Woody Allen said that 80 percent of success is showing up. The Republican candidates who skipped out on last month's minority issues debate must have missed that little piece of wisdom.
Top candidates Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Fred Thompson all chose to be absent at the All-American Presidential Forum, held at the historically black Morgan State University on Sept. 27. The Republicans who went chastised their opponents for their absence: Mike Huckabee said he was "embarrassed for our party," and Sam Brownback called it a "disgrace for our country and bad for our party." Both answers reveal a truth that the four empty podiums made all too clear: the Republican Party is deeply unpopular among black voters and unsure how (or if they should) go about changing that.
The role of race in American party politics is long and complicated; neither party has a clean record. After a Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, freed the slaves and fought the South in the Civil War, the South voted reliably Democratic for 100 years.
When Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts into law in the mid-1960s, imposing national control to end segregationist policies, many in the South cried foul and began to vote Republican. As he signed the bill, Johnson reportedly said, "We have lost the South for a generation." Since that shift, Southern whites reliably vote Republican and black voters nationwide vote Democratic in numbers approaching 90 percent.
Republican candidates and strategists tend to view this huge gap as insurmountable. Since appeals to black voters may alienate Southern whites, Republican candidates avoid them.
African-American Republican candidates are few and far between and Republicans have instead focused on accentuating the racial divide in their favor. The strategy is no secret: Former G.O.P. chair Ken Mehlmann apologized for these tactics to the NAACP in 1996.
Racial campaigning is by no means emblematic of everyone in the Republican party, and it should not be inferred that Republicans are racist. There is nothing inherently racist in conservative political philosophy; in fact, most minority groups are culturally conservative. The candidates who attended the debate spoke clearly and forcefully about racial issues, and they should be admired for their political courage. As a party, however, Republicans are still uneasy around African-American and minority issues.
No Republican candidates accepted invitations to a forum on gay rights hosted by the Human Rights Campaign. All but John McCain were no-shows at the Univision-sponsored Hispanic issues forum in Miami in September.
The Republican candidates do not mind alienating minority groups in the process of courting their base. In an increasingly diverse and accepting America, ignoring organized minorities is terrible campaign strategy. While this focus may change for the general election, the damage may already be done among racial minorities.
Forty-four percent of Hispanics voted for George W. Bush in 2004. The party has taken a distinctly anti-immigration tone since then, alienating many Hispanics. Many more Hispanic voters chose Democrats in the 2006 midterm elections, and they constituted a large part of the Democratic landslide victory and reclamation of Congress. If Republicans lose a substantial part of the Hispanic vote, they may very well lose the important swing states of New Mexico, Nevada, Iowa, and Florida - and the presidency.
Avoidance will not work. The Republican candidates who skipped the recent debates did a disservice to interracial dialogue, minorities in America, and their own party. The Republican Party must address the wrongdoings of the past, come up with a cohesive alternative to Democratic policies towards minorities, and, most importantly, communicate this plan effectively to minority groups in America.
It is unhealthy for any demographic to vote 90 percent with one party. It shows a lack of interest and effort on the part of Republicans. That inaction must be addressed if any progress is to be made toward racial reconciliation in America. Unfortunately, the major Republican candidates have established themselves as indifferent to minority issues in America today.
They must be prepared to accept the political consequences: By ignoring minorities, Republicans may find themselves as the minority party for quite some time.
Joshua Darr is a Heights staff columnist. He welcomes comments at jdarr@bcheights.com.
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