Boehner Predicts Minority and Young People Not a Factor in November
Special to the Trice Edney News Wirefrom the Afro American Newspapers – House Speaker JohnBoehner admits that the GOP doesn’t do well with Blacks and Hispanicsbut said Aug. 27 that they don’t have to. He predicted at a media lunch at theRepublican National Convention that he doesn’t expect a repeat on November 2012of the massive turnout at the polls by Blacks, Hispanics and young people thatkeyed President Obama’s 2008 victory. “This election is about economics,” he told reporters at a Christian Science Monitorlunch when asked about the Republican Party’s standing with Blacks, Hispanicsand young voters.”These groups have been hit the hardest. They may notshow up and vote for our candidate but I’d suggest to you they won’t show upand vote for the president either then.” His statement drew a media reactionclaiming that Boehner is dismissing the minority and youth voters. The headlinein the online AtlanticWire said “Boehner Says Out Loud He Hopes Blacks and Latinos ‘Won’tShow Up’ This Election.” {{more}} “It’s not much of a reach to say that Boehner hopes Republicans will win, andwhen he was asked to explain how that might happen despite polls showinghistorically low minority support, he predicted that low turnout for thosegroups means the polls won’t matter,” Elspeth Reeve wrote for the Atlantic Wire. “Hisprediction, in other words, is what he hopes will happen.” Conservative publications denounced theAtlantic Wire’s inference. Matt Vespa of Hotair.comcalled it “desperate” and asked “does anyone else feel we talk about race toomuch?” “They construed this story to make theGOP look racist, even though the minority vote isn’t where the election will bedecided,” Vespa wrote. Despite Vespa’s assertions, GOP officialsnationwide continue to push for voter ID laws, which will disproportionatelyaffect minorities. In Pennsylvania, where the law was upheld earlier thismonth, State House Speaker Mike Turzai admitted that the law could provebeneficial to Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. “Voter ID, which is going to allowGovernor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done,” he said at aRepublican State Committee meeting in June when speaking of his state party’saccomplishments.
