… It is a paradox of American history that a party formed in the 1850s by free-soil advocates devoted to stopping the spread of slavery should find itself pondering its lack of appeal to black voters. …
Political scientists and pollsters have noted for years that a cultural emphasis on Christianity and conservative social views aligns many black voters with the Republican base, and yet those parallels scarcely translate into G.O.P. electoral gains. CONT.
Jelani Cobb (UConn), New York Times