November 18, 2003
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A Reader Says A Bushman Is Wrong On The First George W. and Immigration
From: [Name Withheld]
It's time for Louisiana Republicans to start reading Steve Sailer! In a second brilliant triumph of electoral generalship in barely a year, the state GOP has blown a statewide race and succeeded in electing a mediocre female Democrat, against the regional trend.
Last year, rabid Roveism cost the Louisiana GOP a Senate seat, this year, the Governor's mansion—making Louisiana the only Deep South governorship that the Republicans have recently failed to capture.
The reason? Poor candidates with little appeal to conservative, mainly Protestant, whites in Northern Louisiana—i.e. the GOP has not been appealing to its base, ignoring the fundamental point of the "Sailer Strategy."
In 2002, the national GOP essentially imposed a New Orleans Catholic woman of Armenian extraction. Her defeat (she lost again this year in the race for State Attorney General) also cost the party the 5th District House seat, the Northern Louisiana district whose popular three-term Republican incumbent had been expected to get the Senate nomination.
This year, the Republicans excelled themselves, nominating for Governor the 32 year-old son of Indian immigrants.
He lost too.
To be fair, this major-league affirmative action beneficiary—Brown University, Rhodes Scholar, holder of important offices granted by a doting President and Governor—did achieve notable successes. He reached out to the black vote and doubled the Republican share – to 9%!
He also generated considerable excitement in the Indian community—a whole 0.2% (maybe) of Louisiana's population!
And at least one Hispanic group endorsed him!
But outside (relatively) trendy New Orleans, he won less than half the white vote, in a state where the Republicans need at least two- thirds to win.
Whites basically saw little reason to support a beneficiary of their dispossession. And they were right. In contrast, USA Today reports that Kathleen (Babineaux) Blanco had no reservations about stressing her Cajun maiden name to rally votes in South Louisiana.
Instead of wittering wonkishly about the failure to deflect attack ads on health care—no doubt by spending more on campaign consultants—GOP analysts need to grasp one simple fact:
Scorning the group interests of their key voting bloc spells D-E-F-E-A-T.
