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 Michael Steele |
The Skanner News freelancer John Moreno caught up with Michael Steele and Artur Davis at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday. Moreno discussed the heated debate between Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus and MSNBC host Chris Matthews with Steele. The former RNC Chairman thought Matthews crossed the line when he criticized Priebus and the GOP for pandering to birthers and using coded racial language in their political attacks.
"Chris and I have been battling about that," he says. "You can't let the left get away with the crazy. That's the narrative they want to push. I don't think it's a legitimate narrative."
Along with commentary on the debate, Steele also discussed the small base of support among Black people for the GOP. Recently, a Wall Street Journal poll found that Presidential candidate Mitt Romney polled at zero percent support among Black voters.
Steele emphasized the need to reach out to Black voters, as well as elevate the Black GOP voices so people can see that they do exist.
Moreno also talked with Artur Davis. In 2008, Davis was the second person to support President Barack Obama's nomination. Since, he has switched sides to the GOP and expressed disappointment in Obama's policies.
"There's a chunk of Americans that voted for Barack Obama that don't plan to do that again," says Davis. "It's much more important that a President Romney be inclusive than that a candidate Romney get African-American votes because the latter isn't going to happen."
Exclusive-Artur-Davis-8-28-12 by Helen Silvis
Davis went on to say that Obama has been divisive and hasn't paid attention to the concerns of the right. He also claimed that the left has played the race card by addressing controversial issues that impact minorities like voter ID laws.
"There are a lot of people sympathetic to the Democratic cause that decide when the Obama campaign is in trouble they're going to complain about race," he says.
