The New York Times had an interesting piece yesterday about the 32 black GOP candidates vying for Congress this year, the largest since Reconstruction:
But Democrats and other political experts express skepticism about black Republicans' chances in November. “In 1994 and 2000, there were 24 black G.O.P. nominees,” said Donna Brazile, a Democratic political strategist who ran Al Gore’s presidential campaign and who is black. “And you didn’t see many of them win their elections.”
Tavis Smiley, a prominent black talk show host who has repeatedly criticized Republicans for not doing more to court black voters, said, “It’s worth remembering that the last time it was declared the ‘Year of the Black Republican,’ it fizzled out.”
My frustration about people of color in the GOP having to explicitly signal to their audiences that they aren't one of "those minorities" aside, this is an unequivocally good thing. While I've previously written that the GOP won't be able to make a serious bid for black votes as long as exonerating itself from charges of racism is its primary goal, the fact is that actually having black elected officials in the party, even if done for cynical reasons, may ultimately change the GOP for the better over time, if only by accident.
I honestly don't think the Democrats' monopoly on the black vote and for that matter, Republicans large advantage among whites isn't so much a matter of individual politics as it is an issue of group identity. Republicans devote a large amount of effort to stoking white resentment, which in turn alienates most black people, even those with conservative views. Ultimately, the path to a country less polarized by race is one in which black people feel comfortable voting Republican, and white resentment is no longer the political weapon it is today.
-- A. Serwer