Republicans have a great opportunity in 2010 to do serious damage to the Democrats’ reliance on black voters as part of their voting-bloc-coalition.
Democrats count on their voters remaining blindly loyal identity voters, where blacks, Jews, gays, and other subgroups never think of voting Republican, because they were taught since birth that Republicans are evil and Democrats are good.
We used to think that way too, as gay men who grew up in Democrat households in the midwest.
All of that changed in 2008, when we saw how awful the DNC behaved itself, with our final break with the party coming on May 31st, 2008 when the Rules & Bylaws Committee met in Washington DC and took delegates away from Hillary Clinton and gave them to the DNC’s chosen candidate, Dr. Utopia.
That was it for us, folks, in terms of blind loyalty to the Democrat Party. Our eyes were opened, and we haven’t looked back since.
We know we aren’t alone in this either.
But, there are other opportunities out there for Republicans to drive wedges between the DNC and blind party voters.
One ripe opportunity is running black candidates for Congress in blue states with heavy black populations. Wherever you have big cities, you have large concentrations of both black voters (who will vote for a black candidate regardless of party, since race trumps party affiliation for them) and urban, liberal elites (who are so terrified of being called RAAACISTS, they will not vote against a black candidate regardless of party). If Republicans run black candidates who are credible, non-crazy people (so, not Alan Keyes), and the campaigns are professional-looking and not half-hearted, we don’t see how Republicans would lose.
The black candidates have to be conservative, so the Republicans who love sitting elections out “to teach the RNC lessons” (which are never learned) can’t have the excuse of sitting their butts home. With normal conservative turnout in a blue state, combined with votes pealed away from Democrats in the black community, plus votes urban liberal elites either cast for the black candidate or waste sitting home (because they can’t bear the thought of voting against a black candidate), Republicans win.
What would be REALLY smart would be to find black WOMEN to run as Republicans.
Recruit them from big law firms in the major cities, or use Congressional staff or media people and business women. There are more successful black business women than Oprah or Gayle King.
This is another reason we want young gay Republicans like Congressman Aaron Schock to come out of the closet, too. Just like with the black community, Republicans could drive a wedge between the DNC and the gay community as well…if they ran candidates that are attractive to conservatives while also appealing to liberals in niche demographics (who won’t vote against these people for identity reasons, even if they can’t necessarily be made to vote FOR them). Schock could defeat Dick Durbin in 2014 if he came out: as a white gay Republican, he’d never get the black vote because the black community is the most homophobic and racist segment of voters in the country. But, closeted, Schock’s not getting the black vote anyway. He WOULD, however, force Boystown to have a meltdown, and with it the Gold Coast, Northside, Loop, and most of Cook County. How do they vote against a nice looking, smart, affable gay man? A lot of these voters would sit home…and if Republicans just do 4% better in Cook County than they typically do, they’d win the state. The conservative downstate vote, Republican base, independents, and depressed Dem turnout would win that Senate seat for Schock in a few years. But, only if he’s a niche identity candidate appealing to the gay market in this state where liberal Chicago dominates.
Notice, we are not advising Republicans to adopt any liberal principles. Republicans lose when they try to be Democrat-lite.
Republicans win when they offer a clear alternative to spendthrift liberalism, but do so without getting into messy social issues…and can present their message in a package that’s attractive to low-information identity voters who see a candidate’s skin color and sexuality first and foremost on the ballot. Conservatives need to be energized in the blue states, and liberals need to have depressed turnout generated by Republican candidates they find it hard to vote against, hard to hate, lest they open themselves up to being called RAAACISTS and bigots.
So, Republicans need black women and young handsome gay male candidates. A crop of those, and an Aaron Schock out of the closet, would make Rahm Emanuel apoplectic.
November 22, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Republicans also count on their voters remaining blindly loyal. But the difference, in my observation, is that Republican voters are more likely to be loyal to ideologies (even to their own detriment in some cases) whereas Democrat voters are more likely to be loyal to whatever those in power tell them to be… loyal to big labor, loyal to race baiters, loyal to whomever is abusing the public coffers to buy votes.
The GOP really needs to pull its head out and get back to conservative principles, or they’re done for.
