TAMPA, Fla. — Gazing out on the pale continent of the Republican National Convention, it was interesting to ponder: What if Barack Obama had been a Republican?
Most likely, the masses teeming on the convention floor would have been of a significantly different complexion. Or would they? And what if Barack Obama, the Democratic president of the United States, had been white? Would he have been elected? Would he likely be re-elected?
These questions are themselves answers to a question perhaps more significant today than in any other election year: Does race matter? Of course it does. And it matters more now than in 2008 because that was the year when we, as a nation, declared that it didn’t.
But it did then — and it does now.
Obama was elected not only because of his attractive eloquence but because we are fundamentally a good people who value fairness and equality. Electing Obama was part of our reward to ourselves. It allowed us to feel that we were this good and this big.
He was also a tantalizing candidate with a message of hope that felt like honey after eight bitter years of terrorism and war. He courted our better angels and articulated our best instincts. We were going to become a purple, post-racial nation, never again to be divided. Who wouldn’t fall in love with that?
Republicans were certain that Obama was all style over substance, but their criticisms quickly were interpreted in some quarters as racial animus. Certainly some who call themselves Republicans also can be called racist. Anyone who spends time on the Internet is aware of the racist content of some political dialogue. It’s out there and it’s ugly.
Thus, Republicans have had to tread carefully to always frame their criticisms in racially sensitive ways. Dog whistles are heard everywhere. Much of this exaggerated sensitivity is just that, but Republicans aren’t helped by the optics of their composition.
Where are the blacks?
Notwithstanding the dazzling performance of Condoleezza Rice and the GOP’s raucous affection for her, African-Americans are scarce in the party of Abraham Lincoln. Republicans can honestly boast having once been the party of firsts. The first Hispanic, African-American, Asian-American and Native-American in the U.S. Senate were all Republicans. But that was before the GOP went south, banished its centrists and embraced social conservatives in a no-exit marriage.
The impression that Republicans don’t welcome blacks and other minorities is, however, demonstrably false. Note the number of minority Republican governors recently elected: Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Nikki Haley of South Carolina, Brian Sandoval of Nevada and Susana Martinez of New Mexico. Even so, the party is undeniably and overwhelmingly white and minorities (and increasingly women) don’t feel at home there.
It is not helpful that two convention attendees threw peanuts at an African-American CNN camerawoman and said, “This is how we feed animals.” Disgusting. They were promptly shown the door, but the damage was done. A few bad apples can and do spoil bushels of good intentions.
African-Americans are not a monolithic group, obviously, and many likely would find comfort in the promises of smaller government, lower taxes, balanced budgets, school choice and so on that Mitt Romney put on the table Thursday night. But this isn’t likely to happen. A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that zero percent of African-Americans support Romney. (Zero doesn’t necessarily mean none, but is a statistical null.) Obama also leads Latinos under 35 and women. Romney, alas, leads whites.
Optics matter and the GOP simply doesn’t look that friendly. Regardless of what is true, when a convention hall full of white people cheers jabs aimed at the first African-American president, it feels wrong. This may not be a conscious recognition, but the subliminal is powerful. It was with a deep, inner sigh of relief that white Republicans heard Romney say that he had wanted Obama to succeed because he wanted America to succeed. Bless the speechwriters for they shall be back.
To paraphrase the original question — why doesn’t the Republican Party have a Barack Obama? — courageous Republicans might look for clues in their children’s science book, assuming they still have one. There they’ll learn that ecosystems thrive and are most productive when there is biodiversity. The same can be said of political parties. An all-white party will not long survive in an environment lacking diversity.
The strongest and fittest are those who adapt, and that species for now goes by the name Democrat.
Comments (59)
Add commentFemale MN GOP Delegate in Charge @ RNC Told Almanac audience
Tonight that " unless the Mittster changes the rules on delegates back to what they were a week ago" his campaign will find little support in MN ! ( 33 Ron Paul ,6 Mittster)
The request has already been made she claimed.
Her last comment was interesting as well " the GOP party has become too much of a monolithic group and will not grow unless they begin to value individuals and allow alternative/different /new / points of view ..."
Maybe there actually are different ways to the same end ,what a concept.
