Black Like Me

Friday's Washington Post included a piece by columnist Eugene Robinson that was truly pathetic.  Finally admitting to himself (I'm guessing) the sure Democrat Party disaster coming next month, Robinson lashes out in frustration at Republicans for....  Well, his title will tell you. "Why won't the GOP compete for African American votes?

It apparently occurred to Robinson that as the Democrat Party routinely receives 90-95% of the black vote,  it can fairly safely take that vote for granted.  And, as the Republicans have demonstrated their ability to win elections without the black vote, like they will do again in large numbers this fall, it doesn't need to pursue it.  Recognizing that this is not a good position to be in, early in the piece Robinson concedes that as competition is a good thing generally, maybe it would also be a good thing for black Americans if the two major parties actually competed for their vote.

But then, making no sense at all, he proceeds to call the GOP's success as a party, at least since the 1960s, a direct result of deliberately racist policies. He goes on to dismiss the party's current leadership by African American Michael Steele as a sure sign of tokenism.  (I suspect that as Colin Powell supported the candidacy of Barack Obama, the general is no longer a token.)  Finally, he is sure nevertheless that the liberalism of the Democrats remains superior to the conservatism of the Republicans.  Therefore, his conclusion is that blacks, whose interests are, in his judgment, better served by liberalism, would be foolish to vote against those interests by voting for the GOP.

I don't think he realizes it, but Robinson doesn't really want the Republican Party to court the vote of African Americans.  What he really wants is for the Republican Party to become more like the Democrat Party.  What he doesn't seem to realize, however, is that if this were to happen, there would be no real difference between the parties and, as a result, no real choice either.

But then there are still far too many white Republicans who think exactly the same way.