Text 16197, 70 rader
Skriven 2005-11-17 19:47:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
Ärende: Switch
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One sneaks off the reservation....

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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/columnists/orl-
maxwell1705nov17,0,2971218.column?coll=orl-news-col

NAACP chief makes switch to GOP
Published November 17, 2005

 
For decades, Republicans have struggled to reach out to black Americans. 
But now in Orange County, the GOP has to reach no further than the 
NAACP.

As of this week, Derrick Wallace, head of Orange County's NAACP, has 
switched parties -- to become a Republican.

"I've thought about this for two years," Wallace said Tuesday afternoon, 
just a few hours after returning from the elections office. "This is not 
a decision I made yesterday."

It is, however, a decision that rang out like a shot among political 
circles.

Republican Party leader Lew Oliver described himself as "extraordinarily 
pleased," while Democratic leader Tim Shea said he was disappointed.

Wallace, a construction-company exec, was candid about the fact that his 
business life was a big part of his decision to change.

"It's purely a business decision. Ninety percent of those I do business 
with are Republicans," he said. "Opportunities that have come to my firm 
have been brought by Republicans."

To that, Shea responded: "I'm a little confused. Are we talking about 
the National Association for the Advancement of Construction 
Professionals -- or Colored People?"

Wallace elaborated that his "business" line of thought also referred to 
the NAACP. Behind many of the power desks in this town sit Republicans. 
And he said he wants his organization to be part of that structure. Just 
as importantly, he said, he didn't want people to immediately brand -- 
or dismiss -- NAACP concerns as synonymous with those of liberal 
Democrats. "I want this branch to be respected," he said.

Oliver said they already are, noting that all of the members of the GOP 
executive board joined the NAACP a few years back to show that they were 
serious about outreach. "We have taken pains to do our very best to 
reach out," he said.

But Shea and other Democrats have long maintained that Republican talk 
about inclusion is little more than that: talk. They cite GOP policy 
after policy -- on everything from voting rights to health care -- that 
disproportionately negatively affects blacks.

Wallace's party switch may not be a complete surprise. After his own 
long-shot bid for mayor of Orlando fell short in 2003, he twice 
supported Republican candidates for the post.

Still, Wallace's new GOP standing is historic for the NAACP -- an 
organization that is vastly Democratic.

"I don't think my doing this hurts anything. In fact, I think it helps," 
Wallace said. "But we'll hear what others have to say. I'm sure I will."


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