Think Progress

Only five black RNC members — including the two running for chairman.

After their party’s defeat in November, Republicans have spoken at length about reaching out to minority voters. Yet as the Republican National Committee meets in Washington today to vote on a new chairman, Politico reports that there are only five black committee members, including the two — Michael Steele and Ken Blackwell — who are running for chairman:

Glenn McCall, the committeeman for South Carolina, nominated his home-state chairman, Katon Dawson. And Keith Butler, the committeeman for Michigan, nominated Michigander Saul Anuzis.

There is only one other black RNC member: Ada Fisher, the North Carolina committeewoman who supports Dawson.

There are no black Republican members of Congress; the three Cuban-Americans, one Vietnamese-American, and one Hispanic represent the caucus’ entire minority membership. No wonder Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) warned yesterday that the GOP was becoming “a regional party.

Update In the first ballot, current chairman Mike Duncan received 52 votes and Michael Steele won 46, with the other three candidates trailing by a large margin.


31 Responses to “Only five black RNC members — including the two running for chairman.”

  1. Zooey says:

    These five are just really stupid.


  2. hanshiro says:

    Republicans have always been just a special-interest group…their own.


  3. upside99 says:

    Kinda like chickens eating at KFC, isn’t it?


  4. pmadhiraju says:

  5. Hoodathunk says:

    Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) warned yesterday that the GOP was becoming “a regional party.“

    I’ve seen better attended keggers. And the attendees made more sense.


  6. upside99 says:

    pmadhiraju Says:

    test

    True/False or Multiple Choice?


  7. Buckie Boy says:

    Why in the world would any minority join the party of bigotry and hate?

    Self loathing?


  8. SharksBreath says:

    Steel would be in trouble if Republicans watched MSNBC.

    Andrea Mitchell just showed an old Michael Steele mailer from when he previously ran.

    It read “STEELE DEMOCRAT”

    Andrea Mitchell, “I’m not trying to cause him votes but maybe we can ask him if he’s still a Democrat.”

    LOL.


  9. misshusseinmolly says:

    Gee — I would think that the “Magic N*gro” song promoted by Limbaugh and Saltsman would have black Americans running to the RNC to sign up…

    /snark


  10. P.D. says:

    Yeah! Like the Old White Bread Party of the Republicans will elect the black guy! I really just can’t stand the Republicans anymore. I have always been a fair minded person, but the last 8 years have been just awful. I blame the Rethugs for that. Maybe that is unjustified, but that’s the way I feel.


  11. ralph the wonder llama says:

    SharksBreath Says:
    Steel would be in trouble if Republicans watched MSNBC.

    Andrea Mitchell just showed an old Michael Steele mailer from when he previously ran.

    It read “STEELE DEMOCRAT”

    Andrea Mitchell, “I’m not trying to cause him votes but maybe we can ask him if he’s still a Democrat.”

    I remember that campaign gambit. i think it was from Steele’s failed Senate race against Ben Cardin in ‘06. The “Steele Democrat” actually referred not to Steele himself, but to supposed Democratic voters who supported Steele.

    Of course, since the electoral environment was so toxic for Republicans, the impression that Steele was a Democrat was left to stand (if it hadn’t been intentionally crafted that way to begin with).


  12. Leftside Annie says:

    GOP = Party of Rich White Men…

    … and self-loathing gays, blacks, hispanics and women!


  13. Leftside Annie says:

    And yeah, let’s re-elect Mike Duncan – since he did such a GREAT job the last election!!!!!

    Woohoo!!!


  14. spencers mom says:

    So it comes down to Steele and the white guy. Any bets on who the GOP picks to lead them?

    I think Mitch meant to say the GOP was becoming “a marginalized party.”

    PEACE


  15. paleolib says:

    The prospect of Mike Duncan being seriously considered for reelection after last year’s electoral meltdown is akin to AIG giving millions in bonuses to the rocket scientists in the credit default swap group who blew up the company. This party truly is dead from the neck up.


  16. moondancer says:

    Blackwell and Steele will serve the Democrats chances better than the goopers. The GOP is at the mercy of the dems. If the D Party behaves well, the GOP could be smashing all records for minority and irrelevance.


  17. DidHeJustSayThat says:

    GOP: You can have your Tiger Woods, because we have our own Tiger Woods now!

    They just don’t seem to get it.


