32 African-Americans are running for Congress this year as Republican

[bonnie]

New York Times

Among the many reverberations of President Obama’s election, here is one he probably never anticipated: at least 32 African-Americans are running for Congress this year as Republicans, the biggest surge since Reconstruction, according to party officials.

Barbara P. Fernandez for The New York Times

Allen West, running in Florida, says the notion of racism in the Tea Party movement has been made up by the news media.

Vernon Parker's competition for a House seat from Arizona includes Ben Quayle, the former vice president's son.

Shannon Davidson/Aurora Sentinel & Daily Sun

Ryan Frazier, a House candidate in Colorado, says the Republican Party needs to “engage every community.”

Princella Smith, in Arkansas, says she disagrees with President Obama but is proud of the country for electing him.

The House has not had a black Republican since 2003, when J. C. Watts of Oklahoma left after eight years.

But now black Republicans are running across the country — from a largely white swath of beach communities in Florida to the suburbs of Phoenix, where an African-American candidate has raised more money than all but two of his nine (white) Republican competitors in the primary.

Party officials and the candidates themselves acknowledge that they still have uphill fights in both the primaries and the general elections, but they say that black Republicans are running with a confidence they have never had before. They credit the marriage of two factors: dissatisfaction with the Obama administration, and the proof, as provided by Mr. Obama, that blacks can get elected.

“I ran in 2008 and raised half a million dollars, and the state party didn’t support me and the national party didn’t support me,” said Allen West, who is running for Congress in Florida and is one of roughly five black candidates the party believes could win. “But we came back and we’re running and things are looking great.”

But interviews with many of the candidates suggest that they felt empowered by Mr. Obama’s election, that it made them realize that what had once seemed impossible — for a black candidate to win election with substantial white support — was not.

“There is no denying that one of the things that came out of the election of Obama was that you have a lot of African-Americans running in both parties now,” said Vernon Parker, who is running for an open seat in Arizona’s Third District. His competition in the Aug. 24 primary includes the son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, Ben Quayle.

Princella Smith, who is running for an open seat in Arkansas, said she viewed the president’s victory through both the lens of history and partisan politics. “Aside from the fact that I disagree fundamentally with all his views, I am proud of my nation for proving that we have the ability to do something like that,” Ms. Smith said.

State and national party officials say that this year’s cast of black Republicans is far more experienced than the more fringy players of yore, and include elected officials, former military personnel and candidates who have run before.

Mr. Parker is the mayor of Paradise Valley, Ariz. Ryan Frazier is a councilman in Aurora, Colo., one of four at-large members who represent the whole city. And Tim Scott is the only black Republican elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives since Reconstruction.

“These are not just people pulled out of the hole,” said Timothy F. Johnson, chairman of the Frederick Douglass Foundation, a black conservative group. That is “the nice thing about being on this side of history,” he said.

He added that the candidates might be helped by the presence of Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee who is black and ran for the Senate himself in 2006.

“Party affiliation is not a barrier to inspiration,” Mr. Steele said in an e-mail message. “Certainly, the president’s election was and remains an inspiration to many.”

But Democrats and other political experts express skepticism about black Republicans’ chances in November. “In 1994 and 2000, there were 24 black G.O.P. nominees,” said Donna Brazile, a Democratic political strategist who ran Al Gore’s presidential campaign and who is black. “And you didn’t see many of them win their elections.”

Tavis Smiley, a prominent black talk show host who has repeatedly criticized Republicans for not doing more to court black voters, said, “It’s worth remembering that the last time it was declared the ‘Year of the Black Republican,’ it fizzled out.”

In many ways, this subset of Republicans is latching on to the basic themes propelling most of their party’s campaigns this year — the call for smaller government, less spending and stronger national security — rather than building platforms around social conservatism.

“Things have evolved,” said Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, who is heavily involved in recruiting Republican candidates. “I think partly the level of hostility to Obama, Pelosi and Reid makes a lot of people pragmatically more open to a coalition from the standpoint of being a long-term majority party.”

