This is an amazing exchange. What we have here is Lindsey Graham basically admitting that trying to minimize black voter turnout is a Republican policy position, and then (hilariously) not being able to understand why Republicans fail so miserably on NAACP scorecards, and with black voters in general. You rarely see a more pristine example of the Republican disconnect on this subject. Usually, instead of the inquisitive “Why don’t black people like us?”, you get conservatives that are convinced it’s the fault of Democrats, luring weak-minded black Americans with entitlements, etc. (because THAT’s not racist…)
President and CEO of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, does a brilliant job of explaining why Republicans score so poorly (standing on the wrong side of voting rights issues that impact black Americans, etc.), and Graham just dismisses this with “elections have consequences”. Well, yes sir…they do. One of those consequences is Republicans gaining power, then immediately attacking the Voting Rights Act, pushing all sorts of voter suppression laws aimed at minimizing black voter turnout, etc. This is why you score so poorly with the NAACP. See how that works?
The real pity in this exchange is that for a brief moment, it looked like Johnson and Graham were going to review Graham’s scorecard and Johnson was going to explain his score…but then the conversation drifted. I loathe that we were robbed of hearing, “See here Lindsey? Where you try to make it harder for black people to vote? This actually NEGATIVELY impacts your score.”
The Republican response to this, of course, is that voter ID laws have nothing to do with trying to suppress the black vote, but rather, they are intended to fight the dreaded, near non-existent “voter fraud”. The GOP might be able to convince many conservatives that’s the case, but if you think black voters are buying that explanation, you’re doomed to be as mystified by low NAACP scorecards for Republicans as Lindsey Graham is.