Blogging the Black Republican Forum

Richie

Today in Manhattan Pamela and I of the blog Atlashrugged attended the annual black Republican Forum"she is still at the event" and will be adding more info as time goes by.

The annual "Black Republican Forum" is a co-sponsored group held by the National Black Republican Association & American Forum Series at The Women's National Republican Club. According to the brochure the keynote speaker at tonights event will be Lynn Swann a NFL Hall of Famer and 2006 Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Candidate. First I want to thank the staff who the groups coordinator for inviting me. There were only three bloggers and a mix of camera crews including C-Span and the 700 Club.

I must say I enjoyed the program and most of the topics the groups delved into where very much on topic and deeply relevant. The issues ranged from urban development to finding ways to deal with incarceration levels. I was deeply moved by some of the moving experiences and stories that came from many of the panelist. In truth most of the panelist were much more conservative than I am. Many of the panelist are known to hold deeply religious views and define conservatism from that school of thought.

There seems to be a big debate within the party as to what constitutes a conservative? Is a conservative one who conserves the ideals of the American Revolution..is a conservative one who conserves classical western traditions... or one who conserves the nations early Puritan religious views...or is a mix of all them.

The panelist were also very candid about topics that were quite unexpected ..for instance Bob Park's the famous radio host and candidate for State Representative in the 2nd Franklin District started his speech blasting John McCain for not coming to the event.Ward Connerly the conservative know for getting propositions around the nation banning affirmative action started out asking "why are there so many people in jail..and began to argue for a reduction. I will not be posting today about the event but will have a post up by tomorrow evening.

In the meantime here is a basic outline of what the group was all about according to its website "The Black Republican Forum" is an interactive event with speakers, panelists and attendees from across America. It is an opportunity to discuss and act on issues important to all Americans regardless of race.

Forum Agenda (click to view)