Many of the candidates are trying to align themselves with the Tea Partiers, insisting that the racial dynamics of that movement have been overblown. Videos taken at some Tea Party rallies show some participants holding up signs with racially inflammatory language.

A recent New York Times/CBS News poll found that 25 percent of self-identified Tea Party supporters think that the Obama administration favors blacks over whites, compared with 11 percent of the general public.

The black candidates interviewed overwhelmingly called the racist narrative a news media fiction. “I have been to these rallies, and there are hot dogs and banjos,” said Mr. West, the candidate in Florida, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army. “There is no violence or racism there.”

There is also some evidence that black voters rally around specific conservative causes. A case in point was a 2008 ballot initiative in California outlawing same-sex marriage that passed in large part because of support from black voters in Southern California.

Still, black Republicans face a double hurdle: black Democrats who are disinclined to back them in a general election, and incongruity with white Republicans, who sometimes do not welcome the blacks whom party officials claim to covet as new members.

This spring, Gov. Robert F. McDonnell of Virginia was roundly attacked for not mentioning slavery in his Confederate History Month proclamation, which he later said was a “major omission.” Black candidates said these types of gaffes posed problems in drawing African-Americans to their party, but also underscored their need to be there.

“I think what the governor failed to do was to recognize the pain and the emotion that was really sparked by the institution of slavery,” said Mr. Frazier of Colorado. “As a Republican, I think I have a responsibility to continue to work within my party to avoid those types of barriers. The key for the Republican Party is to engage every community on the issues they care about and not act as if they don’t exist.

[karl]

This is a real uphill battle for most. They are despised by many of their own race. We had black neighbors many years ago who had a beautiful daughter who was a totally class act. Extremely talented and intelligent. She never degraded herself with "hood" apparel or language. Always an outspoken Christian. She eventually married a wealthy black industrialist.

But she was despised as an Uncle Tom by her fellow blacks growing up.

[Dr. Shane]

Blacks have a hard time in the Republican Party. I hope these good folks can win election and make some changes in the GOP.

[bonnie]

Blacks have a hard time in the Republican Party. I hope these good folks can win election and make some changes in the GOP.

So as far as you are concerned republicans are racist? Do you have something where you can assume blacks will have a hard time

[Dr. Shane]

Micheal Steele is the chairman of the Republican National Committee and has said he is criticized more (by Republicans) because he is black. J.C Watts was a black Republican Congressman from Oklahoma and said he was not able to rise up within the GOP because of his race.

I think only a small percentage of Republican voters are racist. I don't think there are too many. In fact, I think there are more racists among the minority populations than there are among the white population. However within the who's-who of the GOP, there are many with racist tendencies that make it difficult for black Republicans to rise within the party.

[bonnie]

Quote:

Micheal Steele is the chairman of the Republican National Committee and has said he is criticized more (by Republicans) because he is black. J.C Watts was a black Republican Congressman from Oklahoma and said he was not able to rise up within the GOP because of his race.

I have heard many blacks say that they are rejected by those of their own race.

I have not heard them saying that.How did Steele get to be the chairman of the Republican National Committee?

Quote:

I think only a small percentage of Republican voters are racist. I don't think there are too many. In fact, I think there are more racists among the minority populations than there are among the white population. However within the who's-who of the GOP, there are many with racist tendencies that make it difficult for black Republicans to rise within the party.

Given the racist back ground of many democrats it doesn't seem difficult at all.

Personally Harry Reid and Chris Matthew it might be well to

clean that doorstep first.

[lazarus]

She never degraded herself with "hood" apparel or language.

She was probably bilingual.

Quote:

But she was despised as an Uncle Tom by her fellow blacks growing up.

So was she loved by whites?

[lazarus]

In fact, I think there are more racists among the minority populations than there are among the white population.

That statement goes against the pattern of American history and what we see today.

