Some GOPers Worried About Candidates Snubbing Minority Debates
Leading Republicans, including Newt Gingrich, Jack Kemp and Ken Mehlman, have a message for the presidential candidates: Stop snubbing minority debates.
The concern comes as the top four candidates have backed out of a debate on minority issues hosted by Tavis Smiley, simply citing scheduling conflicts. In addition, a Spanish-language Univision debate was already cancelled after only John McCain agreed to participate.
"I hope they will reverse their decision and change their schedules. I see no excuse — this thing has been planned for months, these candidates have known about it for months," said Gingrich. "It's just fundamentally wrong. Any of them who give you that scheduling-conflict answer are disingenuous."
"We sound like we don't want immigration; we sound like we don't want black people to vote for us," said Kemp. "What are we going to do — meet in a country club in the suburbs one day?"
Comments (7)
FreakyBeaky wrote on September 19, 2007 11:15 AM:After thirty-odd years of the Southern Strategy, you SOUND LIKE you don't want immigration, and you SOUND LIKE you don't want black people to vote for you? Uh, no, Jack, that's not precisely the problem ...
CT Voter wrote on September 19, 2007 11:30 AM:"We sound like we don't want immigration; we sound like we don't want black people to vote for us," said Kemp. "What are we going to do — meet in a country club in the suburbs one day?"
Hilarious! Really. It's not how you sound, Jacko, it's how you ARE that's the problem.
And the whole "country club in the suburbs" sorta sums it up, doesn't it? Because, as everyone knows, there are no minorities in the suburbs, right? Certainly no minorities in country clubs, yes?
Only in a Republican world is this true.
Whatta loser.
But good for laughs.
NV Dem wrote on September 19, 2007 12:02 PM:"What are we going to do — meet in a country club in the suburbs one day?", wow, just wow...
demwinger wrote on September 19, 2007 12:11 PM:the republicans voter base is shrinking VERY QUICKLY.. it is quite amazing.
if Romney is their nominee it will shrink even more. a right wing Mormon will not look good on the ballot with Hillary/Obama or Hillary/Richardson. a female/minority vs. 2 right wing white guys.
phil james wrote on September 19, 2007 12:19 PM:Gingrich, Kemp, and Mehlman just poured gasoline on that fire. They pretty much spelled out in all caps what everyone else was thinking and they can't unbreak the egg. If any of the candidates now signs up for the dabate it will be obvious that it isn't genuine interest at work. Sorry. The whole racist, alien-phobic schtick of the Repubs is in the spotlight now.
bob wrote on September 19, 2007 12:38 PM:Yes, exactly, you are the suburban country club party that doesn't care about African-Americans or Hispanics. That's it in a nutshell.
Redshift wrote on September 19, 2007 12:58 PM:Can you give us some crocodile tears to go along with that, Newt? The GOP is reaping what *you* sowed -- the lizard brain giveth, and the lizard brain taketh away.