November 23, 2009 at 4:52 pm
I agree with a lot of that Eric. We just need to make sure that the “tent” that us GOPers rebuild isn’t so large that we suck in the far fringe right. They can be as kooky as those on the far fringe left. Not that I am looking for a touchy-feely Moderate party, that’s part of what lost McCain the election this last go round. But let’s define some core principles (national defense, fiscal responsibility, as low an income tax as we can get by with, goverment limited in size and scope to deal with genuine federal issues, immigration reform, etc) and not get dragged down by abortion, gay marriage, and things that, IMO, should be left to the states (which is when you’ll find not all of us conservatives are dead-set AGAINST all that stuff BTW – just the far FAR right).
Universal healtcare too – we don’t need to trash the system for 100% of the people to fix it for 10%, there’s a smarter way to do it, there has to be…and it *does need doing*. We need to combat the “Reps don’t have any alternatives” or “Reps are against health care” lies/smears. Reps are ‘against healthcare’? Those saying that must live where drugs better than pot are already legal. NO! We’re against ruining it for everyone just to fix it for 10% of the far left’s voter base. I have a novel idea, let’s just fix it for that 10%…We can do that quicker and cheaper than turngin it all over to the government, so costs can really rise, and then they can ration our care, and tell us what we can and cannot eat, smoke, drink, etc…because that sort of Orwellian oversight will result from Obama’s dream plan – bet on it. Obamacare 2009 is just the primer – the foot in the door.
When it does come to things like abortion, anyone that would listen to those us in that “center-right” demographic that lots of polls say is pretty big, would see that we aren’t hyocrites, we favor the dealth penalty in haneous cases so we cannot be all-in against abortion. Just limit its use to rape, incest and health-of-the-mother issues. Gay marriage? Fine by me, a flaming hetero conservative that goes to church – it’s none of my business what folks do that doesn’t infringe on my civil liberties and it’s unfair to have same-sex couples out there that can’t get different-sex couples’ benefits IMO. And that ideology, I think, is more pervasive among moderate to basically conservative Republicans than anyone would admit.
November 22, 2009 at 2:56 pm
More than once I’ve heard “when a candidate runs on conservative principles, they win.”
What is ironic to me, is that most minorities that vote Dem are WAY more conservative as group than most conservatives (religion, family values, abortion, gay marriage, illegal aliens etc). Yet, over and over and over they vote based on either ‘do they tell me they’ll take care of me.’ or ‘do they look like me?’.
Sad really.
November 22, 2009 at 3:10 pm
You are so right. I am a conservative, and it is completely irrelevant to me whether a candidate is gay or straight.
November 23, 2009 at 10:18 am
Or black, white, red, yellow, purple…Where are the Thomas Sowell, Carol Swain, Lloyd Marcus, Star Parker, etc. politicians?
November 22, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Well…a start would be the state parties NOT giving up and thinking that ‘once a Blue state, always a Blue state…’
I live in PA…after much arm twisting the Republicans here ran former Steeler, and NFL Hall of Famer Lynn Swann (who has been post football a very successful businessman and entrepreneur) for Governor against Fast Eddie Rendell (whose only redeeming quality is that he stood firm in his support of Hillary Clinton to, as Beck would say, the ‘bitter flesh eating end’ of the Dem primary.
The Republican’s had a great, telegenic articulate, accomplished and popular candidate…so of course they did virtually nothing at all to market him. It was a foregone conclusion that Rendell would win (like in Chicago…the Democratic dead in Philly and the Burgh rise and vote a couple times a year). But they could have at least tried…(and possibly been succcessful!).
November 22, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Big Ed Rendell looks like a used car salesman who’d hound you into buying The Daily Lemon.
November 22, 2009 at 4:23 pm
How about Kevin Jackson of the Black Sphere?
He’s great!
November 22, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Do you really think a black conservative can’t lose? Black replublicans always get attacked viciously by the left wing, the lefties convince the blacks that they’re “Uncle Toms”. I don’t think I buy the “can’t lose” scenario.
November 22, 2009 at 5:44 pm
When I think of the way Condoleeza Rice was treated, I wonder the same thing. Of course she is also a woman. But wasn’t there some flap about Oreos when Michael Steele was running for office before he became head of the RNC? And Colin Powell was called a “house negro” when he was working for the Bush administration.
Sometimes I think the only time you CAN use words that would get you shot otherwise is when the black/gay/hispanic target is a conservative… The Hard Left has quite the double standard these days.
