The GOP might've ensured that fewer African-American voters stay home in 2016.
In what is ordinarily an incredibly quiet time for politics in America, we have been treated in the past couple of days to a pair of enormous political firestorms. And, as those two stories have begun to play themselves out, the Republican Party (yet again!) might be doing an enormous favor to the Democratic Party.
A quiet, yet persistent, concern of many Democrats has been a lingering question about whether the historically large turnout among minority groups in 2008 and 2012 was a sign of renewed political interest, or merely reflective of having Barack Obama atop the ticket. Therefore, there has been considerable debate about whether turnout among nonwhite groups in general, and African-Americans in particular, would fade in 2016 the way it did, to some extent, in both 2010 and 2014.
That fear might have been quelled, at least somewhat, by how the GOP has handled those two overarching news stories that have captured the political conversation as 2014 closes and 2015 begins.
Head with me past the jump to see why the GOP might have, yet again, been their own worst political enemy over the past few days.
Story #1: L'Affaire Scalise
It is unearthed that the Republican Majority Whip, Rep. Steve Scalise (LA) keynoted a gathering of white supremacists earlier in his political career. When his denials and explanations began to develop into some sort of odd bullshit gumbo (he didn't have a scheduler, but then he apparently did...he didn't have teh Google, but it did exist, after all, etc.), open speculation about his political future began to percolate.
Until the leader of the GOP in the U.S. House of Representatives rode in on his trusty steed to save his ass:
The congressman has been frantically reaching out to his colleagues to save his job, but until now the most important one had yet to weigh in.
On Tuesday afternoon, Speaker John Boehner broke his silence and declared that Scalise will still be allowed to sit at the Capitol Hill cool kid's table. In a brief statement, Boehner called Scalise's actions twelve years ago "an error in judgment," but said that "He has my full confidence as our Whip."
Let's be clear: word salad aside, there are only two rational explanations for why Scalise spoke before a group called the "European-American Unity and Rights Organization."
Rational explanation #1: Scalise saw a political upside in addressing a group of highly-motivated and politically-charged white bigots.
Rational explanation #2: He was too freaking stupid to even bother to learn the name of organizations he was asked to speak in front of. Because, let's face it, for anyone with one fluid ounce of common sense, the name in this case would have been a teensy bit of a tipoff, right?
But, now, Scalise has been given the Good (U.S.) Housekeeping seal of approval, courtesy of the most powerful man in the U.S. House of Representatives. And every African-American voter in America can know that the GOP is fine having a guy who chatted it up with Klan types not just in its caucus, but in its leadership.
Story #2: Replacing Michael Grimm
As many political junkies already knew, veteran New York Republican Rep. Michael Grimm announced his resignation Monday night from Congress, shortly after his guilty plea on felony tax fraud charges.
Today, as a variety of Republicans and Democrats started plotting their next steps, a host of GOP power players on Staten Island tried a pre-emptive strike, coalescing around a name which will be familiar to many:
Staten Island Borough President James Oddo, Assemblyman Joseph Borelli and Council members Vincent Ignizio and Steven Matteo all expressed support for Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan’s potential bid to replace Congressman Michael Grimm. The praise for Mr. Donovan, made over Twitter, could be a sign that the GOP establishment will reject other contenders for the soon-to-be-open seat, like Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis.
“Dan Donovan is the most competent & qualified candidate we could ask for, and I am actively encouraging him to run for Congress,” Mr. Ignizio, the City Council minority leader, tweeted today.
Donovan, of course, is the District Attorney for Richmond County. He is best known, not just in the greater New York area but to the entire nation, as the man who failed to
secure an indictment in the investigation over the death of Eric Garner earlier in the year.
Which probably makes the following quote more stinging to anyone who believes that justice was denied in that matter:
"There is no question that Dan Donovan would be the right choice for Congress. He is experienced and effective,” the freshman lawmaker [Matteo] tweeted.
"Effective." There you have it.
Again, if the Democrats want to play a little rough electoral politics in advance of 2016, they can let voters across the country know that the Republican Party thinks that the guy who let Eric Garner's death go without a trial is "effective."
Just like they can let voters across the country know that one of the GOP's top officers in Congress is cool with hanging out with David Duke and friends.
Democrats, undoubtedly, will be accused of playing racial politics if they do so.
But, you gotta ask—what the hell is speaking before EURO? Post-racial politics?