Mitt Romney gets booed: Was speaking to the NAACP a mistake?
The GOP candidate tries to cozy up to black voters, but gets drowned out by a chorus of hisses and boos
Mitt Romney made a direct appeal to black voters at the NAACP convention in Houston on Wednesday, but he didn't get the hoped-for response. Though most of the GOP presidential candidate's address — in which he argued that Obama's economic policies had made life harder for black families — was met with polite applause, the crowd booed and hissed when Romney vowed to repeal ObamaCare, accused Obama of failing to create jobs, and said he, not Obama, would be the better president for the black community. (Watch a clip below). Romney is understandably concerned about Obama's huge lead among black voters — 92 percent to 2 percent, according to one new poll. But given how poorly Romney's pitch went over, was reaching out to the NAACP a bad idea?
This speech was a bust: "If the point is to gain votes," says Joe Gandelman at The Moderate Voice, Romney's approach to African Americans is clearly flawed, at least judging from this wrathful reception. If he's merely hoping to impress independents by showing that he's a reasonable guy willing to speak to all sorts of audiences, this speech was "likely a wash." And while conservatives will love this clip because it shows Romney is willing to go "into the lion's den," they're already on his side. No one wins.
"Romney booed at NAACP convention when says he'd scuttle Obama's health care law"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Romney's real audience wasn't even there: Swing voters will be impressed, says Peter Grier at The Christian Science Monitor. Even if Romney fails to pick up many minority votes, the speech was still worthwhile. An awful lot of white fence-sitters "may be reluctant to support a presidential candidate who appears uninterested in reaching out to blacks." Romney's direct appeal to the NAACP could win over moderates, and that could turn defeats into victories in critical, closely fought swing states.
"Mitt Romney addresses NAACP. How many black votes might he win?"
And converting voters takes time: A few hisses from one crowd is no reason to write off Romney's outreach efforts, says Dan Riehl at Riehl World View. Romney's "time as a missionary steeled him for the long, hard road of winning converts," and political converts are just as hard to court as religious ones. If Romney keeps plugging away, this could pay off, especially given how much Obama is banking on the big margin he has with black voters.
"Romney to NAACP: Obama made it worse for you 'in almost every way'"
Read more political coverage at The Week's 2012 Election Center.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - May 5, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - annoying noises, gag orders, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 highly educational cartoons about student protests
Cartoons Artists take on apolitical camping, the National Guard, and more
By The Week US Published
-
French schools and the scourge of teenage violence
Talking Point Gabriel Attal announces 'bold' intervention to tackle rise in violent incidents
By The Week UK Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published