I think it was the Republican party's
Southern Strategy that turned a lot of African Americans away from the party. I'm not religious, nor am I socially conservative, but I find myself agreeing with a lot of the rhetoric surrounding personal responsibility and the role it plays in our communities. Where I differ from conservatives like Steele is that I also understand and acknowledge that there is a legacy of social and political disenfranchisement that contributes to the state many of our communities are in.
I too am a registered Independent, but I have to say I'm going to find it mighty difficult to vote for any Republican who is the poster boy (or girl) of the Religious Right.