[lazarus]

I have heard many blacks say that they are rejected by those of their own race.

So what? How many black people have you heard say that, 20, 50, 100, 20,000. Let suppose you personally have heard 20,000 black people say that. That's less than .0001% of the black population.

That is your response to a black GOP leader talk about racism. That's rationalization if ever I saw it.

Quote:

Given the racist back ground of many democrats it doesn't seem difficult at all.

Racist background?

Many?

Lets hear the names.

Lets have the links Miss B.

[lazarus]

I hope these good folks can win election and make some changes in the GOP.

I think it great that so many are looking to run in the GOP. It's a healthy thing. I look forward to the day when the GOP has more black congressmen/senators than the Democrats.

[Dr. Shane]

Originally Posted By: Shane

In fact, I think there are more racists among the minority populations than there are among the white population.

That statement goes against the pattern of American history and what we see today.

Most minorities in America are not in a position to oppress others from other racial groups. We do see this in some gang activity. Gangs made up of a racial minority targeting others because of their race. That certainly qualifies as racism.

Where I live, 87% of the population is Hispanic. I am a white, business professional. Many of our elected politicians are Hispanic. There is little debate that the chronyism that takes place here favors Hispanics. The white folks get what they earn while many of the Hispanic businessmen benefit from chronyism. Many Hispanic-owned businesses will hire Hispanics first, then whites or asians and blacks last.

One Hispanic politicians running for mayor against a white candidate campaigned by saying people should vote for him so "we" won't go back to the days of oppression. As if electing a white mayor would mean oppression for the Hispanic people.

[John317]

Yes, I look forward to the time when both parties have an equal share of blacks (as well as Latinos) voting for their candidates. I don't think it's good for the country or for the various races when a party takes the votes any race or ethnic group for granted. They should have to work and earn those votes.

[Woody]

I'm praying that all 32 will win.

[John317]

and one for good measure

[Woody]

.

[bonnie]

Quote:

So what? How many black people have you heard say that, 20, 50, 100, 20,000. Let suppose you personally have heard 20,000 black people say that. That's less than .0001% of the black population.

And assuming your figures are correct is it only racism if it reaches a certain number.

Quote:

That is your response to a black GOP leader talk about racism. That's rationalization if ever I saw it.

Take it however you wish.I have not heard the black GOP leader talk about racism.

Quote:

Given the racist back ground of many democrats it doesn't seem difficult at all.

Racist background?

Many?

Lets hear the names.

Lets have the links Miss B.

[lazarus]

As a guessed you don't have anything to back up what you have said. One can always hope.

[bonnie]

As a guessed you don't have anything to back up what you have said. One can always hope.

Would you like to go down thru the years and see how the democrats stack up?

I would guess you wouldn't need the links to Mr. Thrill up His Leg that forgot for a time Obama was black or Reids remarks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrd

Ku Klux Klan

Byrd joined the Ku Klux Klan when he was 24 in 1942. His local chapter unanimously elected him the top officer of their unit.[8]

According to Byrd, a Klan official told him, "You have a talent for leadership, Bob... The country needs young men like you in the leadership of the nation." Byrd later recalled, "suddenly lights flashed in my mind! Someone important had recognized my abilities! I was only 23 or 24 years old, and the thought of a political career had never really hit me. But strike me that night, it did."[8] Byrd held the titles Kleagle (recruiter) and Exalted Cyclops.[8]

In 1944, Byrd wrote to segregationist Mississippi Senator Theodore Bilbo:[10]

“ I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds. ”

— Robert C. Byrd, in a letter to Sen. Theodore Bilbo (D-MS), 1944, [8][11]

When running for the United States House of Representatives in 1952, he announced "After about a year, I became disinterested, quit paying my dues, and dropped my membership in the organization. During the nine years that have followed, I have never been interested in the Klan." He said he had joined the Klan because he felt it offered excitement and was anti-communist.[8] However, in 1946 or 1947 he wrote a letter to a Grand Wizard stating, "The Klan is needed today as never before and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia and in every state in the nation."[12]

