Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Advice to Republicans on Winning over Non-Republicans
So you want to be elected? Do you really? How’s about acting like it? If you must, fake it ’til you make it. Here are a few suggestions, for free:
- Show up.
- Listen actively and respectfully.
- Act on what you hear.
Free is much less than Karl “The Architect” Rove charged, but we all know how his advice worked out, leaving President George W. Bush in the hands of Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid. Take a look at the latest State of the Union address, consider the many actions, words, and images that formed the basis of a string of accomplishments, and you might find a path to maximizing your chances in future elections, near and far.
Karl Rove’s advice was grounded in the loser belief that Republicans could only delay the tide of history. Under this view, the best Republican strategy is to do detailed analysis of each district and demographic, carefully activating just enough registered Republicans to win just enough to take and hold power at the presidential level. Mitt Romney spoke out loud what the Republican establishment believed and still believe, that demographics and the irresistible trend of social welfare programs were naturally changing the electorate into one that would vote for the party of entitlements. None of them really subscribed even to Ronald Reagan’s views, views that had broken Democrats’ grip on demographic groups characterized for a time as “Reagan Democrats.”
To be fair, even Reagan bought a big part to this gloomy forecast, as he never contended for African American votes. Go back to Justice Clarence Thomas’s autobiography, My Grandfather’s Son. He describes his disappointment in the Reagan administration squandering an opportunity. President Reagan appointed Thomas the eighth Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Thomas quickly expressed his desire to work in community outreach, seeking the support of African Americans for Republican policies and candidates. He was met with silence. When he pushed the issue hard enough, a senior Republican Party official finally answered verbally, completely dismissing African-Americans as a group whose votes were not worth Republicans’ effort.
It took Donald J. Trump to upset that apple cart. He had stewed for decades over the disgrace of our biggest cities having both great success and lasting squalor. It was a scandal to him. So he decided to take action when he was elected. Here is what he did:
President Trump showed up. We all understand that candidate Trump targeted sections of the country that were disrespected and ignored by both major parties for years, and that these sections were largely white, skewing working-class. Yet, our standard filters may blind us to his pre-election bid for African-American support. That was a speech and a written set of promises.
“What do you have to lose?” was not going to be a big winner for a first-time candidate running as a Republican. Yet, he had actually reached out. His post-election activities included a high-profile meeting with two serious black men, Jim Brown and Ray Lewis. Jim Brown walked away from football on top, one of the all-time greats, then dedicated his life to mostly quiet service to poor inner-city communities, seeking to break the cycle of violence and poverty. President Trump met with Kim Kardashian West, a celebrity married to a massively successful black celebrity, Kanye West, about prison reform.
President Trump listened actively and respectfully. He heard Jim Brown and Ray Lewis. He listened to Kim Kardashian’s plea for the release of a black woman from a very long prison term.
President Trump acted on what he heard. He acted to revitalize inner-city communities, to improve education and training, to push employment opportunities. He took the high visibility meeting with Kim Kardashian to drive long-stalled prison reform legislation and to change sentencing policy. President Trump spent a significant portion of the status report section of the State of the Union address laying out promises already kept. Let’s start with the president’s special guests, from the White House website:
Now, review what the president said, both in reporting current status and in laying out future policy. Consider the relevant excerpts from the State of the Union Address [emphasis and comments added]:
The unemployment rate for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans has reached the lowest levels in history. (Applause.) African American youth unemployment has reached an all-time low. (Applause.) African American poverty has declined to the lowest rate ever recorded. (Applause.)
The unemployment rate for women reached the lowest level in almost 70 years. And, last year, women filled 72 percent of all new jobs added. (Applause.)
The veterans unemployment rate dropped to a record low. [African Americans, serve at much higher than their population percentage, especially black women.] (Applause.) The unemployment rate for disabled Americans has reached an all-time low. (Applause.)
Workers without a high school diploma have achieved the lowest unemployment rate recorded in U.S. history. [Blacks fit this category disproportionately.] (Applause.) A record number of young Americans are now employed. (Applause.)
Under the last administration, more than 10 million people were added to the food stamp rolls. Under my administration, 7 million Americans have come off food stamps, and 10 million people have been lifted off of welfare. (Applause.)
In eight years under the last administration, over 300,000 working-age people dropped out of the workforce. In just three years of my administration, 3.5 million people — working-age people — have joined the workforce. (Applause.)
Since my election, the net worth of the bottom half of wage earners has increased by 47 percent — three times faster than the increase for the top 1 percent. (Applause.) After decades of flat and falling incomes, wages are rising fast — and, wonderfully, they are rising fastest for low-income workers, who have seen a 16 percent pay increase since my election. (Applause.) This is a blue-collar boom. [This reinforces the black employment news.](Applause.)