November 22, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Exactly! It’s the ’sky is purple’ mindset. They see their bigotry as truth.
November 22, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Even Juan Williams, a Democrat analyst for Fox News who voted for Obama, was hit with a “porch” reference ON AIR by a fellow liberal for criticizing Obama.
November 22, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Paul – good point. I also think about the kind of abuse that Clarence Thomas took when he was being confirmed. The liberals have a “no mercy” and “take no prisoner” plan in dealing with black conservatives. They don’t even try to make it look fair. Whoever this candidate is, a black conservative, will have to have very strong support. I have always felt that the GOP has never taken on a more “bare knuckles” approach to defending their candidates from these attacks. If the belief that the media will highlight these attacks, the GOP has sadly underestimated that politics is a full contact sport. In years past when I was younger, I accept no attack without a counterpunch. I wish that the conservatives would put someone exciting up there at the ticket (Palin), and I would return to the battle.
November 23, 2009 at 7:16 am
Paul, Michael Steele was treated as the most vile and foul racist traitor ever during his bid for the Senate in Maryland. I live here and could not believe how many blacks were calling him stuff that would get me jailed for a hate crime. That they passed over Steele for Ben Cardin, Captain White-Boy-done-not-a-damned-thing, was amazing to me. But Cardin is a democrap, and the D next to his name trumps everything, including sense.
Obama’s golden election ticket is his trifecta of black, democrat and guilty media. With out those other two, any black conservative is just an Uncle Tom.
November 22, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Crazy. I was thinking EXACTLY the same thing today. You’re exactly right. The real power and impact resides in the Senate. More black conservatives in the Senate is important not just for sheer numbers sake, but also for perception of the party. I don’t agree that Republicans should support identity politics in any way, but if there are black leaders in the Senate who are supporting conservative principles, they will draw in the curious.
November 22, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Mason Weaver is a candidate I’ve looked into helping in San Diego for 2010. He’s running for Congress though and not the Senate:
http://www.cmasonweaverforcongress.com/
November 22, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Make that, running for a House seat. I guess they’re all Congress now aren’t they.
November 22, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Ryan Frazier from Colorado is running for Congress, not for the Senate.
http://www.frazierforcolorado.com/
November 22, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Oh yeah … Ryan Frazier’s the real deal! His is a name to remember.
November 22, 2009 at 7:30 pm
LOVE Ryan Frazier!!!!
Where does Zo live, from the Zo Nation on Pajamas Media?? He needs to run. He is awesome!
November 22, 2009 at 7:34 pm
I’ve been on Ryan Frazier’s email list for awhile now. He’s impressive, I like him a lot and intend to contribute to his campaign (even though he wouldn’t represent my district …. we already have a terrific Republican representative).
I see a lot of promise in him as well as a great deal of character.
November 22, 2009 at 7:55 pm
I am a friend of his brother and I’ve been hearing a lot about Ryan’s works in Colorado. Too bad he is not running in California. Lord knows we need some help here!
November 22, 2009 at 9:55 pm
This sounds encouraging! I hope that you folks can build this momentum!
November 23, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Ryan Frazier is running for Senate, not the house. He’s running to take the seat Michael Bennet was given to replace Ken Salazar, who vacated his seat to become the Secretary of the Interior (he was the recipient of the “Shout Out” given by POTUS the morning of Ft Hood)
November 22, 2009 at 6:19 pm
We have a black conservative running on Illinois. I heard him yesterday at College of Lake County, sounded good, but don’t know if he can beat Mark Kirk.
here is his web site
http://www.arringtonforsenate.com/
November 22, 2009 at 7:44 pm
I had not heard of him. Thank you. I’m not thrilled with Kirk and his stance on Global Warming. With his vote for Crap and Tax, he really made me think twice about voting for him for senate.
November 22, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Kirk is very squishy on conservative issues. The event I saw Arrington at was a right to life forum and Kirk was not there. The canidates are starting to get around the state, check out the Ill rep party website for events.
November 22, 2009 at 9:56 pm
I agree with you about Kirk. What turned me off to him was him signing on the crap and tax. In the end, if he wins the nomination, I will feel that I have no choice but to vote for him because the alternative would not be acceptable. Perhaps then we can try to influence him on this diasterous environmental tax.