More racist drivil
from captron's communist party.
Captron
Captron didn't write the above article F&B. The truth hurts doesn't it?
You want racist? Here is an example of racism.
"It is not helpful that two convention attendees threw peanuts at an African-American CNN camerawoman and said, “This is how we feed animals.” Disgusting. They were promptly shown the door, but the damage was done. A few bad apples can and do spoil bushels of good intentions."
What a bunch of angry, mean spirited bunch of ...
people.
Do you think that was ok to do?
GOP Convention makeup:
47 Blacks were delegates.
That was 2% of the 2286 delegate total.
There is a reason they are not attracted to the Republican Party. Pushing for Voter ID is only one, according to an article by Michael Steele.
The Republican party has someone better than Obama...
...Alan West. It's a shame that an isolated racist act of a couple of neanderthals has become the proof that Republicans as a whole are racist, but that type of thinking fits well with the Democratic tendency to stereotype people based on the actions of a few. But let's be honest, there is no one who shares the goals of conservativism (i.e., small government, low taxes, self-sufficiency and security) who is not welcome in the Republican party, because it's a party of ideas, not skin color.
Is the race card really necessary?
This election is about the economy plain and simple. If we can fix the economy then there will be ample time to fix the social issues that confront us. Instead of touting the racial makeup of the Republican Party it would be more wise to explain how the Democrat's plan would fix the economy.
Here's an idea for you, muehlbau
"We are not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term."
Senator Lindsey Graham, South Carolina
Graham's right, Chey...
...we need more angry blacks, Latinos, and Asians who are sick of suffering under Obamanomics. All who are sick of watching this country tank under Obama are welcome...
Thank Goodness Todd Akin " Man of Science & GOP Policies"
Did not feel offended by Karl Rove commenting with a Politico reporter in the Big Spender meeting room @ Tampa RNC convention, that maybe Akins ticket should be punched permanently. Guess Karl must be stuck on violent final solutions. Pretty Sad ! These Conservatives say the strangest things. Still cant believe they supported the cancelation of Jersey Shore !
Alan West might not even win again in Florida!
Have you read about his military record?
And this winner by West. "I've heard 80 Congressmen are Communist Party members."
Congress needs to pass jobs bills, LLR, I agree. But they are the ones diverting attention to divisive social issues. Let's move past that and get everyone back to work by bringing the jobs back from China and the Far East.
Yep, Lindsay Graham has a point. When their big secret speaker is an 82 year old senile actor adlibbing as if he is making sense, that is proof. Clueless.
And then Ryan mocks Mitt's music choices!
Obama 2012
Romney 1040
Correction...
...Graham would have been right if he'd said what Chey claimed, but apparently he didn't.
And funny thing, every time someone brings up a divisive social issue, it seems to be a leftist. Claiming the right has a problem with this seems a little like projection, to me...
What if?
"it was interesting to ponder: What if Barack Obama had been a Republican?"
And what if Abe Lincoln had been a democrat? or if B. Hussein had been an American? What if voters cared more about character, ability, experience and good old American patriotism than skin color?
I'm bettin' that Barry ends up in the Illinois Senate. Love to all -Steve.
Kathleen Parker is a ditz...
...Steve, what do you expect? She's the same one who thought Obama had so much to offer in 2008 because he was black and articulate and offered hope. Anyone with any sense would have looked at the guy and said, "Wait a minute, who is this guy, again?"
Toward that end, I hear 2016 is playing in Brainerd. I'm going to see it tonight, God willing...
LLR
Tell the MN Legislature to stick to the economy, too.
It wasn't The DFL who jumped into the important issues of gay rights and voter suppression as soon as they got a majority.
Just like a bunch of wolves after fresh meat, they hurried through their ALEC written and promoted proposed amendments and seemed to forget JOBS and the economy.
They knew that they had only two years to rule, and they will see themselves on the back bench in 2013.
And didn't you get angry when they booted the legally elected Ron Paul delegates to the curb just like fascism in the 1930s?
eyolf
Sure seems that way, doesn't it.
Sorry muehlbau,
but Graham apparently did say that. It's been widely covered. Here's one (of many):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-republican-convention-emphasiz...