…Jobs and investments are pouring into 9,000 previously neglected neighborhoods thanks to Opportunity Zones, a plan spearheaded by Senator Tim Scott as part of our great Republican tax cuts. (Applause.) In other words, wealthy people and companies are pouring money into poor neighborhoods or areas that haven’t seen investment in many decades, creating jobs, energy, and excitement. [See decades of Trump remarks on this problem.] (Applause.) This is the first time that these deserving communities have seen anything like this. It’s all working.
Opportunity Zones are helping Americans like Army veteran Tony Rankins from Cincinnati, Ohio. After struggling with drug addiction, Tony lost his job, his house, and his family. He was homeless. But then Tony found a construction company that invests in Opportunity Zones. He is now a top tradesman, drug-free, reunited with his family, and he is here tonight. Tony, keep up the great work. Tony. (Applause.) Thank you, Tony.
Our roaring economy has, for the first time ever, given many former prisoners the ability to get a great job and a fresh start. This second chance at life is made possible because we passed landmark criminal justice reform into law. Everybody said that criminal justice reform couldn’t be done, but I got it done, and the people in this room got it done. (Applause.)
…In the Gallery tonight, we have a young gentleman. And what he wants so badly — 13 years old — Iain Lanphier. He’s an eighth grader from Arizona. Iain, please stand up.
Iain has always dreamed of going to space. He was the first in his class and among the youngest at an aviation academy. He aspires to go to the Air Force Academy, and then he has his eye on the Space Force. As Iain says, “Most people look up at space. I want to look down on the world.” (Laughter and applause.)
But sitting behind Iain tonight is his greatest hero of them all. Charles McGee was born in Cleveland, Ohio, one century ago. Charles is one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen — the first black fighter pilots — and he also happens to be Iain’s great-grandfather. (Applause.) Incredible story.
After more than 130 combat missions in World War Two, he came back home to a country still struggling for civil rights and went on to serve America in Korea and Vietnam. On December 7th, Charles celebrated his 100th birthday. (Applause.) A few weeks ago, I signed a bill promoting Charles McGee to Brigadier General. And earlier today, I pinned the stars on his shoulders in the Oval Office. General McGee, our nation salutes you. Thank you, sir. (Applause.)
From the pilgrims to the Founders, from the soldiers at Valley Forge to the marchers at Selma, and from President Lincoln to the Reverend Martin Luther King, Americans have always rejected limits on our children’s future.
…The next step forward in building an inclusive society is making sure that every young American gets a great education and the opportunity to achieve the American Dream. Yet, for too long, countless American children have been trapped in failing government schools. To rescue these students, 18 states have created school choice in the form of Opportunity Scholarships. The programs are so popular that tens of thousands of students remain on a waiting list.
One of those students is Janiyah Davis, a fourth grader from Philadelphia. Janiyah. (Applause.) Janiyah’s mom, Stephanie, is a single parent. She would do anything to give her daughter a better future. But last year, that future was put further out of reach when Pennsylvania’s governor vetoed legislation to expand school choice to 50,000 children.
Janiyah and Stephanie are in the Gallery. Stephanie, thank you so much for being here with your beautiful daughter. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
But, Janiyah, I have some good news for you, because I am pleased to inform you that your long wait is over. I can proudly announce tonight that an Opportunity Scholarship has become available, it’s going to you, and you will soon be heading to the school of your choice. (Applause.)
Now I call on Congress to give one million American children the same opportunity Janiyah has just received. Pass the Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunities Act — because no parent should be forced to send their child to a failing government school. (Applause.)
Every young person should have a safe and secure environment in which to learn and to grow. For this reason, our magnificent First Lady has launched the BE BEST initiative to advance a safe, healthy, supportive, and drug-free life for the next generation — online, in school, and in our communities. Thank you, Melania, for your extraordinary love and profound care for America’s children. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
…My budget also contains an exciting vision for our nation’s high schools. Tonight, I ask Congress to support our students and back my plan to offer vocational and technical education in every single high school in America. (Applause.)
To expand equal opportunity, I am also proud that we achieved record and permanent funding for our nation’s historically black colleges and universities. (Applause.)
By showing up, listening, and acting, President Trump has become the first Republican president since at least World War II to actively contend for the votes of African Americans. This will not result in a majority of black voters turning to Republicans, yet it may well move the needle enough to change electoral politics, stripping Democrats of certainty and forcing Republicans, including political operatives, to get serious about campaigning beyond their comfort zone. The same holds true for other groups who turned out to vote for President Trump, when they had not voted Republican since Reagan, if ever.
It all starts with universally applicable basics:
- Show up.
- Listen actively and respectfully.
- Act on what you hear.
Indeed.
