# What can the GOP do to attract more minorities? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 24, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881 "2009-06-24T21:40:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/41 "2009-06-26T11:26:05Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > The GOP could start by selecting an African-American as their party chair. Preferably one with a hip-hop attitude. Yep. That oughta work out just great! Yeah, that’s the ticket. After all this time I’m still amazed at the RNC’s stupidity in this regard. I shouldn’t be though, as it’s proof positive that Republicans have absolutely no idea how to appeal to non whites. However, it’s not their ability (or lack thereof) to appeal to ethnic minorities that’s their problem; it’s that they see most things through race-colored glasses. Rather than asking “how do we appeal to blacks?” or “how do we stop the defection of Hispanics?,” the party should look inward and ask, and honestly answer “why do we continue to appeal so strongly to hatred and fear?” ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/42 "2009-06-26T15:37:57Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > the party should look inward and ask, and honestly answer “why do we continue to appeal so strongly to hatred and fear?” What else has worked as well for them over the last couple of decades? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/43 "2009-06-26T15:46:20Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > the party should look inward and ask, and honestly answer “why do we continue to appeal so strongly to hatred and fear?” Because fear sells. Right now people are afraid of losing jobs/home/futures, once the economy recovers fear of darkies and homos will make a strong comeback, and with it the GOP. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/44 "2009-06-26T16:11:45Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Throw out the bigots; stop trying to appeal to them. More than that; make a big show of it, burn their bridges as publicly and dramatically as possible. The GOP has been so busy flailing at Bill Clinton (going back to the days when he was actually in power) that they’re incapable of noticing and emulating his political skills (such as the Sister Souljah moment). ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/45 "2009-06-26T17:17:02Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > But what do they really need to do to get minorities to feel more comfortable within their ranks and, more importantly, to pull the lever for their candidates at the polls? Consistently run minorities in your races. Run blacks in the south, run Mexicans in the southwest, run American Indians in the plains. Not just any minority candidates but good smart competent candidates like Michael Steele. The problem with Michael Steele right now as party chairman is that he has to defend stupid positions and but when he was running in Maryland, people thought he was a good candidate that could have won but for the anti-Republican environment. If you keep running guys like Michael Steele and Bobby Jindal (the pre-“ooh I have a shot at president” version) all over the country especially in areas like the south and turn your backs on the racists and nativists as a party, then over time the minority community will start to trust you. You may think that you don’t have the ability to dictate who gets nominated in Tancredo’s district but the Republican party has been radicalized by people who have taken pains to replace moderate Republicans with extreme right Republicans and you can reverse this trend by affirmatively trying to replace Tancredo with a Mexican maerican while you are ta it. Replace the David Dukes of your party with African Americans or at least make a real effort to do so. Tell the racists and nativists that they are not welcome in your party and over time people will start to trust you. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/46 "2009-06-26T17:22:10Z")
> [@IdahoMauleMan](#): > > I think they could also question what, exactly, the Democratic Party has done to earn the huge majority of the minority vote - especially the black vote. They nominate black people. How many Black Republicans in the House or the Senate? How many Black Presidential nominees? > [@](#): > > The D.C. voucher case is a real-time example of how this creates an opportunity to offer new ideas to the inner-city community. I don’t think you understand what is going on with the DC voucher system, I may agree with your conclusion but you reach the conclusion for the wrong reasons. > [@](#): > > They could also speak more about privatizing Social Security, and address the regressive payroll taxes that hit low-income earners a lot more than high income-earners. Privatizing social security doesn’t even play well with conservative white voters any more. If you wanted to get rid of the regressivity of the taxes then fine, get rid of it and make it a progressive tax but that doens’t mean you have to privatize social security. > [@](#): > > But it has to be done without ridiculous religious overtones and nativist sentiment. The Republican party cannot win elections without the abortion issue, how exactly do you propose they throw religion under the bus? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/47 "2009-06-26T17:31:34Z")
