It is NOT an opinion the GOP had pursued a *'Southern Strategy' which The chairman of the GOP apologized for.

Nor is it an opinion that the 'residuals' of that 'strategy' have left the GOP as an essentially 'Old Confederacy/Great Plains' voting block, which is why it is such an uphill electoral climb for the GOP every 4 years

Are there any opinions that aren't biased, or is that just how you describe the ones you disagree with?

His writing and logic are more than up to the 'standards' of what is posted here.

*

Quote:

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RNC Chief to Say It Was 'Wrong' to Exploit Racial Conflict for Votes

By Mike Allen
Thursday, July 14, 2005

It was called "the southern strategy," started under Richard M. Nixon in 1968, and described Republican efforts to use race as a wedge issue -- on matters such as desegregation and busing -- to appeal to white southern voters.

Ken Mehlman, the Republican National Committee chairman, this morning will tell the NAACP national convention in Milwaukee that it was "wrong."

"By the '70s and into the '80s and '90s, the Democratic Party solidified its gains in the African American community, and we Republicans did not effectively reach out," Mehlman says in his prepared text. "Some Republicans gave up on winning the African American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here today as the Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong."

Mehlman, a Baltimore native who managed President Bush's reelection campaign, goes on to discuss current overtures to minorities, calling it "not healthy for the country for our political parties to be so racially polarized." The party lists century-old outreach efforts in a new feature on its Web site, GOP.com, which was relaunched yesterday with new interactive features and a history section called "Lincoln's Legacy."

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