Into the lion's den - not

By Richard K. Barry

Roll Call noted today that a number of high profile Republicans were invited to speak at the 50th anniversary of the historic civil rights march on Washington, but declined. Prominent on the list of those who apparently had something better to do were Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

That wasn’t a wise choice, said Julian Bond, a renowned civil rights activist, in an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday afternoon.

“What’s really telling, I think, is the podium behind me, just count at the end of the day how many Republicans will be there,” Bond told news anchor Alex Wagner. “They asked senior President Bush to come, he was ill. They asked junior Bush, he said he had to stay with his father.

“They asked a long list of Republicans to come,” Bond continued, “and to a man and woman they said ‘no.’ And that they would turn their backs on this event was telling of them, and the fact that they seem to want to get black votes, they’re not gonna get ‘em this way.”

The best and smartest politicians seem to have no fear of the lion's den. As a politician, if you are not comfortable there, you're in the wrong job.  If Republicans truly feel they have nothing to say to those who believe in the importance of civil right, they really are in trouble. And, if demographic trends hold, shady redistricting practices aren't going to work forever.