Why Is House Speaker Paul Ryan Aligning With This Group?

CURE’s Star Parker said that Republicans can get more black votes, particularly from low-income blacks.

Among the factors that keep people poor and outside economic success are family instability (i.e., out-of-wedlock pregnancy and female-headed households) and unemployment. What is the solution?

Upholding traditional values would go a long way toward alleviating these social ills, and Republicans promote these values.

In the context of poverty, what would black voter outreach look like? Must the GOP become liberal to appeal to black voters? Regardless, House Speaker Paul Ryan could end up working with the Congressional Black Caucus on a so-called anti-poverty plan, the Hill reported (emphasis added):

Ryan is placing more emphasis on alleviating poverty in a presidential election year when the GOP desperately needs to make inroads with minorities. He has expressed regret about not talking more about poverty during his vice presidential run in 2012 and is seeking to rectify that mistake now that he’s the top-ranking Republican on Capitol Hill.

At Ryan’s request, Rogers said he intends to broach the topic of targeted poverty funding with Rep. James —Clyburn (D-S.C.), an influential CBC member who’s been the most vocal proponent of the so-called 10-20-30 strategy.

Clyburn’s model would direct at least 10 percent of federal spending on discretionary programs to communities where at least 20 percent of the population has lived below the poverty line for at least the last 30 years.

Does Speaker Ryan believe more government spending — or targeted spending — will make the GOP appealing to black voters? Or is that even a consideration? (emphasis added)

There’s a practical reason for GOP leaders to embrace the 10-20-30 approach: Of the hundreds of counties that would be covered under the formula, a vast majority are represented by Republicans. It’s a dynamic that hasn’t been overlooked by Ryan, who told the CBC last week that Republican districts stand to benefit most, according to several members.

“Targeted poverty funding” versus jobs. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) concluded from a Gallup report that the “vast majority of people who work full-time all year are not in poverty.” Work is more important than wages when it comes to poverty, AEI said, and poverty rates won’t decrease unless more adults are working full time. But traditional values, such as marrying before having babies, can improve life outcomes for parents and children even in low-earning households.

“It is Republicans who promote the importance of traditional values,” Star wrote. “It is the Democratic Party that sells openness to alternative lifestyles, abortion, re-defining marriage and big government programs that subsidize these kinds of destructive behaviors. Regarding education, public schools in poor neighborhoods are a disaster. Republicans promote school choice and opportunities to empower parents to choose where to send their children to school. Democrats uniformly fight these efforts.”

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