Tuesday, June 16, 2009

The GOP still doesn't get it..

A few months back I wrote a post on mixed messages the GOP was sending. This was right around the time Michael Steele, chair of the GOP, Rush Limbaugh and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal were all vying to emerge as the prominent voice of the Republican Party in the post-Bush era. In that post, Michael Steele acknowledged that the GOP has alienated key demographics (younger & more colorful) that voted in favor of President Obama and ultimately won him the election.

Here we are three months later, and it appears as if not much has changed within the party. In a recent survey 47% of those surveyed still could not come up with a name of the party's leader. In addition to still not having a spokesperson and a vision, it also appears as if some members of the the party are still committed to mocking President Obama and making racially insensitive remarks...the exact actions that contradict Michael Steele's hopes of a "hip-hop" makeover to attract those younger, more colorful demographics I spoke about earlier.

This latest fiasco comes out of Tennessee and it involves another email that was never intended to be seen by someone who saw it and the subsequent backlash over the remarks. Sherri Goforth, aide to Sen. Diane Black sent an email out to fellow senators and aides titled "Historical Keepsake Photo" that contained a collage of all U.S. presidents. The image of President Obama was a little off however, as Barack's photo was simply a black square with two oversized eyes...(see photo at the top).

Goforth apologized not for the hurtful nature of the email, but sending it to the wrong people.

“I went on the wrong email and I inadvertently hit the wrong button,” Goforth said. “I’m very sick about it, and it’s one of those things I can’t change or take back.”

Sen. Black has not terminated her aide, but instead issued a written and verbal reprimand...The GOP cannot possibly expect to woo minorities and more open-minded young people on a large scale when images such as these keep surfacing. Judging by Goforth's apology, not for creating the email but for sending it to the wrong people, it appears as if not much of an effort is truly being made.

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