Should GOP Cultivate Black Voters

Should the GOP in 2010 and 2012 spend time and money trying to attract Black voters? If I were forced to give a one-word answer right now, it would be: No.

In 2008, Obama carried 95% of the Black vote. If I had a crystal ball, I'd predict (and be right) that Obama's share of the Black vote will be roughly . . . 95%.

In 2006, three outstanding Black candidates, Lynn Swann in PA, Ken Blackwell in Ohio, and Michael Steele in Maryland, ran for high offices (two for Gov. and one for the U.S. Senate). They ran against white candidates, none of whom was exactly Abraham Lincoln.

How did those fine Black candidates do with Black voters? Very poorly. In PA, Democrat Govenor Rendell paid top-dollar (half-a-million-dollars in Philly alone) to precinct "leaders." Rendell won the Black precincts in Philly by huge margins.

One of my Black friends suggested that the GOP should establish store-front operations in depressed areas, as the liberals have. My question about those store-front operations is this: what exactly have they accomplished for the Black communities?

When Ed Rendell first ran for Governor of Pennsylvania, he touted something known as "The Philadelphia Miracle." Apparently, the miracle was that Philly was still classified as a city.

Consider this: In Philly, the murder rate is off the charts, the schools are in disarray, and the unemployment rate is high. But the good Black folks of Philly go merrily along voting for the same people who put them in their current pickle. Philly is about one-fifth the size of New York, but in 2009 the number of murders in "the city of brotherly love" may top that of the Big Apple.

There are people out there (not enough, though) like Larry Elder, who are willing to speak some hard truths to Black voters. I hope they are successful, but I'm not going to hold my breath. Bill Cosby tried in the last generation, and all he got was a bunch of blank stares.

Yeah, I'm angry at most Black voters. They seem to have to lost touch with reality and essentially offered their votes to the highest bidder. That's bad for America and bad for the communities, because the handouts delay the actions that are necessary to bring about real . . . change.