Bozo ... oops Boze, the MC
The rally at the Hyatt in Bellevue last night was well attended. The attendees, however, were mostly the usual suspects – party partisans, former and current staffers, elected officials and candidates – numbering about 400 or so, according to the official count.
Even the youngsters in attendance were the ones volunteering for Reichert and McCain last fall. It seemed to me that the number of newcomers was not very high. David Boze mentioned how he was excited to see so many Republicans gathered together in an off-year and a down year for the GOP. But, therein lies the rub.
You can organize a Republican event on the Eastside with the RNC chair and you will find enough to attend – hey, that’s probably true with any national guest. At $25 a pop, the tickets were cheap enough for most party folks. So, what’s the big deal if there are 400 attending a rally in Bellevue? 1000 would be a scarily good number. 400 newcomers would be a good number. But 400 of the usuals? Big deal.
What struck me was the number of African Americans in attendance and volunteering, or, rather, the importance accorded to them. I remember one or two blacks who generally attend GOP events in the Seattle area, one of whom is a PCO. Last night, however, we had more than 6, including two young women, and a reverend. Now, I could reasonably claim them to belong to one family and I probably wouldn’t be wrong. It did seem that they were being courted by party wonks a bit more than usual.
Everybody was talking to the older couple; Steele invited one of the young ladies on to the stage; another was posted at the door to greet the attendees. It seemed that the Michael Steele-effect had something to do with this newly acquired prominence for African Americans in the WA GOP establishment.
The rest, however, were almost uniformly white. I don’t recall seeing a single South Asian, a single Latino and noticed only a few East Asians – again the usual volunteers and officials. Arabs? Maybe one. Natives? Maybe none.
Why is race important? The GOP is losing elections on the West Coast because of its singular focus on what seem to be White issues – illegal immigration, abortion, gay marriage – and its perceived lack of tolerance of moderation and diversity.
Moderate Congressmen like Dave Reichert are persona non-grata at GOP events for their perceived votes for the opposition, especially on issues such as the environment. Campaign staffers for Sean Salazar, running against Patty Murray in 2010, talked about how he’s not a “RINO.” Come on! You can attract votes in the primary this way, but not in the general elections in a blue state like ours.
Steele talked about highlighting diversity in the party. But the event last night barely displayed any at all. Even with diversity on issues, the GOP is becoming a frighteningly monolithic party. I remember a senior staffer for McGavick telling me in 2006 that a Republican in WA has to be very religious and very conservative to win votes within the party. Even if a candidate does win votes within the party, he’ll probably lose 64-36 statewide as most GOP candidates have done over the past few years.
Washington state has prospered well from its vineries and orchards, fueled by immigrant labor mostly from Mexico. WA wines are gaining prominence across the world for their flavor and price. Cross border trade with Canada adds billions to Washington’s economy. Yet, we constantly hear gripes about border security and illegal immigration, especially from conservatives.
Last year, conservatives talked so much about Barack Obama’s race and Muslim/African origin that we alienated most Arabs, Muslims, Blacks and Asians. “Barack Hussein Obama!” That didn’t help the GOP – he’s President now.
The GOP is seen as the party of the White male. GWB tried his best to bring more Latinos and Asians on board – the RNC was full of Hispanics and blacks reaching out to their respective communities. Rice, Powell, Gonzalez and the innumerable colored appointees in prominent positions showed Bush’s committment. But, last year, GOP candidates failed to carry on Bush’s legacy. McCain’s campaign – almost all white. Guiliani’s campaign and the RNC later on – almost all white. Where did the diversity disappear?
The event last night highlighted these problems. While Steele’s election may have countered at least some of the GOP’s racist image, local parties are still failing to address these critical issues of moderation and diversity, both in skin color and opinions.
Well, it’s not the local parties’ fault either. The WSRP cannot be accused of any bias, either in diversity or moderation, but party partisans are still stuck to their old ideas.
Steele mentioned that “outreach” does not work for the GOP – we need to “engage.” “Outreach” implies, he said, merely bringing a friend or associate to an event, taking photos and then letting it go. Whereas engagement involves talking about issues and “engaging” folks.
An elderly woman sniggered at “outreach” turning around and saying to her friend, “I hate that word.” Ha!
The GOP needs engagement, but it also needs outreach. Engagement is good, but only if it’s constructive, pro-active and productive. Negative criticism and name calling, which has become conservatives’ modus operandi for “engagement,” does not do the job.
Outreach is absolutely necessary, but it needs to followed up with positive engagement. I wish conservatives would understand this, and also understand what Steele is trying to say and do.
[UPDATE] Just thought of the following: apart from Michael Steele’s talk, the event should have been called the Republican Regurgitation Rally.