In 1997, he told an interviewer he would encourage young people to become involved in politics, but to "Be sure you avoid the Ku Klux Klan. Don't get that albatross around your neck. Once you've made that mistake, you inhibit your operations in the political arena."[13] In his latest autobiography, Byrd explained that he was a member because he "was sorely afflicted with tunnel vision—a jejune and immature outlook—seeing only what I wanted to see because I thought the Klan could provide an outlet for my talents and ambitions."[14] Byrd also said, in 2005,

“ I know now I was wrong. Intolerance had no place in America. I apologized a thousand times... and I don't mind apologizing over and over again. I can't erase what happened. ”

[karl]

Racist Democrat Quotes

"You cannot go to a 7-11 or Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian Accent."

-Senator Joe Biden

Mahatma Gandhi "ran a gas station down in Saint Louis."

-Senator Hillary Clinton

"Is you their black-haired answer-mammy who be smart? Does they like how you shine their shoes, Condoleezza? Or the way you wash and park the whitey's cars?"

-- Left-wing radio host Neil Rogers

Blacks and Hispanics are "too busy eating watermelons and tacos" to learn how to read and write."

-- Mike Wallace, CBS News. Source: Newsmax

"In the days of slavery, there were those slaves who lived on the plantation and [there] were those slaves that lived in the house. You got the privilege of living in the house if you served the master ... exactly the way the master intended to have you serve him. Colin Powell's committed to come into the house of the master. When Colin Powell dares to suggest something other than what the master wants to hear, he will be turned back out to pasture."

-- Harry Belafonte

"Republicans bring out Colin Powell and J.C. Watts because they have no program, no policy. They have no love and no joy. They'd rather take pictures with black children than feed them."

-- Donna Brazile, Al Gore's Campaign Manager for the 2000 election

(On Clarence Thomas) "A handkerchief-head, chicken-and-biscuit-eating Uncle Tom."

-- Spike Lee

"He's married to a white woman. He wants to be white. He wants a colorless society. He has no ethnic pride. He doesn't want to be black."

-- California State Senator Diane Watson's on Ward Connerly's interracial marriage.

"These laws [segregation] are still constitutional and I promise you that until they are removed from the ordinance books of Birmingham and the statute books of Alabama, they will be enforced in Birmingham to the utmost of my ability and by all lawful means."

-- Democrat Bull Connor (1957), Commissioner of Public Safety for Birmingham, Alabama

"I'll have those n*ggers voting Democratic for the next 200 years."

-- Lyndon B. Johnson to two governors on Air Force One according Ronald Kessler's Book, "Inside The White House"

(On New York) "K*ketown."

-- Harry Truman in a personal letter

"I think one man is just as good as another so long as he's not a n*gger or a Chinaman. Uncle Will says that the Lord made a White man from dust, a [theN-word] from mud, then He threw up what was left and it came down a Chinaman. He does hate Chinese and Japs. So do I. It is race prejudice, I guess. But I am strongly of the opinion Negroes ought to be in Africa, Yellow men in Asia and White men in Europe and America."

--Harry Truman (1911) in a letter to his future wife Bess

"There’s some people who’ve gone over the state and said, ‘Well, George Wallace has talked too strong about segregation.’ Now let me ask you this: how in the name of common sense can you be too strong about it? You’re either for it or you’re against it. There’s not any middle ground as I know of."

-- Democratic Alabama Governor George Wallace (1959)

'Hymies.' 'Hymietown.'

-- Jesse Jackson's description of New York City while on the 1984 presidential campaign trail.

"Jews — that's J-E-W-S."

-- Democratic state representative Bill McKinney on why his daughter Cynthia lost in 2002

"I want to go up to the closest white person and say: 'You can't understand this, it's a black thing' and then slap him, just for my mental health."

-- Charles Barron, a New York city councilman at a reparations rally, 2002

"Civil rights laws were not passed to protect the rights of white men and do not apply to them."

