CNN Commentary: Why is the GOP scared of black voters?

[DeepModem Mom]

Commentary: Why is the GOP scared of black voters?
By Roland S. Martin
CNN Contributor

(CNN) -- That's right, I said it. And I mean it.

The GOP as a whole is completely scared of black voters, and the actions by the front-runners for the party's 2008 nomination show they are continuing the same silly political games the party has played for years....

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Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson and Sen. John McCain have all cited "scheduling conflicts" as the reason for their lack of attendance to debate at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, even though Smiley personnel tell me they began discussions with then-RNC head Mehlman in February 2006. When the debate was announced earlier this year, along with a Democratic forum held in June at Howard University, the RNC promised their candidates would speak.

But those of us who follow politics knew that wasn't going to happen.

This summer, all of the Republican candidates, save Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, skipped the NAACP and the National Urban League conventions. OK, I get the former, but the Urban League? President Bush has spoken there several times as president!

The GOP keeps blowing a big opportunity by ignoring blacks. And what about the debate sponsored by Spanish language TV station Univision? Only McCain accepted the invite....

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Will speaking at one debate turn around decades of black support for the Democrats? Nope. But not speaking will just mean business as usual, and the GOP needs less of that.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/25/roland.martin.gop/index.html