  18. tokin librul says:

    JC Watts formerly was the “only black Republican Congressman.” He was from Norman Oklahoma. His dad ran for State Office as a Democrat. During the campaign, when JC, Sr, was asked about his son’s politics, he replied: “A black person voting Republican is like a chicken voting Col. Sanders.”


  19. moonsha says:

    Michael Steele? The Steele that had bumper stickers made when he was running for governor of Massachusetts that said “Steele Democrat”?

    Say it isn’t so. haha


  20. Blue387 says:

    Fun fact: You could fit all the black RNC members in a minivan.


  21. backup says:

    I’ll tee this up for you:

    I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

    - MLK

    Republicans should pick their leadership based on the ‘content of their character’. But, if the party wants a chance at a future black audience, it obviously wouldn’t hurt if that new leader was black.


  22. ElBruce says:

    Buckie Boy Says:

    Why in the world would any minority join the party of bigotry and hate?

    Being a token can do great things for your career, since there are so few of them. Just ask Clarence Thomas. Or, for that matter, Colin Powell.


  23. freeman says:

    Once again ,
    Google Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell and the first item that appears is voter fraud . This man put the fix on the elections in ohio in 2004!
    http://blog.wired.com/ 27bstroke6/ 2007/ 04/ did_ohio_electi.html

    from democracy now…
    MARK CRISPIN MILLER:
    Well, it’s a system—if people go to the website for Velvet Revolution, particularly http://www.rovecybergate.com, they’ll find the documents that Spoonamore has filed describing the setup that’s known as “Man in the Middle.” This happened in Ohio in 2004.

    It involves shunting the data that comes from the website for the Secretary of State—I mean, the election returns—taking those election returns as they come to the website in real-time and shunting them to a computer somewhere else. What happened in 2004 was the election returns from Ken Blackwell’s website were shunted to a computer in a basement in Chattanooga, Tennessee, under the control of a very partisan private company to which Connell was connected. The data was shunted to this strange computer in Chattanooga and then directed back to the Secretary of State’s website. As Connell—I mean, sorry, as Spoonamore has said, the only purpose of doing this Man in the Middle thing is to commit crime.
    http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/01/conyers_nadler_invite_ken_blac.php

    He was also instrumental for blocking the libertarians from the ballot in Ohio and has been accused of engaging in voter supression.
    Just the man for the job !


  24. liz09 says:

    i have this sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach that if steele wins, it will have been a cynical, calculated move by the gop to use him as a foil against obama… someone please talk me down! i know…it’s such an awful thought that i’ve had my finger on the submit comment button for minutes now!!


  25. sectionop92 says:

    I wonder how Michael Steele and Ken Blackwell look in high heels and bathing suits.


  26. Leftside Annie says:

    ElBruce Says:

    Buckie Boy Says:

    Why in the world would any minority join the party of bigotry and hate?

    Being a token can do great things for your career, since there are so few of them. Just ask Clarence Thomas. Or, for that matter, Colin Powell.

    ElBruce – I have a hard time believing that anyone would be so sadly lacking in dignity and self-respect as to cynically use their status as a “token” …but after the last 8 years of watching the GOP abase themselves before a petulant, retarded, sociopathic blowhard like Bush (and now groveling before a bloated drug addict like Rush Limpballs) …well, anything is possible.

    Yikes.


  27. sectionop92 says:

    Blue387 Says:

    Fun fact: You could fit all the black RNC members in a minivan.

    They’re the drivers of those minivans and all other automobiles. Lets not forget who the black man still answers to in the RNC hierarchy.


  28. backup says:

    liz09. That’s a legitimate thought. Obama was the best man for the job. But, the fact that he is black, I believe, makes him even more potent. Because he is black, he has the additional benefit of helping to bridge some of the national racial divide. It’s important. If Republicans factor Steele’s (or Blackwell’s) race into the equation, in an attempt to help bridge the racial divide between blacks and republicans, it’s a similar idea.

    Ideally, decisions shouldn’t be made on the basis of race. There is a subjective line between pandering and attempts to be inclusive. Realistically, however, it would be fortunate for republicans, if the best man for the job, were black.


  29. Anonymouse says:

    Are we sure they’re not part of the wait staff? Sounds very un-RNClike to be that inclusive.


  30. appleeggby says:

    Actually, until winning Steele wasn’t even an RNC member.


  31. liz09 says:

    backup: thanks for the thoughtful reply. made me pull the reins on my own cynical outlook and eased the pain somewhat when i learned that steele, in fact, did win.



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