# Tea Party Pub: "The Republican Party doesn't want black people to vote . . ." **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 6, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294 "2013-06-06T14:52:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/1 "2013-06-06T14:52:50Z")
[In Texas, the mask slips.](http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2013/06/rep-marc-veasey-condemns-racist-remarks-by-dallas-republican-activist/) > [@](#): > > It’s obvious that the efforts of the Democrats’ Battleground Texas are making some Republicans nervous. And that’s leading to some unforced errors that are creating some very bad publicity for the Texas GOP. > > Take Texas GOP chairman Steve Munisteri‘s efforts to drum up support for “Battlefield Dallas,” an attempt by Dallas Republicans to counter the Battleground Texas push. Munisteri flew up to Dallas for an event and said all the right things during his speech. > > It was billed of “the first public meeting of Battlefield Dallas.” > > But a Tea Party Republican made the headlines when he had this to say about GOP voter outreach efforts. > > “I’m going to be real honest with you, the Republican Party doesn’t want black people to vote if they’re going to vote 9-to-1 for Democrats,” Ken Emanuelson said. Well, that’s fine, Mr. Emanuelson, but talk is cheap. What are you going to **do** about it? Something to do with voter-ID laws? Caging lists? Literacy tests? Poll-taxes? Klansmen patrolling the polling places? What? ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/2 "2013-06-06T15:33:42Z")
I live in Shelia Jackson Lee’s district. The Texas legislature has Gerrymandered the entire State to dilute potential Democratic voters. This is why the Legislature is in special session right now, to try and keep this in the courts as long as possible. Our last election was done under temporary maps mandated by a Federal Court in San Antonio, the plan is to adopt and tweak those maps, then say to the courts " what do you mean we discriminate " . The point is Texas is not nearly as Red as our voting record looks. And, yes, the party in power will do whatever it can to stay that way. **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![Werekoala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7993a0/32.png) [@Werekoala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Werekoala)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/3 "2013-06-06T16:26:32Z")
I would think he’d be thrilled to have a monolithic block voting 90% for the opposition party every cycle, shame on him for suggesting otherwise. Idiotic choice of wording doesn’t obscure the fact that this is a problem that needs to be addressed by any conservative party. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/4 "2013-06-06T17:08:38Z")
> [@Werekoala](#): > > Idiotic choice of wording doesn’t obscure the fact that this is a problem that needs to be addressed by any conservative party. Er, no. The problem the Republican Party needs to address is not that black people vote, but that black people overwhelmingly don’t cast votes for Republican candidates. The Tea Partier’s “choice of wording” does indeed obscure that fact. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/5 "2013-06-06T17:10:56Z")
I doubt anyone is thrilled when any group that votes against them 9-1 shows up at the voting booth. The key is to not sound like an idiot (especially not like a racist one) while talking about. So, mission not quite so accomplished. eta: also, what Kimstu said, although I would mention that there are some practical impacts here, too. Yes, the absolute first thing anyone should do while running for office is try to convince everyone to vote for you. But, at some point, that ship sails and then you need to think about it as a pure numbers game (if that’s your thing). And that means making sure that your voters turn out in better numbers than the other candidates. You may not do anything to stop the other candidates’ voters from showing up (although there are legit things here, too - trying to convince them that he sucks or won’t live up to his campaign promises), but you sure as don’t want them to. ---
**Author:** ![Werekoala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7993a0/32.png) [@Werekoala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Werekoala)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/6 "2013-06-06T17:23:49Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Er, no. The problem the Republican Party needs to address is not that black people vote, but that black people overwhelmingly don’t cast votes for Republican candidates. > > The Tea Partier’s “choice of wording” does indeed obscure that fact. He said “…_ **if** _ they’re voting 9-1 for Democrats.” or words to that effect. I know, I know, that part of the sentence is so easy to overlook once the red rage kicks in from the first part. It was that part that I was referring to. And clearly, his choice of wording did obscure the fact, in your case. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Just out of curiosity, what fact did you think I meant needed to be addressed? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/7 "2013-06-06T17:31:07Z")
> [@Werekoala](#): > > He said “…_ **if** _ they’re voting 9-1 for Democrats.” or words to that effect. Now I’ll take “Weaselly evasions and qualifiers” for $400, Alex. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/8 "2013-06-06T17:36:02Z")
Consider, “I’m going to be real honest with you, the Republican Party doesn’t want black people to vote 9-to-1 for Democrats.” See how easy that is to fix? Also, see how worthless of a sentence it is now? This wasn’t just a bad choice of wording, because without that specific wording he’s not really saying anything at all. eta: Consider also, “The Republican Party doesn’t want Democrats to vote.” That’d at least be honest without being racist. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/9 "2013-06-06T18:59:37Z")
> [@Werekoala](#): > > Just out of curiosity, what fact did you think I meant needed to be addressed? The fact that black people vote 9-to-1 for Democrats. Yes, I take your word for it that _you personally_ (and probably most other Republicans as well) think that should be “addressed” by stepping up outreach efforts to black voters, not by discouraging or preventing black people from voting. But given the long history in this country of conservative attempts to suppress black votes (and that includes the time when the anti-black-voting conservatives were Democrats, not just now when they’re Republicans), any conservative ought to know better than to say or imply that they’re bothered by blacks voting. > [@Werekoala](#): > > And clearly, his choice of wording did obscure the fact, in your case. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Yup. You Republicans might want to work on that little problem of your party activists saying things in public that “obscure” your message by making you look like racists and idiots. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/10 "2013-06-06T19:15:20Z")
