The black tea party members in Kentucky

Guardian:

The enormity of the task facing the Democrats in the midterm elections is all too evident at the Midwest church of Christ, which lies in a predominantly black neighbourhood in Louisville. Its pastor, the Reverend Jerry Stephenson, is a registered Democrat but he will be voting in the US Senate race for the Republican candidate and Tea Party favourite, Rand Paul.

Stephenson, 61, is furious over the school drop-out rate among African-American children in his neighbourhood – which has one of the highest crime rates in the city, especially among teenagers – and across the nation.

He felt pride when Barack Obama became the first black US president, but that pride has been tempered by a growing belief that he is not up to the job. "There has to be change that we can not only believe in," he said, echoing an Obama campaign slogan, "but that we can see."

The pastor is so angry that he has embraced the Tea Party movement, in spite of it being overwhelmingly white and repeatedly accused of racism. He speaks at their rallies across Kentucky, delivering fiery speeches in the cadences and rhythms common among southern black preachers.

...

A debate at the University of Louisville on Sunday night between Paul, 47, an opthalmologist, and his Democratic rival, Jack Conway, 41, the state's attorney-general, was a nasty affair. Paul took offence at a Conway advert that questioned his Christianity and suggested that as a student Paul was part of a group that had tied up a woman and had her bow in front of a false idol, the Aqua Buddha. Paul left the stage without shaking hands.

African-Americans attending the debate mostly favoured Conway, but there were Paul sympathisers too. One of them, Martina Kunnecke, 57, a researcher and freelance writer from Louisville, said: "I am a lifelong Democrat but I am leaning towards Rand Paul. The Democratic party has become so corrupt. I am disenchanted with the Democratic party machine. Real people can't aspire to office. You have to have money and be connected."

Kunnecke has attended Tea Party meetings – "my friends thought I was bananas" – and is disappointed in Obama. "It is very sad. He was not up to he job," she said. She would have preferred Hillary Clinton.

...

Since this was in the Guardian it does have a liberal slant that you can pick up in the areas where you see the ...'s in this post. What I found interesting is that both of the blacks quoted felt Obama was "not up to the job," I suspect some others feel that way and for what ever reason are not willing to go on the record with the comment.

If Democrats are having to target black voters they are in serious trouble.