Sometimes you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. If you’re Mitt Romney, this is becoming a regular occurrence.
It’s no surprise that one day after delivering remarks to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Mitt Romney was verbally attacked by members of the Association. As reported by Susan Ferrechio of the Washington Examiner:
“He didn’t say anything that’s going to change my opinion,” said Ed Josey, president of the Staten Island branch of the NAACP, and an Obama supporter…
Clayola Brown, a member of the NAACP’s National Board of Directors who invited Romney to speak, said it was a mistake for the Republican contender to talk about high unemployment numbers as if his audience was unaware of the problems they themselves face.
“It was insensitive and quite demeaning as a matter of fact,” Brown told The Washington Examiner after Romney exited the stage. “Certainly we are aware of what the numbers are and the impact is in our communities. It’s the dialogue used that we find insulting.”
Romney was invited to address the NAACP not to win over voters already overwhelmingly committed to backing Obama, but to “show respect to the organization,” Brown said.
Another board member, Amos Brown, of San Francisco, called Romney’s address, “an insult to the NAACP,” including his references to the importance of family.
“For him to come here and lecture us about the family — he doesn’t need to be talking to Negros about that,” Brown said. “Who tore up the family?”
Romney offered himself as a candidate for everyone, a leader who could particularly “make things better” in the black community by helping African-Americans find jobs.
The audience laughed. And booed.
“I think he tried to be sincere but I don’t think he’s for the poor, or the middle class,” Ethel Taylor, of Toledo, Ohio, told The Examiner. “I don’t think he could care less.”
Romney adviser Tara Wall said she heard plenty of applause for Romney in the crowd and that she believes his message was well-received.
“Yes there is disagreement, there is going to be disagreement,” Hall said. “He actually received more applause than boos. There was much more agreement overall. At the end of the day its a message that has to be told.”
This was a no-win situation for Governor Romney. He probably had a better chance of walking into a classroom of seniors at UC-Berkeley and winning them over than he did of changing hearts and minds among the NAACP faithful. Democrats know it. The media knows it. And the NAACP knows it.
Leave it to a roomful of black Obama supporters to listen to Romney’s speech and take offense. It’s predictable and pathetic.
In particular, let me take a moment to answer Mr. Brown’s question, which followed his asinine and ignorant statements to the press. Mr. Brown, your rhetorical question and implication is that Republicans have “torn up” the black family. This is laughable, offensive, and completely absurd. The Republican Party, since the days of Abraham Lincoln, has been the party that has helped to liberate blacks from slavery and fight for their equality in society. Not Democrats.
The Republican Party of Lincoln inspired blacks of the 1860′s to join the party’s ranks, despite the threats and violence perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan; which Rush Limbaugh accurately characterized as the modern terrorist wing of the Democratic Party.
Republicans of the 1950′s and 60′s were the ones who fought for the civil rights of blacks while Democrats stood in opposition at the time and have worked feverishly to re-write history in their favor for political gain. Democrats point out that Lyndon Johnson was the president who saw civil rights legislation through in 1965, however they conveniently forget that a Republican president – Dwight Eisenhower – attempted to pass similar legislation prior to LBJ, only to see his efforts blocked by guess who: congressional Democrats.
You see Mr. Brown, your party and president are in the business of promoting class warfare, race baiting, and interminable impoverishment of Americans (black, white, hispanic, etc.). Not Republicans. Your party is responsible for destroying the black family and keeping Americans of all color and creed dependent on the federal government. Mitt Romney and the Republican Party are not the reason for these ailments. The Democratic Party of FDR, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and yes, Barack Obama is responsible for the current plight.
But, of course, we all know who you’re going to pull the lever for in November: the man who has turned his back on the NAACP and the black community – Barack Hussein Carter.
Facts are stubborn things. You should examine them some time.
