IIRC, Tunch Ilkin, former Steeler offensive lineman, is associated with the Hope Mission Ministries, so no big surprise Swann would show up there.

pd

Over at MyDD, there’s a post about a WP article on how the GOP is winning over Jewish voters, which was thoroughly debunked.

This is the same thing, a GOP meme they are trying to put out that black voters are swarming to the GOP. Maybe rich black voters like the GOP, but for the same reasons rich voters of any race or ethnicity support Republicans – because they don’t want to pay taxes.

Swann’s support of HB1318 tells you all you need to know about him. Maintaining his own interests comes first, last and always because support for HB 1318 equals support for keeping Republicans in power and their policies in place for a long time.

pd

This is the latest conservative attempt to “create reality” by putting out false talking points. And it IS a concerted effort. As I drove down New York Ave last Thursday morning I almost crashed my car when the headline ticker on the Washington Times building scrolled “Democrats Can No Longer Count on Black Vote”

The GOP has mastered how to break people into groups and target groups individually. They thrive on identity politics.

If the GOP, after months of pandering to the hardcore social right with issues of abortion and gay marriage, couldn’t get African American faith communities to “come on over”, then creating reality isn’t going to work either. After attending a few AME services, I can’t tell you how many times I have heard people say that they are tired of attempts to trick them with diversions such as abortion and gay marriage. They want a party that is going to represent their interests. A California Millionare named Swann isn’t going to get it done.

That’s an excellent point about how socially conservative many black Americans are. After reading the first two volumes of Taylor Branch’s wonderful trilogy
on MLK and the civil rights movement, what’s stuck with me more than anything is how very traditional and conservative and based around their church most AfAm families are.

That said, blacks are right to try and make sure their vote isn’t being taken for granted, which I don’t think it is, by the Democratic party.

In the 90s, a black voter revolt, they stayed home on election day, helped propel Jim Roddy to power.

pd

When there was talk in political circles of a “Catholic realignment”, everyone scoffed. When Republicans actively began attacking the Democrat monopoly on the Hispanic vote, Dems snickered. Now, as Republicans open a dialogue with the African-American community, it seems as if liberals have gone postal. Why? If African-American allegiance to the Democrat Party is a total and utter lock, why worry? To answer that, reread the beginning of this post. In some battleground states, Bush actually carried the Hispanic vote, and ran five to seven points behind Kerry in the others. Bush, I believe, broke even with Kerry nationally among Catholics, and won the “Catholic vote” in most battlegrounds. Now Republicans have begun recruiting top-tier African-American candidates as they challenge decades-old Democrat talking points in urban areas, with the ultimate result TBD. Complete transformation won’t occur overnight, but, little by little, I believe the African-American vote will begin to move. As the article points out, 20% of the African-American vote going Republican this cycle could result in new governors in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and perhaps new senators in Maryland and Michigan. However, no need to worry, right?

Do you call Swann a top tier candidate? He’s a rich guy from California with no elected experience. Also, since the right to vote was guarenteed to African American’s, they have followed the party of progressive leanings. That started as the party of Lincoln, but as the GOP became dominated by business and industrial interests and the Dems started to embrace the civil rights movement, that all changed. Until the GOP becomes that party of progressive leanings, I don’t see any kind of realignment.

As far as the Catholic realignment, I don’t see the Catholic voter as a monolithic block. With the decline of influence from the Church, the ability to identify people as Catholic voters has become increasingly difficult. I think with much of that formerly monolithic block there are now more people who are voters that happen to be catholic.