By Joseph Williams, Globe Staff September 5, 2008 ST. PAUL - The Republican Party, which seemed poised to make inroads among African- American voters by backing three black candidates in major races - and executing a high-profile outreach effort that included a mea culpa for slavery - has far fewer black convention delegates in this year's convention than it did in 2004, according to a recently released study. At time when the Democratic Party made history by nominating Barack Obama, the first black presidential candidate of a major political party, only 36 of approximately 2,000 delegates gathered here at the Xcel Energy Center this week are African-American, according to the study by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. The center, which tracks such data, said it is the lowest rate of black participation in 34 years. The scarcity of black faces has been reflected at the speaker's podium, where Michael Steele, an unsuccessful candidate for US Senate, has been the only African-American to have a prominent speaking role during the four-day event. It also hints at the collapse of a push by former Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman to capitalize on black voters' dissatisfaction with the Democrats and bring them into the GOP's "big tent." "It's the lowest level of black participation since Goldwater," said David Bositis, senior analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and author of the study, referring to the contentious 1964 Republican convention. Convened at the height of the civil rights movement, the event had presidential nominee Barry Goldwater calling for law and order against protesters in the streets. "It's interesting, because Goldwater was from Arizona," like current GOP nominee John McCain, Bositis said.... |
Blacks made up over 24% of the Democratic Convention delegates, an all-time high. Hmmm, I wonder why....
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