We now have a pretty clear picture of the messages Republicans and Democrats are sending to African-American voters in the last few days leading up to Nov. 4.
Playing this morning on WIGO (1570AM), a black gospel music station in Morrow is a 30-second spot from the Georgia Republican party, narrated by Bishop William Sheals, pastor of Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Norcross. The radio ad will start on V-103 and WAOK tonight.
Many will take issue with the description of the HOPE scholarship, but it is the paragraph on justice reform that stands out.
A rough transcript:
"Our community voted overwhelmingly in favor of Governor Deal's leadership-enhancing school choice. When the system threatened our students' pursuit of the American dream, our governor took action.
"Our job prospects are better thanks to the expanded HOPE scholarship that now includes technical colleges. And Site magazine ranks Georgia as No. 1 for doing business.
"We rejoice as the governor's justice reform efforts have led to a 20 percent reduction in black male incarceration. I'm Bishop William Sheals. Let's faithfully vote for real Deal solutions on Nov. 4."
As we reported earlier, Republicans also emphasized the reduction in imprisoned black males in the recent mailer above. Georgia Democrats, as we first reported here two days ago, have been pointing to Ferguson, Mo., with its own mailer featuring two children holding 'Don't Shoot' signs underneath the heading 'If you want to prevent another Ferguson in their future .....'
The stark images have upset many Republicans.
"It's despicable," said Gov. Nathan Deal.
"It is really regrettable that anyone would resort to scare tactics to try to get people to vote. Georgia is not Missouri. Georgia has elected more African-American leaders — mayors, county commissioners, et cetera — than any other state in the country. We have a long history of good race relations, and I cannot understand why the Democrat Party of Georgia would try to destroy it."
There are other opinions. Dave Weigel at Bloomberg Politics links Georgia Democrats' Ferguson mailer with President Barack Obama's "these are all folks who vote with me" riff to Al Sharpton,. Writes Weigel:
The rawness of the appeals is shocking the people who aren't necessarily supposed to notice them. The messaging of 2012, which churned this electorate into a backlash at early voting cutbacks, was more effective than Republicans predicted. The Ferguson messaging and appeals from the president are being deployed because Democrats think they'll work.
The Ferguson mailer has even attracted the attention of editorialists at the New York Times, who disagreed with GOP cries that it attempts to stir racial antagonism:
The flyer…makes a very different point, and a good one that applies in virtually all of the major races this year. The white domination of the mostly black city of Ferguson is the direct result of local residents not participating in the political system. If people don't like the results they're getting from their political leaders — whether it's the makeup of the police department in a suburb or the refusal to raise the minimum wage in Congress — they need to step up and make their voices heard….
This is hardly a grenade or racial pandering — in fact, it describes the essence of what political action is about. For too long, many of Georgia's Democratic voters have stayed home during midterm and state legislative elections, and the cost of that inaction has been high.
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