S.C. poised to elect black GOP Congressman

werepossum

Elite Member
Jul 10, 2006
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A bright spot for South Carolina. Kudos!

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100623/D9GGNAEG0.html

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - Voters in South Carolina nominated a black Republican lawmaker for an open congressional seat Tuesday, rejecting a legendary political name and adding diversity to the national party.

State Rep. Tim Scott defeated Paul Thurmond, an attorney who is son of the one-time segregationist U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond. Scott, who won the runoff with 69 percent of the vote, is now poised to become the nation's first black GOP congressman since 2003.

Scott, 44, owns an insurance business and became the first black Republican in the South Carolina Legislature in more than a century when elected two years ago. Before that, he served 13 years on Charleston County Council and was elected chairman four times.

The very fact that this is news shows that the GOP has a long way to go. Granted, probably 90% of blacks are Democrats, but that still leaves over a million potential conservative GOP politicians. If they want blacks to not see the GOP as the party of white people, then they need to seek out honest, charismatic, qualified conservative black folks and encourage and support their entry into politics. Affirmative action doesn't have to be just a gubmit check, y'all. With the Democrats handing out checks and quotas the GOP needs to do a bit more than pay lip service to equality to make blacks believe that they mean it.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
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I'm surprised this even made the news Libs hate black conservatives more than Devil hates holy water. It certainly won't get the dreamy media promotion like first black president did.
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
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I'm surprised this even made the news Libs hate black conservatives more than Devil hates holy water. It certainly won't get the dreamy media promotion like first black president did.

Funny! I was feeling a great deal of satisfaction and pride in America that SC was able to do this.
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
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[FONT=Verdana,Sans-serif]He said John Moniz, a conservative entrepreneur who ran a Chick-fil-A, changed his outlook on life.

Those damn right wing conservative Christians (if you know anything about Chick-fil-a). Couldn't they have left him in the ghetto?

[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Sans-serif]Scott picked up key national endorsements, including one from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

This probably put it in the bag for him, like Haley. So palin gets +1 for Scott and -50 for another love gov.
[/FONT]
 

werepossum

Elite Member
Jul 10, 2006
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I'm surprised this even made the news Libs hate black conservatives more than Devil hates holy water. It certainly won't get the dreamy media promotion like first black president did.

LOL! So true.

What's also interesting is that long before affirmative action or civil rights legislation South Carolina apparently sent at least one black Congressman to DC. (Or maybe the reporter went back a hundred years and got tired?)

Anyway, I know nothing of this man, but anyone who is both black and conservative is at least willing to break from the crowd and take the more difficult path.
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
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What's also interesting is that long before affirmative action or civil rights legislation South Carolina apparently sent at least one black Congressman to DC. (Or maybe the reporter went back a hundred years and got tired?)
After the war of Northern aggression, there were blacks in the state house. Didn't last long with the good ole boys refusing to play ball.
 

CrossFyer

Member
Dec 31, 2009
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I'm surprised this fact is even considered that newsworthy...

As a white republican, I wouldn't think twice about voting for a black congressperson. Unless they happened to be a progressive or liberal like many, but then that would have nothing to do with skin color and everything to do with ideology.
 

drebo

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2006
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I'm not sure why skin color has anything to do with anything.

If the guy is qualified and has good ideas about the way things should be done, why is his skin color even entered into the equation?
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
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I'm not sure why skin color has anything to do with anything.

If the guy is qualified and has good ideas about the way things should be done, why is his skin color even entered into the equation?
Because we're talking about racist, backwater, kkk loving S.C.
 

CrossFyer

Member
Dec 31, 2009
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Well now, are you sure those adjectives are even remotely true? They sure don't represent the majority, or even majority of republicans
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
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what does that mean?
Sarcasm.

Crossfyer said "Well now, are you sure those adjectives are even remotely true? They sure don't represent the majority, or even majority of republicans"
in response to my "Because we're talking about racist, backwater, kkk loving S.C." post

IMO, It made the news because that's the perception others have about S.C. and the south in general. Bunch of backwards rednecks. At times, I agree but mostly not.
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,973
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Oh please. That's like saying all Muslims are terrorists.
Refer to my post #19 above. Sarcasm. Maybe should have put the pigs quote after.

