Rand Paul Stands Out in Courting Black Voters (NY Times)

[Okaloosa]

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/26/us...ue-speech.html

Rand Paul Stands Out in Courting Black Voters

CINCINNATI — After Mitt Romney received just 6 percent of the black vote in 2012, the Republican Party said that it could no longer afford to ignore African-Americans. “We are never going to win over voters who are not asked for their support,” its leaders wrote in a candid election post-mortem.

Nearly two years later, the party is still struggling to connect. There is one black Republican in Congress, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina. Republicans in state legislatures nationwide continue to back bills to require people to have identification to cast a ballot, which black leaders have said amounts to legalized voter suppression.

So when Republicans ask blacks to give their party a second look, they have a hard time finding an audience. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky confronted this on Friday when he appeared at a highly publicized speech to the National Urban League Conference to see row after row of empty chairs. The space did not look much fuller after one of the organizers urged people seated near the back to fill in the front rows.

[FriedChicken]

“Everybody treats the black community as if we have to be told about food stamps and welfare,” she said. “That’s talking to us as if it’s 1964. And I think Rand Paul understands that.”

Thats good to hear.

[georgiaboy]

Well done, Senator.

[Kotin]

Great article.. Rand is really breaking new ground in quite a few ways..

[PaleoPaul]

Rand needs to court the Latinos next; they're the fastest-growing voting bloc in the nation.

[thoughtomator]

Rand needs to court the Latinos next; they're the fastest-growing voting bloc in the nation.

the dead are the fastest-growing voter bloc in the nation

[Okaloosa]

Rand needs to court the Latinos next; they're the fastest-growing voting bloc in the nation.

While I agree right now the hard core tea-con attacks anyone that spews anything but hate towards anything related to immigrants. Look at Rand's facebook this insane labeling by them is not good.

I would suggest he needs to breakthrough with women in all honesty as they vote strongly democrat.

[PaleoPaul]

He can appeal to Latinos without talking about immigration.

[surf]

let's hope we can get some better legislation out of this first. let's get some votes on these prior to general election this year. there are two important issues here: voting rights, sentencing, basic human rights, etc. and Rand winning the election.

if a, then b

[PaleoPaul]

We need to work on electing a House and a Senate that President Paul can work with.

(WOW, I can't believe I'm uttering the words "President Paul" as an actual possibility!!!)