Do Trumpers realize that President Bush got 44% of the Hispanic vote in 2004? Do they realize that Asian Americans used to be GOP leaning (W got 44%, Bush 41 got 55%) . Do they realize that 83% of blacks think Trump is a racist? Trunpers sure hand out lots of lectures for a crew with nothing but an electoral college squeeker win and a landslide midterm loss on their resume.
https://www.axios.com/donald-trump-african-american-voters-poll-racist-59f7adcf-776e-4ef1-bfd6-ff3b04ded233.html
In your face, Governor Wolf.
landslide midterm loss? Now that’s funny.
While I agree with the context of going after black votes, I still think you’re missing a big part of what will sway those voters come November; immigration.
The idea black voters are excited to have health insurance for illegals and all the other crap that goes with it is nuts. Trump knows this. He’s a political genius.
Unlimited immigration is destroying some of these communities. Yet Mittens, Rove et al LOVE cheap labor because they don’t have to deal with the consequences.
Do you have a point, other than to suggest that people like me are idiots? Using cherry-picked and misleading data, I might add, as if the decline in Republican success among Hispanics and Asians is the President’s fault.
First, here’s the data as far as I can tell — the Republican Presidential candidate’s share of the vote:
Hispanic: 25% in 1992, 21% in 1996, 35% in 2000, 44% in 2004, 31% in 2008, 27% in 2012, 28% in 2016. Trump did about as well as McCain and Romney, better than Bush 41 and Dole. W did unusually well.
Asian: 55% in 1992, 48% in 1996, 41% in 2000, 44% in 2004, 35% in 2008, 26% in 2012, 27% in 2016. This has been in a pretty straight-line decline. Trump did about as well as Romney.
On the “83% of blacks think Trump is a racist,” well, no, I didn’t know that exact figure from that particular poll. But I know that the media has been calling every Republican a racist going back to Reagan, if not earlier, and that every Republican has performed dismally among blacks for a long time. Here are the figures:
Black: 10% in 1992, 12% in 1996, 8% in 2000, 11% in 2004, 4% in 2008, 6% in 2012, 8% in 2016.
Clifford’s point is that the President did a major outreach to black voters. He’s been working on results for a long time, and now he’s rolling them out. There was the Super Bowl ad, and now this strong push at the State of the Union.
We’ll see whether it works.
I think you’re looking at the wrong metric when it comes to African American voters. Sure it’s important to get a higher percentage but the biggest factor is turnout. Hillary lost the election because African Americans didn’t go to the polls at the same volume as they did in 2008 and 2012. If blacks don’t view Trump as a threat I doubt they’ll vote with the same numbers as they did in 2008 and 2012.
And if a higher percentage are also voting for him, it can make a large swing in some odd places.
Pro-job and pro-family is not only the right thing to do, but a winning formula. It works with all demographics except elitist whites. Those people are insane right now and cannot be reasoned with.
Trump To Deliver SOTU in Scuba Gear To Avoid Drowning in Liberal Tears
No….his point was to trash the efforts at outreach to minorities from every other Republican before Trump…..and then brag about Trump’s non existent results in that regard. Or “offering advice”. Meanwhile, I can’t even think of a Republican who has made less outreach to non core voters than Trump.
I think Trump was smart last night in talking about a number of things that matter to black Americans. Many of those accomplishments are never reported by the MSM or cable channels outside of Fox. Criminal Justice reform, financial support for historical black colleges, opportunity zones and numerous economic accomplishments.
Yes. And. I am arguing for incremental changing of hearts and minds, leading to African Americans being viewed as a voting bloc that must actually be courted, competed for.
It’s kind of fun to see the NeverTrumpers whine. Mitt Romney is your hero.
Sad. Lies or wildly distorted view of reality. Sad.
I cited Justice Thomas. Is he a liar? Or do you just think he is too stupid to understand reality? Specify for me one counter example. You cannot because it does not exist.
You know that your assertions are factually false, or you willfully avert your eyes to preserve your bitter hate.
Yes. And I just did not add that piece. Nor did I roll in the sanctuary city/state as threat from illegal “brown” to legal “brown and black” people.
It can work, if the other GOP candidates follow the lead. There was a time, when Trump was the guy that rappers used to sing about.
There are people who think “not being a racist” is more important than better policies that provide results for people of all races, and especially those who had previously been held back or pushed down. There are other people who are smart enough to know the difference.
Before Trump was elected, I figured he would get more black votes without any accomplishments or special attention because as a celebrity and reality TV star he was already known by most, liked by many. I’m not sure his first term has persuaded many to cross the fence so much as it has overcome Democrat propaganda to restore their previous comfort with him.
Bold as Trump has been compared to past Presidents, the executive agencies of the nanny state remain intact. And I’m not thrilled by the power of any President to move a nation’s fortunes unilaterally. If he can right the ship alone, a Democrat can wreck it alone.
