September 28, 2007 12:29 PM
It's a Small Tent, After All
Mike Huckabee said he was "embarrassed." Sam Brownback said it was a "disgrace." They looked like they actually meant it.
Rudy Giuliani, he didn't say anything at all. Neither did John McCain or Mitt Romney or Fred Thompson. That's because they weren't anywhere to be seen, or heard.
As you've no doubt heard, the Big Four in the Republican primary race decided to blow off the PBS debate on issues facing black Americans. All four apparently had, uh, scheduling conflicts. For those inclined to believe the excuses, here's Newt Gingrich's take: "Any of them who give you that scheduling-conflict answer are disingenuous. That’s baloney.”
"Disingenuous" is a long word for "lying." And baloney -- note to David McSwane -- is just one thing you can be full of.
The debate was held in Baltimore at Morgan State, a historically black college. Tavis Smiley was the moderator. He was definitely smiley when he noted the empty lecterns on the stage. That was a nice touch, just in case anyone forgot what the story of the night was. You might also want to remember that this debate came 50 years after the Little Rock Nine integrated Central High School, with troops sent there by a Republican president - Dwight Eisenhower.
Embarrassing for Republicans? Sure. Disgraceful? You bet.
But nobody could be surprised.
For days, Gingrich had been saying it was a huge mistake for the leading Republicans not to show up. Jack Kemp, the Republican nominee for vice-president in 1996, made an even stronger point:
"We sound like we don't want immigration; we sound like we don't want black people to vote for us," he told The Washington Post. "What are we going to do -- meet in a country club in the suburbs one day? If we're going to be competitive with people of color, we've got to ask them for their vote."
The Big Four didn't want to take questions on the Big Tent theory, which seems to be shrinking every day. Not many blacks vote for Republicans these days. And Hispanics? I think you can spot a trend as well as I can. There was a Republican debate scheduled for Hispanic issues. John McCain was the only one who showed up.
And in the Morgan State debate, Tom Tancredo, just as one example, seemed to think the biggest issue facing black people today is - you can guess with me - illegal immigration.
As you may have noticed, the Republican presidential field is all white and all male, although Alan Keyes, black and male, somehow made it onto the debate stage at Morgan State. I guess he's running again. Somebody should alert the media. And also Bill O'Reilly, who went to a restaurant in Harlem and said that white America would be stunned to see how well behaved the patrons were. (You doubt this? Here's the link:)
Meanwhile, the Democrats have a woman, a black and a Latino running. You can make an argument that Democrats haven't done much recently to earn the minority votes that they rely on. But to make the argument, you have to show up. The Democrats did at least that much.
Unlike Giuliani. And McCain. And Romney. And Uncle Fred. Not, apparently, a PBS crowd. More like your typical foursome at the club.
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