Hannity? No way. Thanks, anyway. - Libby

Here's a rational response on how the GOP can attract - more blacks and

about Elbert Guillory's recent party switch back to the GOP.  That's right, he was in the GOP all his voting life until 2007, when he decided to run for state office in LA (rep in 2007, then senate in 2009).  I guess he's a practical sort of guy who realized he had a snowball's chance in Hades of winning those positions out of St Landry and Lafayette Parishes running as a republican, so he was a pub before he was a dem before he was a pub again.  

The following is a piece written by an acquaintance of Guillory's in it's entirety save for the N-word part I had to edit out when he was talking about Rick Perry's hunting camp.  The emphasis is mine.

I like state Sen. Elbert Guillory. I spent a delightful 10 days with him in Turkey a few years ago. He's a kind man, wonderful company, and is now among my favorite Republicans.

That's because he recently bolted the Democratic Party to become the first black GOP member of the Louisiana Senate since Reconstruction. Guillory's political affiliation is entirely his business, although he is a bit fickle about it. He was a Republican until 2007, when he became a Democrat just before capturing a House seat from Opelousas.  But now, he's back in the arms of his first love.

GOP leaders crowed loudly about landing my friend, as well they should. They even timed his announcement to occur at the recent @large conference in Baton Rouge, described by a sponsor as a gathering "for black conservatives interested in engaging in the political process." For two days, speakers discussed ways to lure more blacks to the conservative side and to encourage more of them to seek elected office. 

As explained by conference organizer Scott McKay, "We think that if we spend some time training folks who recognize the damage Democrat policies and governance do to the black community - their community - and giving them some resources to question the establishment, we might begin to move the needle."

So, exactly why is it that Republicans can't entice more black voters? Is it, as McKay suggests, that they need "training"? Well, if you shelled out the $79 conference fee in hopes of answering that question, I could have saved you the time and expense.

Most black voters are Democrats not because they are ignorant or bought off with government benefits (or, are modern-day slaves as suggested by a movie shown at the conference...see link 1).  African-Americans are actually pretty keen at figuring out which party truly respects them.

They know that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich last year invited himself to speak to the NAACP, saying he would discuss "why the African-American community should demand pay checks and not be satisfied with food stamps."

They've seen racist signs waved at Tea Party events.  See link 2.

They've heard then-Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi whitewash the racist White Citizens Councils of the 1950s and 1960s.  See link 3.

 They know that Texas Gov. Rick Perry had a hunting camp called "N-wordhead."  See link 4.

They've heard a leading GOP member of the U.S. House, Don Young of Alaska, blithely refer to migrant workers as "wetbacks."

They also heard Mitt Romney's 47 percent remarks.

The list goes on.

And, of course, it also goes back - to Sen. Barry Goldwater's vote against the 1964 Civil Rights Act (link 5), Richard Nixon's famous "Southern Strategy" (link 6) and Ronald Reagan's vilification of a so-called "welfare queen."

 But national Republicans, like those in Louisiana, say they care deeply about the dearth of minority support for the GOP in national elections. Indeed, a recent lengthy post-election analysis commissioned by GOP national chairman Reince Priebus included advice on attracting black voters to the party.

Unfortunately, the report omitted what might be the most effective tactic for doing just that. I offer it here for their consideration: Perhaps the Republican Party could stop trying to make it harder for the poor and minorities to vote.

 According to data from the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law (link 7), last year more than 20 states enacted restrictive voting laws. In particular, Republican legislatures in Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia passed legislation reducing the time period for early voting.

Remember the obscenely long lines at polling sites in Florida and other states? That's largely a result of those laws.

 Republican leaders have also pushed voter ID laws that are rightly criticized as efforts to discourage voting by the poor, young and elderly (link 8). Some GOP leaders in Florida have even admitted they hoped to discourage minority voting by (link 9) among other things, increasing waiting times at polling places.

And don't tell me this is about eliminating voter fraud. Turns out, in the United States, there's almost no such thing (link 10).

 Ironically, voter suppression efforts seem to have actually backfired (link 11), energizing indignant minorities to vote (for Democrats) in 2012. So, maybe the GOP is doing its part to spur more minority participation, after all.

But the party's voter suppression laws are also why conferences such as @large are a waste of time.

When it comes to persuading black voters to switch sides, the GOP's slogan now seems to be, "Who are you going to believe? Me, or your lying eyes?"

http://thehayride.com/2013/05/tomorrow-we-kick-off-large/

http://www.motherjones.com/slideshows/2010/09/tea-partys-racist-signs/niggar

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/barbour-i-saw-dr-king-speak----but-paid-more-attention-to-the-girls.php

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/03/texas-governor-rick-perry_n_992712.html

http://thinkprogress.org/yglesias/2010/05/21/197312/goldwater-and-civil-rights/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy

http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/Democracy/VRE/Passed_Pending_Legislation.pdf

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57511312/study-voter-id-law-would-exclude-up-to-700000-young-minorities/

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/early-voting-curbs-called-power-play/nTFDy/

http://votingrights.news21.com/article/election-fraud/

http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/04/12088/did-backlash-against-gop-voter-suppression-increase-black-turnout

http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2013/06/african-american_voters_have_p.html#incart_river