Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele stopped by the NAACP convention Tuesday to press the civil rights organization to consider his party an ally.
The NAACP's relationship with the GOP has been strained for many years. Steele, the first African American to lead the Republican Party, said he wanted his presence to signal to its members that they have options beyond the Democratic Party.
"Certainly my visit here does not represent some miraculous breakthrough in GOP-NAACP relations," he said.
"But ladies and gentleman, this is the first baby step among many baby steps that we have to take."
"Think about it this way," Steele said, "if a black man can become chairman of the Republican National Committee, then anything is possible."
"The GOP and NAACP have very often missed real opportunities to communicate and engage each other," he said. "Indeed, for the GOP and NAACP, outreach should mean more than a speech here and a pat on the back there.
"As the African American middle class emerges and grows, the Republican Party wants to be a partner who works with you to put in place the tools necessary to sustain that growth and to bring out of poverty those so often left behind."
1 comment:
My hope is that Micheal Steele does not single out a candidate and play favorites. I would like him to be equally fair to all candidates and let the people decide who is best qualified to lead America on 2012... I have seen evidence that he is already picking a favorite for whatever reason. This is not how we should be doing business, more of the same, Let the People exercise the right to choose, biased opinions, from the RNC only muddy the waters.....Who wins?
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