2006 Election polls show a trend - Republicans refuse to back black candidates

[Grebrook]

What amazes me about this election year is all the talk from Ken Melhman and other Republican strategists about how this is supposedly the "Year of the Black Republican". They've put forward 3 major candidates and seem to think they're going to "rake in" the black vote and permanently change the political demographics of their party.

Well, the facts have been having a good laugh.

Republicans absolutely love to deny that many of their own voters are racists, even when it's basic political knowledge that the South became a Republican stronghold overnight after the 1964 Civil Rights Act was signed and the Southern Strategy put into place.

Just take this year, for example. Who are the three major candidates running for office?

Ken Blackwell - Professional thug out in Ohio, a guy GOP voters should absolutely love because he constantly screams about abortion and gay marriage and successfully amended the constitution in 2004 to ban it. Yet, in the opinion polls, he's running a hefty 8-9 points behind his white GOP senate counterpart, Mike DeWine (although that won't be happy news for DeWine, since he's still getting his ass handed to him anyway). If anything, Blackwell should be getting MORE of the Republican vote than DeWine, since DeWine pissed off conservatives by siding with a Comprehensive Immigration Reform package, considered amnesty by conservatives, and because he was one of the "Gang of 14" that prevented the Nuclear Option from being used on the floor of the senate. That really pissed them off. Blackwell is twice as conservative. And yet conservatives are running scared.

Michael Steele - Energenic social conservative from Maryland running humerous campaign ads with a somewhat attractive demeanor (when he's not comparing stem cell research to "The Holocaust" in front of an audience of shocked Jewish-Americans). Yet, in the opinion polls, he's also trailing 2-4 points behind Republican Govenor Elrich who is running for re-election (once again, that's still not happy news for Elrich, because he's STILL getting his ass handed to him by Mayor O'Malley).

Lynn Swann - Another high-profile former NFL star running for governor in Pennsylvania, known for being a pivotal 50/50 purple state with a polarized electorate. Rick Santorum, undoubtedly the biggest jackass ever elected to national office, is actually beating Swann in the polls by 6-7% because so many white Republicans are cross-voting for Ed Rendell, who is by no means a conservative Democrat. So what gives?

What's also important to consider is that each of these black Republican candidates is successfully drawing around 20-25% of the black Democratic vote, much more than usual, and yet they're STILL lagging behind their GOP counterparts, who are basically drawing none at all. Why? Because while they're attracting 1/4 of the black Democratic vote, they're bleeding white conservative Republicans.

Nope. No racism here folks. "Man on dog" Rick Santorum is just SO much more deserving of re-election than Lynn Swann is of becoming governor.

Hell, if Swann were to fuck things up when elected and say the kind of stupid shit Santorum spouts, at least you could write it off as, "Yeah, well, he did spend all those years getting his brains knocked around on the field." What's Santorum's excuse?

[Ian David]

1. Maybe it's because they keep choosing batshit crazy corrupt Black Republicans?

Anyone remember Alan Keyes?

Without the backing of The GOP, Alan Keyes would just be the guy who stands outside the bus station screaming "Selfish Hedonist! Selfish Hedonist!" at people.

The GOP once had a good, African-American candidate for President.

His name was Collin Powell.

I might have voted for Powell over Al Gore, mostly because I didn't trust Joe "Bush Lite" Lieberman.

Oh, and Al Gore wanted to invade our privacy with The Clipper Chip (how quaint that sounds, and how naive I was!)

Boy, did Bush fuck-up Powell's career.

Good luck to them finding a credible African-American Republican.

edited to add:

You're right, though. They're bleeding the Republicker vote because of Racism. I used to say that Republickers would vote for anyone with an "R" next to their name-- doesn't matter if they're under investigation, indicted or convicted.

I am amending that to, "...any WHITE person with an 'R' next to their name.

And I wonder how many Democrats voting for Black Republickers are doing so because they don't realize the candidate is a Republicker?

[Grebrook]

2. HAHAHAHA, oh God, I forgot about him, Keyes' is so insane I'm not sure if he's a real person

I wouldn't be surprised if Keyes came out one day as a liberal putting on a big show for everyone, because that man is simply a walking caricature.

[Ian David]

3. I want his daughter to run for president in 2024. n/t

[SouthernBelle82]

5. Why would you trust Powell?

Mai Lai? Ring any bells? And Powell lied to you about Iraq at the UN when he KNEW he was lying. Why trust that guy?

[Ian David]

6. I didn't know about Powell's involvement in The Mai Lai Massacre.

And it's Bush that forced Powell into lying about the WMDs in Iraq.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

4. I don't think they ever believe anything of the sort. It's all theater to them.