July 24, 2004 8:43 AM

Not exactly preaching to the choir, eh?

Before Urban League, Bush Makes His Case for Black Support of GOP

On the one hand, I suppose you have to admire the guy for being willing to address an audience clearly indisposed to his message. After all, George W. Bush has not exactly distinguished himself with his commitment to issues important to African-Americans, has he? Of course, now it's election time, and Bush is trying (and straining all credibility in doing so) to convince African-Americans that he can be their President, too. Sure, just as long as they donate large sums of money to his campaign....

DETROIT, July 23 -- President Bush accused the Democratic Party on Friday of taking African Americans for granted and suggested they would have more political leverage if they spread their votes around. But he admitted that the Republican Party "has got a lot of work to do" to improve its paltry support among minority voters....

"Does the Democrat Party take African American voters for granted?" Bush asked, to scattered applause from the mostly black audience. "It's a fair question. I know plenty of politicians assume they have your vote. But do they earn it and do they deserve it?"....

"Is it a good thing for the African American community to be represented mainly by one political party?" Bush said. "That's a legitimate question. How is it possible to gain political leverage if the party is never forced to compete?"

Well, that assumes, of course, that your option is one that can legitimately be viewed as representing the interests of African-Americans. There is nothing in the GOP platform or George W. Bush's campaign rhetoric that indicates a commitment that runs any deeper than mere words.

The most recently-available polls indicate that African-Americans favor John Kerry by an 8 to 1 margin. It's not that they are all that wild about John Kerry, because they're not. African-Americans are simply intelligent and perceptive enough to recognize that ALL the GOP cares about is their vote. There is no commitment on the part of the GOP or it's candidates to work to support issues that are important to African-Americans. Until the white male leadership of the GOP recognizes this, they're wasting their breath. This is why Bush's Urban League speech is notable only for it's symbolic value. He is, after all, the same candidate who refused to address the NAACP at their convention.

Bush never named Kerry but simply said, "I'm here to say that there is an alternative this year." Kerry's campaign called the appearance a classic case of damage control after the criticism for refusing to appear at the NAACP convention.

Bush's aides at first said he had a scheduling conflict. But he went bike-riding on the opening day of the convention, and they later attributed the decision to inflammatory criticism by the group's leaders. NAACP Chairman Julian Bond has said the Republican Party's idea of equal rights "is the American flag and the Confederate swastika flying side by side."

Julian Bond's words may be a bit intemperate and borderline inflammatory, but the substance of his remarks are not far off the mark. Until George W. Bush and the GOP stop merely talking and begin doing, African-Americans will very likely continue to hold Republicans at arm's length. And who could blame them?

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on July 24, 2004 8:43 AM.

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