GOP Iggs Colored Folks

So, it appears that the Republican party still believes in the Southern Strategy -- if not overtly -- at least in practice. Most GOP candidates for president have declined an invitation from Tavis Smiley to attend the "All American Presidential Forum" to be held on Sept. 27th at Morgan State University in Baltimore.

The reason: the nebulous scheduling difficulty. Interesting how all the Democratic candidates made a similar event at Howard University back in June.

So I guess, Rudy Guiliani, Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, and John McCain are saying that the votes of Americans of color -- particularly African-Americans ans Latinos are not worth the time. According the Washington Post, which ran the story on Wednesday, many GOPers are disappointed by the slight. Jack Kemp -- a completely decent man, and a true conservative -- was in a word, ashamed, of his party. He said so much:

"We sound like we don't want immigration; we sound like we don't want black people to vote for us. What are we going to do -- meet in a country club in the suburbs one day? If we're going to be competitive with people of color, we've got to ask them for their vote."

Smart man. Too bad the front-runners have made the choice that such a request is unnecessary. Or as one unnamed staffer put it: What's the win? Why would [the candidates] go into a crowd where they're probably going to be booed?

I guess that's one way to look at it.

The counterpoint is that perhaps if more Republicans engaged people of color and lower economic class, perhaps they'd have more wins. A chicken and egg problem, I guess. What comes first? No boos, and then engaging? Or engaging first, thus reducing the boos. Perhaps neither. It could be argued that GOP candidates get no traction at minority events because their policies are directly counter to those that the non-wealthy consider priorities. So, as a new tack, maybe some engagement might lead to an understanding of what makes the latino woman or African-American man tick, improving one's policy-making?

Looks like Ken Mehlman's efforts at extending an olive branch to black folks ended after the Cowboy President's first election.

All I know is, when Newt Gingrich -- a man that divorced an ex-wife on her cancer sickbed -- condemns your actions as counterproductive, you know you're way in the wrong.