FWIW:I was born/raised and still live in S.C.

You mean all Muslims aren't terrorists? Who knew?
 

classy

Lifer
Oct 12, 1999
15,219
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I'm surprised this even made the news Libs hate black conservatives more than Devil hates holy water. It certainly won't get the dreamy media promotion like first black president did.

Thats not true Zeebs. I read this and its very exciting for me. I have some conservative view points and some liberal view points. I am actually more conservative than liberal. But its the "people" that make up a party. Its hard to support a party where there is very little diversity and whole lot of anti-minority fodder. I would and I know many other blacks that would truly support the republican party when they want us to be apart of the support group, not just for show.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
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Thats not true Zeebs. I read this and its very exciting for me. I have some conservative view points and some liberal view points. I am actually more conservative than liberal. But its the "people" that make up a party. Its hard to support a party where there is very little diversity and whole lot of anti-minority fodder. I would and I know many other blacks that would truly support the republican party when they want us to be apart of the support group, not just for show.

Diversity is definitely important all I'm sayin is white liberal hate an individualist black man because their power relies on teaching minorities that their identity is determined by skin color. This grows racism because how can you expect one to become colorblind when you see people as groups and races instead of individual human beings?

I never look at a person threw color except to say it's important to have all peoples represented in work, in culture, in politics on both sides or your get disenfranchisement. People are people. It's hard sometimes with media or civil rights leaders always telling us how bad xyz is - or Hollywood portrayals of mistral black folk, but I think I'm above that. Bottom line it makes no sense 95% of Black are democrat.
 

werepossum

Elite Member
Jul 10, 2006
29,873
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Thats not true Zeebs. I read this and its very exciting for me. I have some conservative view points and some liberal view points. I am actually more conservative than liberal. But its the "people" that make up a party. Its hard to support a party where there is very little diversity and whole lot of anti-minority fodder. I would and I know many other blacks that would truly support the republican party when they want us to be apart of the support group, not just for show.

Diversity is definitely important all I'm sayin is white liberal hate an individualist black man because their power relies on teaching minorities that their identity is determined by skin color. This grows racism because how can you expect one to become colorblind when you see people as groups and races instead of individual human beings?

I never look at a person threw color except to say it's important to have all peoples represented in work, in culture, in politics on both sides or your get disenfranchisement. People are people. It's hard sometimes with media or civil rights leaders always telling us how bad xyz is - or Hollywood portrayals of mistral black folk, but I think I'm above that. Bottom line it makes no sense 95% of Black are democrat.

Interesting to see these two points of view together. Both are true and valid, BUT - the GOP hasn't had a black representative in Congress since J.C. Watts entered the ministry full time rather than stand for re-election. While I don't think the establishment Republicans are racist, a lot of blacks do think that. When your party is not represented by any black elected officials, it becomes harder to attract blacks to it; politically the perception is the reality. Republicans simply need to work harder to identify, promote, and support qualified black candidates who share their views. In politics as in anything else, when you're behind you have to work harder, and the GOP is way behind with black folks.

Also, the GOP tends to think of blacks as kryptonite, by which I mean they do not know how to respond to blacks in situations where they would have no problem responding to whites or Asians. If white liberals in West Virginia get caught in illegal voting the GOP jumps all over them; let a black precinct in East Memphis or Philly or East St. Louis do the same and the GOP cannot respond because of their sensitivity toward accusations of racism. By working with black conservatives the GOP could gain valuable knowledge of how to respond to those situations as people rather than as black people, and more conservative blacks will consider the Republican candidate. Since no one trusts politicians anyway and most government occurs behind closed doors, it's really hard for blacks to trust Republicans enough to honestly consider their candidates.

This is a good thing for the GOP and for the country. But it also underscores how alienated blacks are from the GOP. The GOP really needs to be working to fix this, and it isn't sufficient to just proclaim one's colorblindness or be willing to vote for black candidates should they appear. The GOP must actively court black candidates, and without lowering standards or compromising key principles, to work their way out of this hole.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
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Were - You don't think something is strange about a philosophically individualist party going after groups?