Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Romney Falls Flat in NAACP Appearance
Romney Falls Flat in NAACP Appearance
—By Adam Serwer
Mitt Romney's speech to the NAACP Wednesday didn't go spectacularly well. Although he received a largely cordial reception, he was booed when he promised to repeal Barack Obama's signature domestic accomplishment, the Affordable Care Act.
Some analysts have suggested the boos may help Romney by making him look magnanimous and showing that he's willing to appear before an unfriendly audience to make his pitch. It's doubtful, given Romney's reaction and the campaign's decision to send out a version of the video with the boos edited out, that getting booed was part of Romney's plan. Nevertheless, the Romney campaign is likely to use the boos to its advantage going forward. Conservative pundits, already wary of at the NAACP for previous slights, will foment outrage on his behalf. Politically, it's hard to see how the appearance hurt Romney, or how it could have—so it's overstated as an example of political valor.
There are substantive reasons why Romney's pitch fell flat. Romney told the NAACP that "I believe that if you understood who I truly am in my heart, and if it were possible to fully communicate what I believe is in the real, enduring best interest of African American families, you would vote for me for president." This is a spectacularly bad pitch for any politician, because it happens to matter very little what candidates feel in their heart. What matters is the party they represent, and the policies they've committed to pursuing.
The economic crisis has lead to a collapse of minority wealth, and black Americans continue to have a higher unemployment rate than whites. But even here, the GOP's message to black voters is hampered by the false Republican narrative that laws banning discrimination in lending led to the crisis, and, as Slate's Dave Weigel points out, a Republican-backed policy of austerity has disproportionately affected black people, who are more likely to work for the government. The audience at the NAACP is not going to take kindly to the suggestion that lending institutions need more leeway to shovel out "ghetto loans" to minorities. Nor are they likely to appreciate the argument that friends and family members deserved to lose jobs that could have been easily preserved by policies past Republican presidents have used but the GOP blocked when Obama proposed them.
- more -
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/07/romney-falls-flat-during-naacp-appearance
—By Adam Serwer
Mitt Romney's speech to the NAACP Wednesday didn't go spectacularly well. Although he received a largely cordial reception, he was booed when he promised to repeal Barack Obama's signature domestic accomplishment, the Affordable Care Act.
Some analysts have suggested the boos may help Romney by making him look magnanimous and showing that he's willing to appear before an unfriendly audience to make his pitch. It's doubtful, given Romney's reaction and the campaign's decision to send out a version of the video with the boos edited out, that getting booed was part of Romney's plan. Nevertheless, the Romney campaign is likely to use the boos to its advantage going forward. Conservative pundits, already wary of at the NAACP for previous slights, will foment outrage on his behalf. Politically, it's hard to see how the appearance hurt Romney, or how it could have—so it's overstated as an example of political valor.
There are substantive reasons why Romney's pitch fell flat. Romney told the NAACP that "I believe that if you understood who I truly am in my heart, and if it were possible to fully communicate what I believe is in the real, enduring best interest of African American families, you would vote for me for president." This is a spectacularly bad pitch for any politician, because it happens to matter very little what candidates feel in their heart. What matters is the party they represent, and the policies they've committed to pursuing.
The economic crisis has lead to a collapse of minority wealth, and black Americans continue to have a higher unemployment rate than whites. But even here, the GOP's message to black voters is hampered by the false Republican narrative that laws banning discrimination in lending led to the crisis, and, as Slate's Dave Weigel points out, a Republican-backed policy of austerity has disproportionately affected black people, who are more likely to work for the government. The audience at the NAACP is not going to take kindly to the suggestion that lending institutions need more leeway to shovel out "ghetto loans" to minorities. Nor are they likely to appreciate the argument that friends and family members deserved to lose jobs that could have been easily preserved by policies past Republican presidents have used but the GOP blocked when Obama proposed them.
- more -
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/07/romney-falls-flat-during-naacp-appearance
But Mitt has secret black friends: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=932275
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