Congress has proved mostly worthless for legislation and restraint of the bureaucracies. But like Mark Steyn, my way is to expect doom while demanding more than has been proved. The odds don’t matter. The nanny state must be demolished. That can’t happen rule by rule. Destroy the underlying legislative authorities.
Well said! I will add the anecdotal observation of a black male combat veteran commenting “I don’t agree with his policies, but I respect him. He is gangster.” Strength inspires respect, shown in the dramatically higher support for Trump by black men relative to black women.
Meanwhile, Andy Biggs showed up for the Veterans’ Day Parade, but skipped the MLK march, again. And the Maricopa GOP snubs the MLK march in the East Valley every year. Pathetic.
Oh, and when there was a Republican representing the area including China/Korea/Vietnam town in Mesa, AZ, he ignored the lunar New Year public festivities. Now a Democrat represents that area, and no GOP challenger is showing up.
Pathetic.
This was Trump’s best speech imo.
there were a couple other highlights that I’m forgetting.
I’ve read that his approval among black voters is 20% which would have been unthinkable 4 years ago.
His approval rating among Latinos also increasing.
GOP has to do a better job of courting Asians.
John Yoo wrote an article about this a couple years ago.
Asians tend to be highly educated, high incomes and many are small business owners who get crushed by minimum wage laws and over-regulation.
These are voters who should vote GOP but for some baffling reason do not.
and shame on the GOP for thinking that Asians are a lost cause.
by the same token, shame on Asians for voting for a party that actively works against their interests.
As John Yoo wrote, for all their smarts, Asian voters are really stupid.
I’m the son of Korean immigrants by the way.
My parents were traumatized by Jimmy Carter and have never voted Democrat since (except in 1996 but Bill was not a centrist and the economy was booming).
They voted for Trump in 2016 because there was no way they were voting for Hillary who they have despised since 1992.
end of rant
end of ramble
I think others have tried to reach out to black voters, but the Democrats have done such a good job telling them we are racists, that it never works.
I think Trump is trying harder. If they don’t come out for the lowest unemployment in history and all the rest… I think it’s probably a lost cause. I think they would be better off playing the parties against each other starting a bidding war… but if they think we hate them… that over shadows everything.
Van Jones was afraid Trump was being successful last nigh, I hope Van Jones is right.
Almost 20 years ago, the movie “Barbershop” took a swipe at Jesse Jackson, and the idea that he somehow was the official spokesperson for black people (which resulted in Jackson and a lot of Jesse wanna-bes getting angry at that scene in the movie). But for the most part, GOP politicians have bought into that over the years, and have allowed Democratic Party activists like Jackson or Al Sharpton to serve as the guard dogs against trying to win more black support in elections.
Whenever a Republican pol tries to do outreach, those are the people who immediately go on the attack with massive tossings of race cards. Most GOP pols then simply back off, or others don’t even try to go there, because they don’t want to have the race cards thrown at them by people claiming to represent the entire black community.
Trump has the advantage of both being willing to challenge the Sharpton types as he challenges everyone else, plus (and importantly) having lived a lavish, high-profile lifestyle that, as noted above, some black rappers and others had celebrated until he ran for president, because it was the type of lifestyle they liked to sing about. That gives Trump a pop-culture opening into the black demographic more than your average GOPer. He’s defiantly not a suburban country-club Republican, and can use that to tout the economic gains among blacks over the past three years.
Fully in agreement with the bulk of your comment, I’d just like to add that this citation is especially misleading.
Their definition of “Asian” is spectacularly broad. It pretty much means you can come from India , China., Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Afghanistan, Pakistan …
So, without looking at immigration trends over the last 30 years, looking at this “trend” is meaningless to ascertain how a political party should react.
Also, Democrats have weaponized identity and tribal politics effectively co-opting various Asian ‘tribes’ into bloc voting for their own collective benefit, despite these groups being generally amenable to Republican values.
Not only did Trump bring in minority leaders to talk and strategize, he brought in leaders from every sector when he took office to just listen, discarded what didn’t work, and rolled up his sleeves. This story is a loud gong to the real definition of winning, and is making mantras like ‘hope and change’ ring hollow in the history books. Great post!
He also told the truth about Baltimore. The video of that local infobabe during a live, on-the-scene report, interrupted when the camerman followed a nearby rat, was priceless . . .
This is delusional. I know TDS is your problem but you need to pay attention.
Trump has two chances to get benefit from black voters. One is if they vote for him. Two is if they stay home and don’t vote for the Democrat. Both are helpful.
Quite. For his many faults, lack of outreach to non-core GOP voters is not one of them. I have been pleading for better outreach to Americans of African Ancestry now for decades (even on Ricochet in an exchange with Mona Charen a few years ago now) and Trump’s is the best effort I have seen, at least since Jack Kemp. Rove’s strategy was politically suicidal long-term. Good to see it buried.