Brazile herself contributed to this myth-making when she declared that the results of the 2000 election in Florida represented "a systematic disenfranchisement of people of color and poor people," adding that "in disproportionately black areas, people faced dogs, guns, and were required to have three forms of ID."
This is pure fiction. So were Democrats' claims that George W. Bush somehow condoned the dragging murder of James Byrd in Texas, or that Judge Charles Pickering was soft on the KKK, or that black churches in the South were targets of a racist arson conspiracy.
Democrats have been hoping to prevent Republicans from speaking to African-Americans by creating the equivalent of radio jamming. They've spewed so much falsehood and emotion into the air that they hope Republicans cannot be heard over the din.
But the new chairman of the Republican National Committee, Ken Mehlman, together with the ambitious President George Bush, are attempting to penetrate that barrier. By seeking out black ministers like Bishop Eddie Long and others, they are saying: "Give us a chance, and we'll give you a choice. A choice in education ... a choice to own a business, a choice to own a home."
Republicans have made this pitch before without notable success. But it does seem that Mehlman has more of a sense for the music with black audiences. Appearing at the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Mehlman told his audience of business owners that "the party of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass is not complete without more African-American support and participation."
The expanding black middle and upper classes ought to be fertile ground for the Republican message of entrepreneurship, traditional families and improved education. But Democrats have fought dirty for this constituency, and the smart money is on more of the same in the future.