The leading Republican presidential candidates’ inability to find their way to Morgan State University last night may have little to no impact in the short-term, but will probably hurt the GOP nominee in next year’s general election, says one leading policy expert.
The front runners, including former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, opted not to attend a candidates’ forum at the historically Black university hosted by PBS television host Tavis Smiley. Recent entrant Fred Thompson, the Law & Order star and former Tennessee senator, also declined an invitation to attend. They all cited scheduling conflicts.
“The short-term impact of their absenteeism will be minimal,” says Dr. Michael K. Fauntroy, an assistant professor of public policy at George Mason University in Virginia and author of Republicans and the Black Vote.
“But Black and brown voters will remember this later on,” Fauntroy adds. “Those who are on the fence will recall this, and Republicans will lose those votes.”
Fauntroy says the GOP is concerned about African-American and Latino voters, but they are more worried about their White, conservative base. “They’ve concluded that the number of potential Black voters they may lose is lower than the number of conservative White voters they would lose by cowering to pressure and appearing at the debate,” Fauntroy tells Diverse.
The Republican candidates also choose to skip the debate out of fear, Fauntroy adds. “They are afraid they will be exposed for having no agenda of interest to Black people. And they also don’t want to be exposed for their lack of knowledge of Black issues.”
A spokesman for the Republican National Committee did not address the issues raised by Fauntroy and others. Instead, the spokesman elaborated on homeownership gains by minorities under President Bush’s administration and the GOP’s emphasis on entrepreneurship.
