Rand Paul: 2016 GOP nominee could get a third or more of black vote

[jct74]

Rand Paul: 2016 GOP nominee could get a third or more of black vote

By David Sherfinski
Friday, October 17, 2014

Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, says the 2016 Republican presidential nominee could capture one-third or more of the black vote by pushing the right issues.

“If Republicans have a clue and do this and go out and ask every African-American for their vote, I think we can transform an election in one cycle,” the likely 2016 contender told Politico.

Mr. Paul has made overtures to the African-American community by recently meeting with black leaders in Ferguson, Missouri, for example, and helping Republicans open up minority outreach offices in various cities.

The senator said he doesn’t want to put a ceiling on a targeted percentage, but that by hitting on issues like school choice, criminal justice reform and the economy, there are voters out there who are at least open to being persuaded.

...

read more:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...a-third-or-mo/

[jct74]

here's the Politico article

Paul: African-American leaders may not yet embrace GOP

By MIKE ALLEN | 10/17/14 8:06 AM EDT

Sen. Rand Paul tells POLITICO that the Republican presidential candidate in 2016 could capture one-third or more of the African-American vote by pushing criminal-justice reform, school choice and economic empowerment.

“If Republicans have a clue and do this and go out and ask every African-American for their vote, I think we can transform an election in one cycle,” the Kentucky Republican said in a phone interview Thursday as he was driven through New Hampshire in a rental car.

Paul — on the cover of the new issue of Time as “The Most Interesting Man in Politics” — met with black leaders in Ferguson, Missouri, last week; opened a “GOP engagement office” in an African-American area of Louisville in June; and spoke the next month to a National Urban League convention in Cincinnati.

“That doesn’t mean that we get to a majority of African-American votes in one cycle,” Paul continued, speaking between campaign stops in Plymouth and Salem. “But I think there is fully a third of the African-American vote that is open to much of the message, because much of what the Democrats has offered hasn’t worked.”

...

read more:
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/1...ns-111975.html

[RonPaulFanInGA]

Man, if the GOP could ever start to get a decent percentage of the black vote again (it's been all downhill since Nixon received 32% of the black vote in 1972), they could flip the bird to Hispanics on illegal immigration and still win handily.

[Vanguard101]

There is no way Rand is getting a 3rd of the black vote.

[acptulsa]

There is no way Rand is getting a 3rd of the black vote.

Two years is a long time. And Obama is making it more obvious every single day that he's so in bed with the thieves that he makes an Uncle Tom look good.

I think it's becoming pretty obvious which side the Democratic Party is on, and it is not what you'd call a 'populist position'.

[specsaregood]

There is no way Rand is getting a 3rd of the black vote.

I'd say that depends on who his opponent is.

[acptulsa]

I'd say that depends on who his opponent is.

Then there's that. The Democrats could come up with another Sen. Byrd. They've always had plenty of those.

[jmdrake]

There is no way Rand is getting a 3rd of the black vote.

Rand could possibly win these poor inner city black voters who are sick of Obama and the democrats.

[William Tell]

Pipe dream I fear. Just because Rand pulls decent numbers among blacks in Kentucky. Does not mean a Republican can do it nationally, I am behind him, I just think he is dead wrong.

[Tywysog Cymru]

Maybe 15% is a more reasonable goal?

[Brett85]

That's very wishful thinking. I think Rand could do better among black voters than other Republican Presidential candidates have done, but he isn't going to get a third of the black vote, and neither is any other Republican. Getting 20% of the black vote would be a more realistic goal, and that would probably be good enough to win the general election.

[acptulsa]

I think he could win without a single vote from that particular demographic. It's possible.

But I hope he keeps targeting that group anyway. Long past time a conservative did so.

[invisible]

There is no way Rand is getting a 3rd of the black vote.

Why not? An entire third may not be realistic, but there is no question that the message of criminal justice reform and police accountability resonates very strongly with black voters. I have seen this firsthand in working on Duane C's campaign (see thread in Liberty Candidates section), and have been absolutely amazed at the response. Yes, there will always be those who will vote along racial lines, but my own experience has shown that the vast majority will vote on the issues when they are actually presented. Gunny's election proved this as well, go back and read the old threads on his campaign in a district with a large black population. Unless you have personally campaigned to specifically get the black vote for a conservative candidate, you cannot truthfully make this statement.

[FriedChicken]

I don't see why it wouldn't be possible if the majority of the GOP supported those issues by the time the presidential election began. That would make the repub label at least a little less 'evil' to 'those people'. (look, I'm not trying win PC points, I'm trying to make a quick post on a message board!).

So if a good portion of them changed their mind and another good portion decided to stay home because they were never really voting for the D's, just against the R's and didn't see a reason to do that this time around ...
It could translate to 33.33% of the vote.

This kind of hopeful rhetoric is helpful to Rand regardless of its accuracy ... if nothing else.

[philipped]

That would make the repub label at least a little less 'evil' to 'those people'.

This needs to be how people from as high up as the RNC and as low as the smallest counties Committee chairmen...Republican Party that addresses issues everyone and specific groups could rally behind could incite a coalition of people behind a certain form of governing aka a Rand Paul Republican based National Platform by 2016.