The republican strategy vis-a-vis the economy for at least two years has been to block every job creation initiative the president has tried. If the economy improved, they could take credit for it. If not, they could blame Obama.
Is it any wonder Congress' approval rating is lower than it's ever been?
Southie11
"Tell the MN Legislature to stick to the economy, too"
I agree with you on that, as I said there will be plenty of time for social issue discussion after we fix the economy. In fact many of the social issues would be fixed on their own with a strong economy.
You should have posted the link in the first place, Chey...
WaPo article doesn't even show up in a Bing search with what you posted. But as I said, Graham is right. The Republican party shouldn't just be a party of angry white men, because there are plenty of angry black and Hispanic and Asian men and angry women of all those backgrounds that share the beliefs of the Republican party.
And please, Chey, Obama has wasted scads of money on so-called "shovel ready projects" that have ultimately put us in a worse position than we were without them, because we had to BORROW LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY to accomplish them and they were a flash in the plan, as government "make work" projects tend to be.
Interesting poll by that story, chey
Who do you trust more to handle international affairs?
Obama: 56
Romney: 37
Well, you can see why Dems are squealing about
any initiatives that are intended to weed out bogus voters (a la ACORN).
"What if...
Obama was a White Guy?" He is as White as he is Black and every time he uses his Black side (Father) for gain, he is discrediting his White side (Mother).
I predicted that if Obama won in 2008 he would divide the country like nothing we have ever witnessed before. Based on the comments in this site, people from the land of make believe and political commentators such as Martin on CNN, I can't recall such hatred since the Civil Rights movement of the 60's.
What is ahead for 2012? A victory for the incumbent will incubate a movement to imprison all those who disagree?
Why do we have young Blacks, Latinos and Asian killing each other in our cities? Is this all because of anger over the White Guy or this because of leaders that make a healthy living constantly telling them how they are constantly being beat down ?
Our country has a financial issue that is compounding by those who wish to disguise it as a social issue. How many would seek advise for a financial issue by not consulting a financial expert? How many would seek advice for a social issue by not consulting a social expert?
The one thing we all have in common is that our country is not where we would like it to be at this time. What we all have to realize is that we are the government and all our money supports our government. We all need to come together to solve our issue and contribute our fair share in doing so by electing our leaders that best represent our needs of the time.
myeye
Good post. How anyone can give a thumbs down is beyond
my comprehension. I don't care what Senator Graham said
and how can anyone judge the behavior of two people and
apply it to everyone? On that note - have you seen how
Democrats off camera treat Fox camerapeople and newspeople? Did you see Chris Matthews production person push some delagate? Chris Matthews called delegates
dou---bags. Real nice isn't it?
If something like that happens in Charlotte - what difference does it make.
Economy,Debt, Jobs, if we don't get all this turned around-your little complaints won't mean squat.
There is so much more
What is missing in this article is how the Black conservatives are treated in the mainstream media and the Democrat party.
Now there is some racism for you. Being called a uncle tom or a aunt tom is just the beginning. Death threats are common.
Why do Blacks vote mostly Democrat should be the question?
MSNBC did not televise the ethnic minorites when they spoke.
Do you think the Black voter could be intimidated?
Black panthers ring a bell?
Black republicans are not accepted. They have to be extra
strong people to ignore the names and threats.
Maybe the democrats should look at the tolerance for someone who has different opinions.
Not going well in court for Voter ID Law in South Carolina
It might be tossed out this week.
Google it, because you are all adults and should read about the reasons it may be found unconstitutional.
Google this
you lost in Minnesota Courts and the amendment will be on the ballot( With it's origional title). If it's passed the other law won't matter. That's exactly why we need the amendment.
Any of you
Libby's been to that new movie 2016 yet? I will buy F&B.
White House releases beer recipe...
Brewers rejoice...
http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-white-house-releases-beer-recipe-2012090...
No, ofb
Waiting until it is $5 in that box at WalMart.
(joke!)
Don't be looking for 2016 at WalMart
any time soon, the movie is a blockbuster...
http://www.thonline.com/news/national_world/article_9f496ea7-e620-5030-8...
Liberals won't be going to "2016"
they didn't hear Obama's words in 2008, do you really think they will be listening now?