Oh, Jeez, trot out the singing Negros . . . you can just see the RNCer's

[mistertrickster]

thinking, "and afterwards I can use a shoe-shine."

I don't know which is worse, the unmitigated hypocrisy of pretending to reach out to minorities or thinking that THIS is going to help them with minorities.

To quote a top ten list, "the hypocrisy is physically CRIPPLING."

[soothsayer]

1. Hey, this way they can say a larger % of rnc folks were people o'color

and not have to outright lie

[candy331]

2. What are you talking about ? n/t

[mistertrickster]

6. The RNC . . . it's just now over . . . 10:05 pm CST

nt

[scarletwoman]

8. The RNC just capped off the night with the Harlem Boys Choir,

singing "Battle Hymn of the Republic".

I don't understand at ALL why they would perform for the party of bigots and racists. It really just twisted my guts to see it.

sw

[mistertrickster]

9. Yeah, I love these kids . . . they've been a real success story over

the years.

Too bad they got used by the evil empire this way.

[DaveSZ]

3. It is amusing

Is "Uncle" Clarence there?

[cheshire]

5. Isn't Colin an Uncle Tom

[Bluebear]

4. Colin Powell to softshoe to "YMCA" as an encore

[mistertrickster]

7. Hehe . . . yeah

If the Indonesians didn't think Americans were nuts before, they do now . . .

[mbali]

10. They're not trying to reach out to minorities . . .

since most self-respecting people of color know better than to fall for this minstrel show. They're trying to convince white moderates who don't know any better that they aren't hopeless bigots and it's ok to vote for them with a clear conscience.

[mistertrickster]

11. Good point . . . I hadn't thought of that

nt

[goclark]

14. I can hear it all now

When Mr. and Mrs. Rethug delegates return to the hotel and get into their twin beds...

Him: Wasn't it nice to see those cute little Black boys sing for us tonight? They could really sing. Where are they from?

Her: It said on the program that they were from Harlem. Can we go to Harlem to see what it looks like?

Him: Oh nooo. People like us do not go to that area of this horrible City.

That horrible Clinton has his office there but I would never take you there. Those people are all drug addicts.

Stepford Wife: Oh my goodness, we should never go near there!
Good night! I'm going to sleep now

Husband: Good night

[mbali]

16. :-) eom

[mitchum]

12. Were Mr Bones and Mr Tambo already booked elsewhere tonight?

[mistertrickster]

15. And what was with all the speech-ifying about Republicans being the

party of the Emancipation Proclamation and Eisenhower opening the doors of segregated schools?

It was JOHNSON who lost the South for going on two generations now because of his striking down Jim Crow laws and enforcement of various Civil Rights acts.

We, Democrats, would have the Presidency and both houses of Congress if we pandered to the white cracker vote the way the Republicans did and do.

But we're not selling out American values the way those bastards do.

[mbali]

17. Al Sharpton agrees with you . . .

You said the Republican Party was the party of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. It is true that Mr. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, after which there was a commitment to give 40 acres and a mule.

That's where the argument, to this day, of reparations starts. We never got the 40 acres. We went all the way to Herbert Hoover, and we never got the 40 acres.

We didn't get the mule. So we decided we'd ride this donkey as far as it would take us.

Mr. President, you said would we have more leverage if both parties got our votes, but we didn't come this far playing political games. It was those that earned our vote that got our vote. We got the Civil Rights Act under a Democrat. We got the Voting Rights Act under a Democrat. We got the right to organize under Democrats.

Al Sharpton, July 28, 2004

[TlalocW]

13. Two stories about the 2000 RNC

The first one is one I read - some black gospel group was singing at the RNC, and the sponsor/director of the group was asked why they supported Bush, and he said that they didn't - they just wanted the publicity and the air time.

With the second one, I actually met the people involved at the 2000 U.S. Hispanic Leadership Conference in Chicago. They were students from El Paso, where a friend of mine was director of minority affairs. UTEP allows citizens of Juarez, Mexico, to take classes in El Paso so the students were a mixture of Mexican nationals and Americans. According to them, members of the Bush team approached them, knowing full well they were from Mexico, and asked them if they would like to take part in a non-partisan political event in Philadelphia - all expenses paid. They of course said yes and were bussed there and put up in a hotel. The non-partisan event turned out to be the RNC, and they were trotted up on stage when it was time to showcase support from the Hispanic/Latino community. One girl I met was in all the papers standing on stage next to George P. They laughed it off since they got a free trip out of it, but I always thought it was kind of telling that the Bush team had to trick Mexicans instead of finding enough actual Hispanics who would be willing to stand up on stage in support of W.

TlalocW

[YoQuieroLiberty]

18. Maybe

one can focus on the excitement the young men must have felt at being able to exhibit their talent on television? The Battle Hymn of the Republic is for all Americans...surely we can enjoy the Choir on their own merits?