Minority debate undercut by GOP no-shows

BALTIMORE — Republican presidential candidates discussed the importance of reaching out to people of color during a minority-issues debate Thursday night and criticized the four leading GOP contenders for skipping it.

"I think this is a disgrace that they are not here," Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback said. "I think it's a disgrace to our country. I think it's bad for our party, and I don't think it's good for our future."

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said he was "embarrassed for our party, and I'm embarrassed for those who didn't come."

The four no-shows — former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Sen. Fred Thompson, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — cited scheduling conflicts when saying they could not attend the debate at historically black Morgan State University.

"Fortunately, there are those in the Republican Party who do understand the importance of reaching out to people of color," said PBS talk-show host Tavis Smiley, the debate moderator, thanking the six other candidates for participating.

Besides Brownback and Huckabee, the other candidates who participated were: Reps. Duncan Hunter of California, Ron Paul of Texas and Tom Tancredo of Colorado, and conservative activist Alan Keyes.

The forum, which had black and Hispanic journalists questioning the candidates, was broadcast live on PBS.

Several of the candidates took pains to cater to the mostly black audience, blaming inequality in America on continuing racism.

Brownback said he wants Congress to pass a formal apology for slavery and segregation. Huckabee promised he would, as president, improve housing opportunities for minorities and address unequal treatment of different races in the criminal-justice system. He also pledged to support voting rights for Washington, D.C.

Tancredo said economic differences have "nothing to do with race," and several candidates reiterated their desire to crack down on illegal immigrants. Paul loudly repeated his call for an end to the war in Iraq. Keyes blamed the plight of the black community on moral decay.

But the forum, pitched as a chance to discuss the "covenant with black America," was undercut by the absence of the party's top contenders, an outcome criticized by some senior Republican leaders.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is considering joining the race for the GOP nomination, called the decision to avoid the event an "enormous error" and "fundamentally wrong," and said the scheduling excuses were "baloney."

Ken Mehlman, a former party chairman, had urged the candidates to reconsider. And former vice-presidential candidate Jack Kemp had said their decisions make it seem as though Republicans do not want black votes.

"If we're going to be competitive with people of color, we've got to ask them for their vote," Kemp said last week.

The top GOP candidates refused to give in to pressure, saying they have been buried under a mountain of debate requests that are particularly difficult to accept as they race to raise money in the final days of the third fundraising quarter.

In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody this week, Romney bristled at the accusation that his decision to skip the debate is an indication of how much — or how little — his party cares about minorities.

"Of course we care about minority voters. We're not entirely brain-dead," Romney said. "We want people in the entire country to vote for us — Hispanic voters, African-American voters — we all want them in the primary and in the general."

Romney turned the tables on the debate's sponsors, the Public Broadcasting Service and Morgan State University, saying, "You call for one in the last couple of weeks in September, which is the last part of the quarter, most of us have got things lined up."

Romney, McCain and Giuliani have skipped debates or forums sponsored by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and by the National Urban League.