Black delegates question Republican support

1.00pm

NEW YORK - The Republican Party hopes to woo black voters who overwhelmingly declined the invitation to support George W Bush in 2000.

But this week at the Republican National Convention, black delegates say they worry the party isn't putting its money where its mouth is.

"The Republican Party has been its own worst enemy in the black community," John Crittenden Jr, a Baptist minister and Kentucky delegate said. "They don't come to our community. They think the Democrats have it locked up."

Crittenden and other delegates seeking support for outreach efforts aimed at the black community voiced scepticism over the reception they are getting at the convention to nominate Bush for a second term as president.

"The response is 'yeah, OK'," Richard Finley, a businessman from Birmingham, Alabama, said with a wry smile. "I don't know if it's resonating. We'll see when we get home."

Rev Eugene Rivers, a Bush supporter who runs a coalition of black churches in Boston, voiced more than scepticism.

"There appears to be almost an abject incoherence on the part of the Republicans when it comes to the issue of racially diversifying the party," he said. "We see no tangible evidence to justify the assertion that's there has been any serious effort.

"This is a case of too many words and no visible deeds," he said.

The choice of black convention speakers -- Education Secretary Rod Paige, Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele and former Miss America Erika Harold were appearing on Tuesday evening -- proves his point, Rivers said.

"When you've got people in the party on the order of (national security adviser) Condoleezza Rice and (Secretary of State) Colin Powell, you can do better than Miss America. It's almost an insult," he said. "You could have gotten a more intellectually attractive line up."

Neither Powell nor Rice are speaking at the convention, saying people in their position do not normally address political conventions.

Not everyone thinks it's up to the party to do all the work winning black votes.

CJ Jordan, head of the National Black Republican Leadership Council that promotes minority-owned small businesses, cited the principle of self-reliance.

"I haven't asked the party for any money," she said. "It's incumbent on all of us to do our part and to get the message out. We have to be self-promoters."

But James Summerset, a developer and Arizona delegate, said many Republicans don't know how to speak to minorities.

"It's like talking to an engineer. They tend to talk in terms that are not decipherable by the average citizen," he said at a gathering of black delegates on Tuesday.

Black support for the Republican Party -- the political party of President Abraham Lincoln who oversaw the end of slavery in 19th century America -- has dropped dramatically since 1960 when Republican Richard Nixon won a third of the black vote.

Democrats gained black support with civil rights legislation and social programmes in the 1960s just as Republican support grew among conservative whites.

In 2000, Bush won less than 10 per cent of the black vote.

This time may not be much better. A recent poll in Ohio, considered a battleground state, showed only six per cent of blacks giving Bush a favourable rating.

Nevertheless, Republicans warn that Democrats take black support for granted. They are appealing to blacks on such issues as education and faith-based initiatives with the help of such black celebrities as boxing promoter Don King.

At the convention, blacks comprise just six per cent of the delegates, but organisers note that's up 65 per cent from the last convention.

Crittenden may be just the voter Republicans are looking for. At age 57, the lifelong Democrat changed his party affiliation to Republican three months ago.

Frustrated at the troubles of the black community, he said: "I can't see any reason for me to stay a Democrat."

The Party on Tuesday nominated George W Bush for a second four-year term in the White House with a ringing call for his re-election and a torrent of praise for his strength and "compassionate" leadership.

The nomination of Bush to face Democratic challenger John Kerry sets up a two-month dash to the November 2 election that polls show is essentially a dead heat, although Bush has gained ground on Kerry in recent weeks and taken a slight lead in several surveys.

Bush was formally nominated when the delegation from Pennsylvania, a key battleground in November, put him over the 1255 needed to lead the fight against Democrats.

On the streets of New York, about 125 people were arrested during all-day acts of civil disobedience and demonstrations to protest against the Bush administration. About 100 people were arrested at a march from the former World Trade Centre site for a "die-in" near the Madison Square Garden convention hall.

Bush will accept the nomination in a speech on Thursday.

- REUTERS