With Republican candidates for president lining up to pledge that they won’t even consider appointing any Muslims to their cabinet I have to wonder how close to zero percent of the Muslim vote the eventual nominee will get in 2012. Obviously, there are always some folks who can overlook that kind of hostility and vote for people who openly hate them, but rarely does hate get this explicit. I’m sure there must have been more than one African-American who voted for Strom Thurmond, by mistake if nothing else, but I’m sure Strom could count his black votes on his fingers and toes. In a state like Michigan, where Republicans just had a big year, getting no Muslim votes could be decisive. But sending that kind of message to Muslims has to have carry-over effects to other minority groups. And it’s all part of a larger narrative the Republicans have been crafting over the last few years since Bush left office. Non-whites need not apply. At some point, I think this approach is going to start hurting the GOP even among whites. Certainly, the younger generations are going to be repelled. Don’t you think?
Casual Observation
