Republicans Won't Debate Issues That Affect People of Color

Posted by Stephanie Taylor on September 27, 2007 at 10:20 AM

Tonight Tavis Smiley will moderate a Republican presidential debate at Morgan State University in Baltimore, a historically black college. The debate will focus on issues important to minority communities.

But four empty lecterns will represent four candidates who refused to appear. Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney all cited "scheduling difficulties."

Their actions are coming under criticism from other Republicans who fear their party's standing is eroding further with black and Latino voters. From a recent article in the Washington Post:

"We sound like we don't want immigration; we sound like we don't want black people to vote for us," said former congressman Jack Kemp (N.Y.), who was the GOP vice presidential nominee in 1996. "What are we going to do--meet in a country club in the suburbs one day? If we're going to be competitive with people of color, we've got to ask them for their vote."

The host of tonight's debate, talk show host Tavis Smiley, had this to say:

"When you reject every black invitation and every brown invitation you receive, is that a scheduling issue or is it a pattern?" he asked. "I don't believe anybody should be elected president of the United States if they think along the way they can ignore people of color. That's just not the America we live in."

The debate will take place tonight, 9-10:30 ET, and will be broadcast on PBS and online.

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