November 23, 2009 at 12:01 am
Kirk knows he is in deep doo doo with the party because of his crap and tax vote, I heard him over the summer try to explain it six ways to Sunday on how it was for an energy company in his district. No body buys it. The problem we have is Kirk has name recognition, we have a full platter of good republican canidates but everyone knows Kirk becase if his stupid vote.
November 22, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Victicrat!
Must see video that is a perfect fit for your post.
November 22, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Dan, that wonderful video was put together by Larry Elder’s brother. I wish Larry Elder would run for office. I love the guy, even if he’s a lawyer.
November 22, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Hey I forgot about Larry Elder. I think he’s a really classy guy. I would support him even though I live in Illinois.
November 22, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Absolutely, I want to see more black conservatives in office. But they will not benefit from race nor bring out the black vote. Jesse Jackson just opened his mouth again and said “anybody voting against the health care bill cannot call themselves a black man!” Bingo, presto, your skin color just magically changed. Step out of line and your melanin magically disappears. That’s one of the things that makes the race card so ridiculous. Race isn’t about skin color, it’s about politics, it’s about controlling people.
November 22, 2009 at 7:31 pm
You guys are fantastic strategists. I hope that someone is definately listening to your ideas to win. I really applaud you for waking up to the fact that the DNC was treating you as a doormat, a port in the storm when they are looking for money and votes. Once they get into office, you’re suddenly invisible to them because it’s their agenda that they want to execute. As for the Black votes, the DNC also takes them for granted. I heard about a case in one of the states where everyone was OK with the removal of party affiliation in a ballot. In this particular area, the population was mainly Black. The DNC recognized that this could work against them so they sued to have the party affiliation reattached so the voters will know who they are voting for. It doesn’t get any sleazier than that!
November 22, 2009 at 7:35 pm
One of my very favorite politicians (if not my top choice) is J.C. Watts Jr. He served in the House for 8 years for the state of Oklahoma. His autobiography “What Color is a Conservative” is a great read. He says that his family had been active in the Democrat Party for generations and it was harder telling them that he was a registered Republican than telling them he had made 2 girls pregnant at the same time his Sr. year in high school.
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see J.C. run for higher office. But I think he’s promised his family he is done with politics – at least from the elected side.
November 22, 2009 at 7:56 pm
I am a HUGE Palin/Watts 2012 supporter. I was born and raised in OK.
I put on the other thread that JC is the perfect completion to a ticket for Sarah.
Talk about power, charisma, and passion. That would be the ticket of the century!!
November 22, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Great combination! Good suggestion.
November 22, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Yes! Great combo! I wonder if he’d ever consider throwing his hat back in the ring.
November 22, 2009 at 10:16 pm
I LOVE,love Colby Dillard in Virginia. He was an organizer for the Tax Day Tea Party in Hampton Roads (Norfolk, Va area) last April.
A lot of pressure for him to run, but like the rest of the really qualified people, he probably won’t because “politics suck” in every CD in the country.
For Bobby Scott’s seat.
November 23, 2009 at 8:18 am
Coby not Colby. He’s set up an exploratory committee !
http://dillarddoctrine.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/announcement-of-dillard-10-exploratory-committee/
November 22, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Ken Blackwell should have won in Ohio in 2006. Unfortunately, he fell victim to a Perfect Storm partly of his own making: in addition to what happened (deservedly) to the GOP nationally, he picked a heck of a time to run the worst campaign of his life.
As others have said, I like J.C. Watts a lot. I wonder how much of a base Larry Elder has in California, whether he has any skeletons that would derail him, and whether he’d be interested in running.
November 23, 2009 at 4:02 am
I always admired Condolezza Rice, but I don’t see her going for elected office.
November 23, 2009 at 8:45 am
I am not aware that Aaron Schock is gay. Yeah, he’s cuter than hell. And he occupies more than one gay man’s fantasy from time to time. I just am not aware that the fantasy is anywhere close to reality.
November 23, 2009 at 11:07 am
Did anyone see the race in Maryland with Michael Steele, he was attack for being black by the Democrats they said the worst things.
If a Repbulican had said that about the black candidate running as a democrat the media would go mad. but the republicans should encourage more blacks, gays and woman to run, these people can be Conservatives too. most gay people don’t want bigger Government or support failed stimuls money.
November 23, 2009 at 1:15 pm
We ran Ron Freeman Here in MO-5 in 1994 he lost though by the closest margin in that district.