Mitt Romney Has Secret Black Friends
And he won’t tell you who they are. This is from TPM, who has some of the video of Rmoney making this claim of secret support from black leadership.
So let’s think about this for a minute. Rmoney wants you to know that he has more black support than can be public. Because these black people are somehow afraid to be known Rmoney supporters. Why? Because there is a price to be paid for getting outside of some black people’s party line.
This is more of the GOPs despicable Southern Strategy — feeding into their stereotypes that black people are all the same. Unless they are GOP black people. And that this community is particularly ruthless towards its members who turn to the GOP apostasy. So Rmoney is left to claim secret support of people who are afraid of their own communities.
This is bullshit,of course. Starting with the fact that being a GOP black person is an easy way to get to the head of the wingnut welfare line (c.f., Alan West, Artur Davis, Michael Steele) because the GOP is so very desperate for every bit of diversity they can get. But let’s get to the real reason that the GOP has issues with black and brown communities — demonizing these communities is a core piece of the GOP appeal. There won’t be very many converts to the GOP side as long as they keep pointing to these communities as the basic problem of angry white communities. Besides, the current GOP appeal is pretty much about making sure that wealthy people get as many tax dollars as possible, by any means necessary. Most black and brown people get that this is a scam, and a scam designed to undermine their own interests. So even though these communities may have some natural alignments with the GOP (especially in social conservatism), they keep advocating policies that are never going to include the communities they are working so hard at demonizing.
But then, Rmoney won’t tell you about where he has his money offshored. He won’t tell you about his alternate health care plan. He won’t tell you about how he’ll reform the tax code. But he will tell you he has secret black supporters.
I would list among RMoney’s non-friend black friends whoever had the idea that he needed organ music during his speech yesterday.
And it should be noted that even Michael Steele has started grousing about the lack of real effort on the GOP’s part in this realm.
So just like physicists, Mitt too has a theory of invisible dark matter that is necessary to make the numbers work.
Next time Mitt will be accompanied by a gospel choir.
An invisible gospel choir.
Although to be fair, I’m not sure Rmoney was responsible for the organ music yesterday.
Mitt was so pissed, he baptized them all as Mormons on the way out.
And to be fair cass–and you know I love you baby–in my past 3 weeks heavy travel thru airports and subsequent seatmates, I was pleased w/ conversation initiated by “black” people, that Obama shouldn’t be confident he has that “race” vote fully wrapped up. Based on race, scrutiny is there on the issues. Nothing should be taken for granted, but these different seatmates (and I know this is all andecdotal), also don’t want to be viewed and assumed they are voting for Obama because they are black. Hence, often “keeping peace”, and maybe the “secret black friends” you allude to. Interesting, honest conversation–and I love that.
And I know—someone will jump all over here and say–well that will have to be alot of secret friends!!
Just saying. I think the race thing may have a shorter wick than prior.
Keep hope alive!
It isn’t hard to find black people all over the place dealing with issues. This might be new to you, in your travels and all, but if you are talking to black people on the daily, issues always mattered. It is something of a GOP bit of truthiness that black folks will vote for black folks just because they are black. There’s plenty of concern on the issues no matter your color, but it is something of a pipe dream for the GOP to think that they are making major inroads for this vote any time soon.
Agreed–to the major inroads–but I think there might be a reverse play here on some level, and I’m not saying swooping or major, but people who in 2008 (and I remember pandora writing about it), who may have been Rs in idealogy or vote pattern, but quietly admitted they were going w/ Obama that cycle.
Change–Obama may be right :)!!!
GOP effort has been to suppress this vote not court it. No lack of effort in that realm.
I can’t imagine what the reverse play might look like. African American Rs (and there are some OG ones, not the newly-minted wingnut welfare ones) never vote a straight ticket anyway. There was a slight bump in African Americans voting for Bush because they managed to also put gay civil rights on the ballot too. Obama might lose a couple of points of the African American vote this cycle, but I think that is going to be attributable to turnout rather than choosing Romney.