Mitt Romney walks into an NAACP meeting. No, it’s not the beginning of a bad joke. The presumptive Republican presidential candidate addressed the annual NAACP gathering this week, and talk about a tough crowd. When Romney spoke of repealing Obamacare he was greeted by a chorus of boos.
With the economic woes of the past four years presumably blunting enthusiasm for the president in hard-hit black communities, Romney’s handlers apparently believed an appeal to the NAACP was a deft campaigning move. But with recent polling showing Obama’s support among African-Americans as 92 percent to Romney’s 6 percent, it was a tough sell.
The Republican candidate did receive some applause—once for stating his commitment to protecting traditional marriage, an issue where the president has lost ground among religious minority communities. And hey—the appearance itself could net Romney a few votes in November. As Rep. Tim Scott, one of the two black Republicans in Congress, said, “The first thing you need to do is show up.”
Video by Paca Thomas.
