Page 9 - Mark Morial News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> i kind of ignore the showing in all of that. that's "melodrama" that will play itself out one way or the other. 24 people, 400 people, that is what it is. how that is ultimately framed in my view is what we have relied on in the past and that is a president who speaks into the moment and clarifies and defines where we are as american citizens when it comes to this type of hate-filled response to fellow americans. and the fact that the president is giving us sort of, you know, sort of a lightweight response on twitter. hate racism of all kinds. okay, but we're specifically talking about this...

That here we are now some 50 years later having to deal with a president, a republican president who, to the point that was just made, gives countenance to it, that gives room to that. so, the party has to now, irrespective of the president, the party has to account for this because i don't know how we go into a black community, into an hispanic community and say, come, join us, be a part of us. it's not justify to say you're conservative, not enough to say you go to church on sunday. it's not enough to put that on the table any more when you have this body of work by this administration. you'...

Streets of charlottesville. mark morial, i want to ask you. we talked a lot about how damaging this resurgence of white nationalism and white supremacy is to our national conversation, but the flip side of it is that we have seen a lot of americans stand up, take to the streets and say, no, this is not, this is not who we are. we are standing against this hateful speech and language and, you know, in some ways it could be viewed through the most positive possible lens as an opportunity for people to show courage. >> well, i think people have shown courage out of necessity. i think there is a...

Kind of hate. >> john harwood, can you weigh in on how this conversation has evolved and the question that elle was putting to the man she spoke with there, this question about how it affects our culture and has it infected it? >> sure it's infected our culture but the point that elle was making about people covering their faces is simply an illustration of how fringe a movement this is and that was reflected in the poor turnout today. but if you step back on this larger issue you were rising with marc morial, republicans have not gotten more than 15% of the black vote since barry goldwater in...

>> absolutely. john put it exactly right. one of the things that we tried to do during my time at the rnc and it wasn't just at the national level but what i emphasized was the party has to be where the party is, at the local levels. so state party leaders, county chairman and national committee leaders to go out into the community and make the case. you can't get a bullhorn and stand on pennsylvania avenue and say we support black agenda but in the local community they don't find a republican coming to the neighborhood saying we support the black agenda. >> michael steel, marc morial, elle re...