Part of the problem with this question is that the Republicans are struggling right now to attract any voters, let alone increase their representation among any particular demographic group. They are coming off of a six year period of complete control of the government, and their economic, national security and foreign policy ideas have been revealed to be complete shit. Nevertheless, they remain utterly incapable of voicing any recognition of that and offering people anything different. Off the hizzle shit is still shit. And which Republicans do you hear about these days? Apart from the old, out of office or never held office types (Gingrich, Limbaugh) who are not attractive to anyone, all you hear about are Palin, Michele Bachmann, Norm Coleman, John Ensign, and Mark Sanford. So their first priority has to be to figure out how to appeal to anyone. Then they’ll have to figure out how they can continue to offer economic policies that favor the wealthy while also increasing their appeal to anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/48 "2009-06-26T17:35:47Z")
> [@furlibusea](#): > > I am sorry, but I have seen this meme over and over till I could puke. Where the hell do you guys get the bizarre idea that teachers are into this just to mess up kids? Its no the teachers, its their unions. At least in DC it is. [quote] Most of the charter and choice schools test worse. We have had at least two of these schools closed due to embezzlement and fraud [quote] … > [@](#): > > The teachers unions are not entirely opposed to the idea of performance pay, but the devil is in the details. The devil of charter schools are also in the details. Properly structured and run correctlyalmost any system will work well. Improperly structured and run poorly, almost any system will work poorly. That goes for public schools as well as cahrters but right now, at this moment in history, the teachers unions in cities like NYC and DC are entirely opoosed to the idea of pay for performance that involves any loss of job security or pay cuts for the underperforming teachers. Charter schools here are not uniformly superior to public schools and Virginia and Marlynad (which generally have decent schools) are resisting charter schools, and rightly so because they are doping fine without them. > [@](#): > > All of those are questions that need to be answered before the facile answer of performance pay can be utilized. If you are under the impression that logical proposals have not been made to address these issues then you are being grossly misled. One proposal is to link performance bonuses to improvement, in which case some teachers would want to go to the basket case schools because that is where you can get the most improvement. This has been rejected by unions, either because there is no guaranteede amount of bonuses that have to be distributed each year, these bonuses may be linked to lower base salaries, broader firing discretion or some combination of the above. Unions basically want carrots and no sticks, we have tried that formulation before and it results in demands for more carrots. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/49 "2009-06-26T17:37:14Z")
> [@athelas](#): > > Democrats support proposals such as more generous welfare and affirmative action, which represent net transfers from rich to poor and from white to non-Asian minorities. The typical welfare recipient is a white single mother. The groupt that has benefitted the most from affirmative action has been women of all races. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/50 "2009-06-26T17:38:28Z")
> [@IdahoMauleMan](#): > > I don’t know if they can or not. > > But you realize, of course, that the _existing_ Social Security scheme is the true Ponzi scheme. > > A privatized scheme, whereby employees would keep their own deductions, and own real assets, is exactly the opposite of a Ponzi scheme. > > I assume you already understood that. Apologies if I didn’t communicate clearly. Do you think insurance comapnies and the federal reserve system are ponzi? ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/51 "2009-06-26T17:41:39Z")
> [@IdahoMauleMan](#): > > Just sticking your 15% deduction in a money market fund would outperform many people’s SS ‘investments’ over the next 30-40 years. Social security has always paid todays beneficiaries with receipts from todays contributors… from day ONE. You propose that we should convert social security to a form of forced 401K. How do we continue to pay today’s beneficiaries? Do we just tell the current beneficiaries that they are out of luck or do we borrow the money for this? How do we handle the transition? ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/52 "2009-06-26T17:48:11Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > In the Nixon tapes, there is a point where Nixon and his staff come to a revelation. They said we don’t need them. We can win elections without courting the blacks or minorities. > Since that time ,they have maintained an adversarial relationship with blacks. Now the numbers aren’t there and they have to try to widen their base. Of course they have to overcome generations of ill will their actions caused. Good luck with that. Yep, the “Southern Strategy” It worked like a charm until 2008. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/53 "2009-06-26T21:16:38Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Consistently run minorities in your races. Run blacks in the south, run Mexicans in the southwest, run American Indians in the plains. Not just any minority candidates but **good smart competent candidates like Michael Steele.