After reading this post and the comments , I had to heave a heavy sigh, because I\u2019m tired of dealing with this constant back and forth between African Americans and Conservatives. It’s a fight that never seems to resolve itself.<\/p>\n

So, from the viewpoint of an African American who voted for Romney, I want to share a few points.<\/p>\n

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First, while there have been some racially tinged rhetoric coming from conservatives, I don\u2019t think that conservatives are automatically racist. People need to remember that it was under George W. Bush that we had not one but two African American Secretaries of State, Colin Powell and Condi Rice. Just recently, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, herself of Indian heritage, appointed US House Representative Tim Scott to the Senate to fill the seat vacated by Jim DeMint. In a state known for being the birthplace of the Civil War and the home of segregationist Senator Strom Thurmond, having an African American representing the state is nothing short of historic.<\/p>\n

Second, while I don\u2019t think conservatism = racism, that is the bias that conservatives have to live with. The larger society thinks this and speaking from experience, it is hard to break free of a stereotype. So even if you have nominated African Americans to high positions in government, the media and the rest of society will focus on the one guy who says something stupid and blow it up to represent all of conservatism. Stop whining about how unfairly you are treated because nobody cares. Really, we don’t care. It only makes you look more guilty. Ignore the trash talk and keep working at reconciliation.<\/p>\n

Third, when it comes to the concerns of African Americans, conservatives tend to neglect us and focus on white people. At some point, somewhere in the last 40 years, the GOP just stopped taking Blacks seriously and ceded the community to the Democrats. During the election, the only visible time that Romney spoke to African Americans was at the NAACP convention and there he was denouncing Obamacare and not offering a viable alternative. I get the problems with the Affordable Care Act. But what conservatives don’t know is that many African Americans tend to be in a more precarious situation than whites when it comes to employment. This means we are more likely to lose health insurance, which means not going to the doctor and dealing with all the health issues that blacks deal with like high blood pressure and diabetes. Was Romney being racist? No. However, in talking about repealing Obamacare and offering nothing in its place made African Americans think that the GOP doesn\u2019t care about them.<\/p>\n

Fourth, while Rod is correct that African Americans won\u2019t ever become a major part of the GOP coalition that’s not an excuse to just not bother with outreach. Republicans don’t need to get every vote, it just needs to get enough votes. In the 50-50 nation we live in, what matters is getting enough votes from different groups to eke a victory. The GOP will never get the majority of black votes, but if it can make in-roads; say make it a goal to get 15-20%, then they might make a difference.<\/p>\n

Fifth, conservatives have to do more than what I call \u201cshowroom diversity.\u201d You see this every four years at the convention when a number of persons of color speak at at the podium. There\u2019s nothing wrong with that, per se. But the real work has to be getting more delegates of color on the convention floor to match the diversity at the podium. If you can’t do that, then you aren\u2019t going to get the attention of African Americans.<\/p>\n

Sixth, the GOP has to actually go to black communities and listen to African Americans. Hear about our lives and what we think we need. The party doesn\u2019t have to pander to us, but they need to tailor conservative ideas to the lives of black folks. I\u2019m sorry, but a tax cut ain\u2019t gonna help.<\/p>\n