From the Desk of A Pulitzer Prize Nominee...: November 2019

Monday, November 18, 2019

Republicans Have Eyes But Cannot See and Ears But Cannot Hear

In the Bible, Job 3:25 states, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.”

How appropriate after last week’s Republican loss in the Louisiana gubernatorial race.

Republicans have lost two of the three governor’s races this year; Mississippi being the only race that we won. The other governor’s race we lost was in Kentucky.

In Kentucky, the incumbent Republican lost to a Democrat; in Mississippi, the incumbent Republican governor will be succeeded with another Republican; and the Louisiana incumbent Democrat beat a Republican.

So, Republicans had a net loss of one seat, meaning in January, Republicans will control 26 statehouses and Democrats will control 24.

Needless to say, my party is heading in the wrong direction!

In last week’s column, I wrote about the precipitous decline of the Republican Party of Virginia. Similarly, I predicted we would lose the Louisiana governor’s race because the Republican candidate made a conscious decision to write off the Black community.

Blacks are 32% of the state’s population and 31% of the voting-age population. Republicans begin their campaigns by writing off nearly a third of the state’s voters or 450, 243 potential voters; therefore, they need to get a significant percentage of the white vote just to be competitive; and there are not enough of them to secure victory.

Before the election, I talked with friends of mine in Louisiana who are political operatives in both parties. The one common theme I heard throughout the state, from both sides, was that early voting turnout among Blacks was at historic levels.

Blacks accounted for 31% of the early voting last week for the runoff versus 25% during the primary voting, a 6-point increase. This means there was approximately 30,000 additional votes cast by Blacks for the Democrats. The Republican candidate lost by only 40,341 votes. You do the math.

The Republican candidate only got 7% of the Black vote in last week’s election. Just think if our candidate would have spent time and money to get somewhere between 10-15% of the Black vote; he would be governor right now.

Because our Republican candidate had no Black operatives around him, they were totally unprepared and unqualified to respond to the Democrats race-baiting radio spots that ran on Black radio.

One Black group ran a series of ads comparing the Republican candidate to notorious racist and KKK member David Duke.

The ad stated, “What is the difference between David Duke, Eddie Rispone (the Republican candidate), and Donald Trump? The only difference is that Rispone will be governor if you don’t stop him.”

Any Black operative worth his salt would have been prepared for this tried and true Democrat trick and would have prepared the candidate to anticipate this.

Democrats have no positive policy proposals for the Black community, so they always revert back to the only thing they know—playing the race card!

Trump carried Louisiana by 20 points in 2016 and all the statewide offices are controlled by Republicans other than governor; there is only one Democrat in Louisiana’s congressional delegation.

There is absolutely no reason why a Republican can’t get double-digit support from the Black community. Sooner or later they will have to face the fact that whites are increasingly becoming a smaller percentage of the electorate; therefore, Republicans must be able to cobble together a coalition from various ethnic groups in order to remain a viable party.

Like Job in the Bible, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of, is come unto me.”

This continued Republican strategy of focusing only on white turnout is the thing I am most fearful of, and election after election they make my fears a reality.

My readers know that I have written frequently on the need for Republicans to cultivate substantive relationships with the Black community.

I am reminded of the fifth chapter of Daniel in the Bible. King Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, threw an elaborate party for himself and out of nowhere mysterious handwriting appeared on the wall. The king brought in all of his wise men to interpret the handwriting, but they couldn’t do it.

His wife knew about Daniel, who was a Godly man; she summoned him and he interpreted the writing and basically told the king that he would be overthrown from his kingdom. He was overthrown that very night.

Being Black in this Republican Party makes me feel a lot like Daniel. I have seen the handwriting on the wall for years when it comes to the party engaging with the Black community.

I talk to any and everyone in the party who will listen to me about the value of engaging with the Black community, the handwriting is on the wall. But, like Belshazzar, maybe we need to suffer a few more loses to see the light.

I pray that God will open the eyes and ears of this party and let those with eyes to see and ears hear; see and hear the handwriting on the wall!

Raynard Jackson is a Pulitzer Award-nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur. He is also President & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC, an internationally recognized political consulting, government affairs, and PR firm based in Washington, DC. Jackson is an internationally recognized radio talk show host and TV commentator. He has coined the phrase “straticist.” As a straticist, he has merged strategic planning with public relations. Call RJA to discuss how they can get you to the next level of your career or business.

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Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Virginia’s Election Should Serve as a Wake up Call

Last week Virginia had its state legislative races. Republicans got their heads handed to them on a silver platter. Democrats now have a majority in the state legislature for the first time in almost 30 years, and they also have the governor’s seat.

Virginia used to be a solidly red state for Republicans. Now, Virginia is the proverbial canary in the coalmine for both the state and national Republican Party.

I moved to Virginia in 1989. I came from St. Louis to be part of the incoming George H.W. Bush presidential administration.

I used to be very involved in the state Republican Party and the various Republican campaigns. As a matter of fact, I was the first and only Black to be elected national committeeman for the Young Republicans of Virginia. This was a statewide office that you had to run for.

I worked with Republican governors like George Allen, Jim Gilmore, and Bob McDonald; lieutenant governors like John Hager, and attorney generals like Mark Early. These elected officials all had a great understanding of the necessity of expanding the base of the Republican Party, both state and national.

Their campaign and official staff reflected the demographic makeup of Virginia. We had an active, functioning state party. Because these officeholders all valued diversity, we were able to take control of both chambers of the legislature.

In January of 2014, we lost every state-wide office to the Democrats. We still had a very slim majority in the state legislature until last week where the Democrats took outright control.

Democrats now control the governor’s seat and they have total control of the state government for the first time since 1993.

Virginia is a wakeup call to both our state and the national party. Far too many of the party’s leadership have bought into this idiotic “white turnout” approach to elections across the country. This approach simply says focus on white turnout and depress the turnout within the Black community by going negative.

I never have and never will agree with this approach to politics. If conservatives really believe in their message, they would have enough faith to believe that their message would resonate with every voter. If conservatives really believed in their message, they would take it to the marketplace of ideas throughout America.

Our country is becoming more diverse with each passing day; but Republican staffs seem to be getting whiter. Until our party views diversity as an asset to be celebrated; and not as a burden to bear; we will continue to lose state and national elections.

Far too often, Republicans hire Blacks in the political arena who they would never hire in their private sector company. Message to Republicans, if you would not hire a person to work in your private sector company, then don’t hire them to work within the party.

Memo to Republicans, hiring a Black is not the same as hiring the right Black for your staff.

Far too frequently Republicans hire Blacks as race insurance. I have a Black on my staff; therefore, I can’t be a racist, the thinking goes.

Most of the Black staffers I see have little to no ties to the Black community, and many don’t have the necessary skill set for the job they are hired for.

Republicans tend to hire Blacks they are comfortable with; at the expense of someone who knows what the hell they are doing.

Virginia should serve as a wakeup call to Republicans all across the country. We can no longer afford to be the white party. We must begin to reflect the true makeup of America.

When you look at the Republican Party, you should see America 2019; not America 1950.

I am committed to helping the party become more like America. The easiest thing for me to do is to leave the party, but that’s not happening. I am going to continue to “be what I am looking for.”