** Are you serious? Michael Steele is an idiot who’s failed at everything he’s ever tried, and was only selected for RNC chairman as a cynical ploy to pit a black man against Obama. It had absolutely nothing to do with competence. (bolding mine) > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > The problem with Michael Steele right now as party chairman is that he has to defend stupid positions and but when he was running in Maryland, people thought he was a good candidate that could have won but for the anti-Republican environment. Which people thought he was a good candidate? Republicans who are always surprised when black man can express a thought coherently? > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > you keep running guys like Michael Steele and Bobby Jindal (the pre-“ooh I have a shot at president” version) all over the country especially in areas like the south and turn your backs on the racists and nativists as a party, then over time the minority community will start to trust you. Not a chance in Hell. It’s not just the messenger, it’s the message. Until the party realizes this they’ll continue to flail around, stupidly believing they’ll have a shot at becoming the majority party again if they simply throw more black people at an election than the Democrats, among other idiocy, such as continuing to race-bait while throwing black people at an election > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > You may think that you don’t have the ability to dictate who gets nominated in Tancredo’s district but the **Republican party has been radicalized by people who have taken pains to replace moderate Republicans with extreme right Republicans** This is the one thing you’ve said that’s correct. (bolding mine) > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > and you can reverse this trend by affirmatively trying to replace Tancredo with a Mexican maerican while you are ta it. Replace the David Dukes of your party with African Americans or at least make a real effort to do so. Again, it’s the message. Pushing a black man up to the plate will do nothing to change the party’s demographic if its policies and platform continue to be anathema to the livelihood and well being of blacks, hispanics, gays, women, Muslims, and any other group the Republican party has taken pleasure in demonizing for the last 40 years. ---
**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 26, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/54 "2009-06-26T23:10:19Z")
Look, I don’t want to help the GOP win votes. I don’t really want to help the Blue Dogs & DLC win votes. I’ll support the Democrats **if they support good policies.** Politics shouldn’t be about the interests of some amorphous “organization.” It should be about what’s good for the country. The GOP aren’t worth voting for if all they’re looking for is a way to sucker voters into giving them patronage. And neither are the Democrats. The GOP raised spending while cutting taxes, & now want to blame deficits on the Democrats. And now there are all these well-meaning ninnies saying that the GOP needs a way to win elections. No. THE GOP NEEDS TO FADE AWAY. **The country needs responsible statesmen, not just political gamesmen. The country should be our concern.** Haley Barbour, Newt Gingrich, & Bobby Jindal can die in obscure poverty for all I care. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/55 "2009-06-27T15:57:00Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Because fear sells. Right now people are afraid of losing jobs/home/futures, once the economy recovers fear of darkies and homos will make a strong comeback,\*\* and with it the GOP\*\*. I doubt that. That ship has sailed, although you wouldn’t know it by Repblicans’ stubborn conviction that appealing to bigotry is still a long-term, winning strategy. (bolding mine) ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/56 "2009-06-29T16:14:32Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Because fear sells. Right now people are afraid of losing jobs/home/futures, once the economy recovers fear of darkies and homos will make a strong comeback, and with it the GOP. However, if the economy doesn’t recover…hate comes after fear… ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/57 "2009-06-29T19:05:20Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Are you serious? Michael Steele is an idiot who’s failed at everything he’s ever tried, and was only selected for RNC chairman as a cynical ploy to pit a black man against Obama. It had absolutely nothing to do with competence. (bolding mine) He was fairly popular as Lieutenant Governor, and really didn’t do that bad in the Senate race considering it was 2006 and he was a conservative Republican in Maryland. He had also almost become RNC chairman in 2007, and gotten the endorsement of a lot of prominent conservatives. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/58 "2009-06-30T23:15:36Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Are you serious? Michael Steele is an idiot Umm, no he’s not. He’s a relatively smart guy who got into the wrong party. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/59 "2009-07-01T02:34:25Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Umm, no he’s not. He’s a relatively smart guy who got into the wrong party. Kind of speaks to his intelligence, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881/60 "2009-07-02T05:03:11Z")
Hmmm… the Republicans have proven that they will contradict their core principles and then behave as if they did exactly the right thing. The only time they are accountable is when one of their leaders’ wieners goes AWOL. Hard to see how they are fit to govern. I don’t think they are too appealing to majorities either, considering the latest election results. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-the-gop-do-to-attract-more-minorities/500881.md?page=2)