Urban League and charged that Republicans are plotting to prevent blacks from voting. It's a standard tactic, but it often works with frightened and uninformed people. The Dems will also target other groups in their base, like Hispanics, with similar scare tactics.
The Republican National Committee is now in good hands. Its great test will come in next year's presidential election. The White House is the prize. There is no award for second place.
August 1, 2015 |