The sham of GOP Black voter outreach is over and the true Republican mission has begun: suppress the African American vote, by any means possible. To that end, the Bush men have enlisted the mercenary services of Black front groups invented by rightwing foundations in the Nineties to push for school vouchers and other elements of the Republican agenda. These bought-and-paid-for servants of the Hard Right took to the airwaves in August calling themselves People of Color United and spending a rich white Republican man’s money to attack Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry as "rich, white and wishy-washy."

Virginia Walden-Ford, the operative who placed the attack ads on Black-oriented radio stations in the “battlefield” states of Pennsylvania, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, is for all practical purposes a paid agent of the Bradley Foundation of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is a founding board member of the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO), the pro-school vouchers group conceived, birthed and jump-started with at least $2 million in 1999 by the far-right Bradley and Walton Family Foundations (Wal-Mart). Since George Bush assumed office, BAEO and a host of its vouchers/privatization siblings – each the incestuous spawn of the Right’s foundation funding network – have collected over $77 million dollars in grants from Secretary Rod Paige’s Education Department. In effect, Virginia Walden-Ford’s BAEO – which received $1.3 million in federal funds – has been “graduated” to a Bush administration functionary, while continuing to be subsidized by the Walton family, Bradley, and other far-right moneybags. These Black attack dogs are well fed.

Full Article at blackcommentator.com

"The" Republican party is republican in name only.  During the civil rights struggle of the 60's , did not Malcom X refer to Lyndon Johnson as the Democrat "Cracker"?. Lyndon Johnson and the cracker democrat party only  aquiessed to the civil rights movement for fear of massive social upheavals in time of war and also to enhance the military with African Americans as pocket change "opportuntiy" for the deplorable reasons outlined in any number of good books on the subject.  The greatest obstacle to civil rights was Lyndon Johnson's own party, not the Republican party!

The foolishness and falsity of some current Democrat African American hacks who claim that "Democrats gave us equal rights" (Al Sharpton) flys in the face of reality.  It was the Democrat party the civil rights movement primarily fought against.  When the hard earned, blood stained work bore fruit of some measure of liberty and voting rights, moderate and independent Republicans were not involved in the anti civil rights movement of neo-confederate racists in the south and north predominantly belonging to Democrat party power bases, particularly in the industrial trade unions that were vehemently against high wage blue colar jobs "going to blacks" and the bloated democrat controlled government employee unions that were dragged kicking and screaming  into integration that was allready underway in business related, Republican strongholds outside of government.  

The history of US political definition by party is one of constant change, often 180 degrees.   The current "Republican" party is in fact mostly "Dixie-crats", the pro-british, neo-confederate heart of the democratic party for nearly a century and a half.  

The republican party was the secular party of business, with all its faults and questionable policy attributes.  Like all political parties, it is open to anyone who wishes to join it.   The massive takeover of the Republican party by religious kook dixicrat bigots has long been lamented by the old party, which is now completely moribund with many of its members either going "independant" or "libertarian."  

So, the point is, the leapord may have appeared to change its spots, but it is the same dangerous animal.   I strongly recommend to the readers of this fine site all information on the neo-confederate, British backed movement in this country to destroy the better parts of the republic and constitution and bring our experiment, with all its faults, down to a theocratic "democratic" monarchy which is still the predominant government form in Europe.