> [@Capt\_Kirk](#): > > The point is Texas is not nearly as Red as our voting record looks. And, yes, the party in power will do whatever it can to stay that way. Sounds like Missouri. We need a new proportional representation movement. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/11 "2013-06-06T19:52:18Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > I doubt anyone is thrilled when any group that votes against them 9-1 shows up at the voting booth. The key is to not sound like an idiot (especially not like a racist one) while talking about. So, mission not quite so accomplished. > > eta: also, what Kimstu said, although I would mention that there are some practical impacts here, too. Yes, the absolute first thing anyone should do while running for office is try to convince everyone to vote for you. But, at some point, that ship sails and then you need to think about it as a pure numbers game (if that’s your thing). And that means making sure that your voters turn out in better numbers than the other candidates. You may not do anything to stop the other candidates’ voters from showing up (although there are legit things here, too - trying to convince them that he sucks or won’t live up to his campaign promises), but you sure as don’t want them to. Relevant GD thread of mine from 2011: [“Get-out-the-vote and voter suppression are not equally legitimate political tactics”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=489075) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/12 "2013-06-06T20:16:04Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Sounds like Missouri. We need a new proportional representation movement. Try [FairVote](http://www.fairvote.org/). (Founded in the 1990s as “CPR” – “Citizens for Proportional Representation” – although since then its focus has expanded to encompass other voting-system reforms and general ballot-access issues.) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/13 "2013-06-06T20:17:10Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > eta: Consider also, “The Republican Party doesn’t want Democrats to vote.” That’d at least be honest without being racist. But not much better otherwise. See thread linked in post #11. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/14 "2013-06-06T20:22:36Z")
> [@Werekoala](#): > > He said “…_ **if** _ they’re voting 9-1 for Democrats.” or words to that effect. I know, I know, that part of the sentence is so easy to overlook once the red rage kicks in from the first part. > > It was that part that I was referring to. And clearly, his choice of wording did obscure the fact, in your case. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. > > Just out of curiosity, what fact did you think I meant needed to be addressed? Well, you said, “this is a problem that needs to be addressed by any conservative party” – not naming the Republicans, and there are no other conservative parties here that matter unless you count the Democrats – leaving unclear whether “the problem” is blacks voting (soluble only by suppressing or discouraging their votes); or blacks voting for Democrats (soluble only by such a major message-shift that it is debatable whether the GOP’s ideology could even remain the same); or conservative parties in general, not limited to the U.S., being unable to get the votes of historically-oppressed ethnic minorities in general (which would be extremely sociologically interesting if true). ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/15 "2013-06-06T20:39:06Z")
> [@](#): > > …leaving unclear whether “the problem” is blacks voting (soluble only by suppressing or discouraging their votes); or blacks voting for Democrats… No, that wasn’t unclear in the slightest. The “problem” is exactly what clearly stated - that blacks vote for Democrats in near-unanimity. Since Republicans want to be elected, they want people to vote for them, or not vote at all. On reflection, this is a waste of time - you will just lie about it. You stupid troll. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/16 "2013-06-06T20:44:26Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Since Republicans want to be elected, they want people to vote for them, or not vote at all. :dubious: Surely you don’t mean that? What you mean is that they just want _more_ people to vote for them than for the other guys. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/17 "2013-06-06T20:53:15Z")
Maybe there’s confusion here between “not voting” and “not _wanting_ to vote”. I certainly don’t mind if the voters opposed to my preferred candidate are so unenthusiastic about their own party’s candidate that they end up saying “hell with it, I’m not gonna vote at all”. They could turn out for their guy if they wanted to, but their guy’s such a turdbrain that they don’t even want to. Fine and dandy. Serve them right. But I _would_ mind if, say, a busload of voters opposed to my preferred candidate tried to get to the polls before closing time but couldn’t. Equal access to the vote is the bedrock of democracy, and if we’re happy about any of our political adversaries encountering obstacles in the voting process, we’re doing it wrong. Even if we’re just saying “If you won’t vote for my guy then I don’t want you to vote”, we’re doing it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/18 "2013-06-06T20:53:40Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > :dubious: Surely you don’t mean that? What you mean is that they just want _more_ people to vote for them than for the other guys. Yes, I’m sure that’s exactly what they want. And if they get _more_ by virtue of the other guy’s supporters failing to vote, so be it. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/19 "2013-06-06T21:09:25Z")
But the notion of actually trying to persuade them to vote Republican? They haven’t gotten to that yet. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294/20 "2013-06-06T22:21:23Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Since Republicans want to be elected, they want people to vote for them, or not vote at all. > [@Kimstu](#): > > :dubious: Surely you don’t mean that? What you mean is that they just want _more_ people to vote for them than for the other guys. Actually, I sadly suspect he got it right the first time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-pub-the-republican-party-doesnt-want-black-people-to-vote/660294.md?page=2)