Republican push for black votes hit by storm

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/09/08/MTFH90931_2005-09-08_18-25-23_MCC866235.html

Public anger over the slow government response to Hurricane Katrina could deal a long-term blow to the Republican Party's aggressive effort to woo black voters, already the most loyal Democratic bloc.

The high-profile Republican effort to win black support became much tougher, analysts said, after days of images of poor and largely black crowds pleading in vain for help in a devastated New Orleans.

The resulting outcry included pointed questions about the role of race and class in the government's response.

"There is so much anger out there, I think it is going to be very difficult for Republicans to break through to African Americans," said Ron Walters, director of the African-American Leadership Institute at the University of Maryland.

"This is extremely damaging -- it's a powerful, emotional, family-oriented issue that goes right to the heart of people," he said. "Mistakes like this have a shelf life. This is going to be with us for a long, long time."

<snip>

Mehlman rejected any suggestion Katrina would hurt the appeal of Republicans in the black community and said it did not require a change in Republican strategy.

[marmar]

1. A leopard can't change its spots...

Katrina just made that crystal clear. Repugs will be Repugs, whether it's Trent Lott or Ahhnold - their agenda isn't pro-black, pro-Latino, pro-woman, pro-poor, pro-gay or pro-working people - that's just reality.

[tsuki]

2. And this incident has brought into the open the racism of the Republican

grassroots.

Friend of mine was in Panama City, Florida at a restaurant with his mother when a loud mouth Freeper type was going on about how the N*****s were going to get big welfare payments from the feds now. Loudly going on.

My friend was the only one that approached the table and objected to the big mouth and his foul mouth.

[marmar]

3. That's just scary....

The old south lives on.

[katsy]

4. My dad always said (over & over & over again):

Working men & women, of any color or religion, have no business voting republican. Those who do are ignorant.

I grew up color blind to race, and am a flaming bigot towards anything and anyone republican.

Thanks dad! I'm passing this lesson on to your grandchildren.

[MN ChimpH8R]

5. No shit, Sherlock.

Mehlman - what a terminal asshat. Cheney could go through NOLA on a duck boat shooting black people and Mehlman would say the same thing.

[Orion The Hunter]

6. Kanye West called it!

Bush and the Republican Party do not care about black people!

I mean, all you have to do is look at the comments from Bush's own mother about how the poor (of whom are disproportionately black) are much better off in the Astrodome in horrid conditions and you can see where Republicans are coming from... I am surprised she did not clutch her purse more tightly as she had to actually walk near "those" people. Someone needs to tell Mehlmann and the rest of his bitch squad (to quote the vice president) to "fuck off" and the horse they rode in on!