Romney usually comes across as saying whatever a crowd wants, was he intentionally going into the NAACP hoping to be booed to build his credibility among the conservative base or was this a sincere outreach?
Democrats tend to win the black vote about 85-90%. Obama won about 95% in 2008. So I doubt Romney was going to peel off many votes. But he came across as someone willing to say unpopular things (which is something he virtually never does), and he said them to a group who wouldn’t vote for him anyway. So it is win/win. Come across as principled by pissing off people who aren’t voting for you anyway.
It’d be like Obama going to a tea party rally and talking about how we have to run government responsibly and treat our fellow citizens well. He’d come across as less of a wimp by pissing off people who generally don’t like him anyway.
Probably not. I know everybody likes to consider the possibility that politicians are always playing a deeper game, but let’s not dismiss the actual event. My guess is that Romney really thought he needed to appeal to black voters or at least felt he needed to look like he was trying to appeal to black voters. I think going to a highly publicized event and getting overwhelming boos is always going to be bad news for a presidential candidate. I don’t think anyone who is involved with a presidential campaign would set up that kind of situation on purpose.
When in recent months has he said anything unpalatable to the far right? I think he got the message when he saw Rick Perry get booed during the primary debates, for example.
It would be too cute by half if getting booed was deliberate. I don’t think he was talking to people in the room, he wanted to show his base that he was willing to walk into the lions’ den and tell those uppity blacks that they weren’t going to be sponging off whitey anymore.
I don’t think the point was to be booed, but they knew it was a distinct possibility. No campaign appearance is made without purpose though, and the purpose of this was about image, not genuine outreach to this particular community.
I tend to agree with the OP. And I think it was a brilliant move on Romney’s part. He had zero to lose. And he came off as a man of conviction who won’t pander. It was probably the easiest speech he gave because of that. It’s got to be liberating for any politician to just say “Fuck it. I’m just going to tell them what I think. If they don’t like it, too bad.” I think the boos actually helped him. Not to say that raucous applause wouldn’t have been better, but that wasn’t going to happen. And it makes the NAACP look just like the racist organization it is. This is a definite win for Romney. To people of all color he showed himself to have some backbone and not pander. To Blacks, maybe some of them will respect that, and taken in tandem with the degree that Obama hasn’t delivered for the Black community, maybe even win some votes.
We’re approaching comedy gold here, and this is almost enough to convince me you are kidding, but-
How does it make them look racist? He said he’d eliminate Obamacare and be the best choice for black voters, and they booed him. They didn’t boo him for being a white guy. They didn’t boo John McCain when he ran against Obama. Why would you assume race has anything to do with it?
The whole of Romney’s message was that Obamacare will destroy jobs, and by getting rid of it, he will save those jobs, which is good for everyone including blacks. That’s what he intended to say, but he was only able to get the first part out before he was stopped by the booing. Without being able to finish making his point, it only looked like he was being a dufus of some kind, not that he actually was (in this instance, anyway;)).
It’s typical for candidates to address the NAACP, yes. Obama and McCain did so in 2008, Romney did this year, and Biden will address them (I think) tomorrow.
He wasn’t stopped. He continued speaking. He evidently diverged from his prepared remarks to address the subject of the booing, but they didn’t shut him up.
I saw part of the speech, and I don’t think he was trying to get booed, though I’m fairly sure he expected too. I think he was sincerely trying to reach out, and there wasn’t a lot of political gain for him in doing so (I saw a stat that blacks are, IIRC well over 90% in favor of Obama, and Romney is pulling 1 or 2% at best).
The trouble is, that he might be sincere but…damn, he comes across as a rich entitled white guy. Which is unsurprising, since that’s what he is. But he owns that image and doesn’t even attempt to change that image. I suppose that’s a really good and honest thing for him to do but, really, it’s going to be a slaughter in November unless the economy totally tanks. Hell, even then I just don’t see how this guy has a chance.
They didn’t vote for McCain, did they? Look, when it comes to voting, particularly with Obama, Blacks as a swath of the population are grossly racist. What percent voted for Obama again? Name another issue that gets 95%-plus of a demographic on anything. face it, most Blacks vote skin color. O’Reilly had a fun little thing where he had one of his acolytes go around and ask Black voters if they were going to vote for. When they said Obama he asked them why, listing things that Romney was for and Obama is against. Of course they said that they were going to vote for Obama for those oh-so-rational reasons. HA! Yeah, it was a few idiots, but I believe that most Blacks voted for Obama simply because he was Black. Can’t say I even blame them four years ago. It was no small deal to have the first Black President (and I’m really glad that’s behind us now as a hurdle), but now I only hope that those who aren’t as clueless as the people in that fun little piece evaluate the job he’s done.
And as racist as the Black population might be when it comes to voting, the NAACP is even worse…
And, yes, serious across the board. There was nothing to lose. And he used the event to his best advantage. Let them boo.