Thread by @Peoples_Pundit

Thread: I get asked about the impact of Candace Owens and #BLEXIT effort, a lot. It's a good question, but the answer really needs to be in a thread. So, I'm going to do one on it now. I suspect @TheCheefReport will largely agree. But I'll let him speak for himself.

Here we go.

https://twitter.com/minasmith64/status/1108775881990946816

There's a lot to this. But let's just start with two points.

1. The GOP doesn't have a problem w/ black voters. It's more accurate to say they have a problem with urban black voters.

2.. Voters mostly make a rational policy choice, or at least it is w/ 411 they have available.

On point one, look at what @TheCheefReport is saying here, and remember what I said about GOP not having a black voter problem, but an urban black voter problem. GOP does quite well among rural minorities.

Does Candace speak to their rational choice? No.

https://twitter.com/TheCheefReport/status/1109103951213981696

That's not an attack on Candace, so her fans and followers can save their tweets. It's just reality. She speaks largely to rural and suburban black voters, not to whom the GOP really needs to appeal. That's because of the population vs. region disparity.

Folks, I wasn't born w/ silver. I've got more hours in the American ghetto than most black politicians, and definitely all commentators. They are skeptical of outsiders, regardless of color. Democrats have nurtured their relationships for generations. It will take a lot to undo.

Sending an affluent young black female to campuses & suburbia is not going to undo generations of nurtured relationships. GOP needs people like Cheef to set up shop in their space, to live w/, to suffer w/, to learn from them. We all have different experiences. Recognize that.

Now, let's move on to point two, which is that voters make rational policy choices with the information they have available to them, and black voters are no different. The knee-jerk conservative response is to talk about statistics surrounding the Great Society and dependency.

I made this point two for a reason, and I'm stressing "with the information available to them" for the same. Point two is worthless if you don't address one. Outsiders are not trusted. Would you believe others over the people who are in the trenches with you? Of course not.

It is a testament to the power of those relationships. In the era of Trump, black working men ages around 30-54 are open to conservative populism, and generally the "us vs. them" message. Even more D-loyal black voters don't support D position on abortion, faith etc. But...

But all of that shared sentiment is negated by those relationships, which the GOP has made ZERO effort to combat or duplicate. On a personal relationship level, they have abandoned whole communities and no amount of touting employment numbers is going to compensate for it.

I'll wind down the thread with this. The GOP will need to get out of their comfort zone and break free from the construct if they want to make a genuine, worthwhile go at black voters. There are several reasons why. But for starters, it will take people who cannot bound to script

They'll need people who make them uncomfortable, and who go off script. They can't even handle Donald Trump, and he's a rich white guy. They need people who can effectively articulate "the man" (for lack of a better phrase) is an ideology, not a race. And if they understood...

And if they understood that, truly understood it, then they would finally understand why Democrats can never and will never let go of identity politics. As with all communities, many of their enemies are within. Leaders use it to cover for contradictions & justify relationships.

Unequivocally, the answer is "No."

Candace Owens and moves like #BLEXIT will not have the impact GOP wants or needs. As @TheCheefReport said, there's a difference between speaking "at" and "to" people. It will not substitute for the real work that needs to be done.

End Thread.