-- Mary Frances Berry, Chairwoman, US Commission on Civil Rights

(I) "will not let the white boys win in this election."

-- Donna Brazile, Al Gore's Campaign Manager on the 2000 election

"The old white boys got taken fair and square."

-- San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown after winning an election

"There are white n*ggers. I've seen a lot of white n*ggers in my time."

-- Former Klansman and Current US Senator Robert Byrd, a man who is referred to by many Democrats as the "conscience of the Senate" in March of 2001

"The Medicaid system must have been developed by a white male slave owner. It pays for you to be pregnant and have a baby, but it won't pay for much family planning."

-- Jocelyn Elders

The white man is our mortal enemy, and we cannot accept him. I will fight to see that vicious beast go down into the lake of fire prepared for him from the beginning, that he never rise again to give any innocent black man, woman or child the hell that he has delighted in pouring on us for 400 years."

-- Louis Farrakhan who campaigned for congresswoman Cynthia McKinney in 2002, City College audience in New York

"There's no great, white bigot; there's just about 200 million little white bigots out there."

-- USA Today columnist Julienne Malveaux

"We have lost to the white racist press and to the racist reactionary Jewish misleaders."

-- Former Rep. Gus Savage (D-Illinois) after his defeat 1992

"White folks was in caves while we was building empires... We taught philosophy and astrology and mathematics before Socrates and them Greek homos ever got around to it."

-- Rev. Al Sharpton in a 1994 speech at Kean College, NJ, cited in "Democrats Do the Dumbest Things

"The white race is the cancer of human history."

-- Susan Sontag

"Reparations are a really good way for white people to admit they're wrong."

-- Zack Webb, University Of Kentucky NAACP

[bonnie]

Thanks Karl,I wasn't going to bother looking the rest up. I think that most here are aware of the insulting and patronizing racism shown by those they seem to revere.

As long as the agenda of Obama and his administration coincides with theirs most democratic supporters are not that concerned except if it comes from a republican

[karl]

The kicker, as far as racism is concerned, was the Democratic opposition to the passage of the Civil Rights Act. This most important race legislation of the past fifty years was passed by Republicans. The Democratic fillibuster against it was broken by Senate minority leader and Republican, Everett Dirksen.

Democrats just wanna be "Massa." Unfortunately, they've got many blacks and hispanics convinced that they are better off to be on Uncle Sam's plantation rather than to be free citizens.

[lazarus]

So when someone makes a racist remark they have a racist background? So every conservative that has made a racist remark has a racist background. Rush Limbaugh has a racist background? He's a racist but i haven't seen much in his background that is racist.

Robert Byrd was a racist, admitted it and disavowed it. The problem with conservatives today is that they won't admit their racism and they won't disavow it. They won't use the N-Word because it's not politically correct but they will have the same narrow prejudices as they have always had.

To present the quote below as an example of racism is just a great example of how conservatives don't understand what racism is.

"Republicans bring out Colin Powell and J.C. Watts because they have no program, no policy. They have no love and no joy. They'd rather take pictures with black children than feed them."

-- Donna Brazile, Al Gore's Campaign Manager for the 2000 election.

Definition: a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.

[lazarus]

Don't forget that Michael Steele let the cat out of the bag and admitted that the GOP had a strategy of racism for 40 years.

If republicans were such champions for civil rights then why the southern strategy?

American apartheid was supported by Democrats and Republicans alike but the GOP subsequently used racism as a tool to retain power.

"Some Republicans gave up on winning the African American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here today as the Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong." Ken Melhman RNC chairman

[bonnie]

So when someone makes a racist remark they have a racist background? So every conservative that has made a racist remark has a racist background. Rush Limbaugh has a racist background? He's a racist but i haven't seen much in his background that is racist.

[bonnie]

Don't forget that Michael Steele let the cat out of the bag and admitted that the GOP had a strategy of racism for 40 years.