If he's the right direction for the RNC they will never be the diverse party they need to be for the future. he just left the club...REALLY!

I'd consider it a deal-breaker but I'm not a republican, so I'll just go along with the guy who says if Dawson wins the post it'll prove the party's held hostage by crackpots. And bringing up Wright in this post is a ridiculous stretch.

Steph you know they had to bring up Wright so not to alienate anyone!

I agree it's a stretch I don't think the Democratic party has a big problem with find diversity/inclusion , but the RNC does and therefore this is big deal. Secondly "mostly black" and "all white" aren't even close to the same thing!

Would Dawson have done this if he wasn't running for RNC chair? The fact that he is noting that a a reason for quitting is leading me believe No......what do you guys thing?

yeah the fact that he just left the club is really, really transparent. i hope they do select this guy - it will just cement their loser status for the next 4 years.

Yeah, it's such an obvious ploy that if it works for him, it definitely shows the party is nuts.

Do they really still have all white clubs? I do believe they would still be around, I just have a really hard time wrapping my head around such a thing. The fact that it only bothered him when he started to look for a leadership position is pretty telling about his character I would think.

DEAL BREAKER

I can't believe in 2008 there are still white-only clubs.

Really? In 2008 this is the best they can do?

Nice that the post excludes a few small details that are in the first noted source:

The "...deed has a whites-only restriction."
...
"Dawson said he began working to change the club’s admissions practices in mid-August after reading about the deed in an article in The State."

“I understand the deed is unconstitutional,” Dawson said. And, on a personal level, “that deed is unacceptable.”

and
"State Rep. Leon Howard, chairman of the General Assembly’s Legislative Black Caucus, said he has known for years about Dawson’s membership in the club."
...
"“He don’t have a racist bone in his body,” he said, adding the two have been friends for almost 40 years."

Did he notice that there were no black members? Did he ever ask about that? It's still unacceptable to me.

No comment, I'm not sure what is going on from this so I will hold judgment.

Stephley I don't think there are that many black people who belong to country clubs even amongst the wealthy. It's just culturally not a place of interest, though that is changing a bit.

Then clubs that cater to wealthy white politicians might consider holding membership drives - they know what they're doing. Everywhere I've lived, black people have played golf and tennis as much as whites.

I don't think there's enough information here to crucify this man. The club may not widely publicize the matter, and it's hard for us as outsiders to know when he found out about it and whether he started working on the issue right away.

I'm with the people who are surprised there are still 'whites only' country clubs. But honestly I've never understood the whole country club thing in the first place, so I guess it's too foreign for me to understand.

You don't belong to a whites-only country club and then act as though you're so moral. He left because he knew it would look bad politically--not because he felt it was wrong in the first place.

No one's crucifying anyone - but it's disingenuous to suggest that he could have not been aware that the club didn't have black members. If he honestly didn't know, he's fine as a local politician but obviously too stupid for a national party post.

That's exactly what I was thinking, Steph. How stupid do you have to be to not know you were a member of an all white country club??!?

I don't think somebody should be expected to leave a club solely because it doesn't have any black members.

Could you imagine... come January the PRESIDENT of the US would not be allowed to play a round of golf at this course. Incredible!

That's a deal breaker. The highest ranking Republican couldn't invite our nation's president to his own country club. Wow... so out of touch!

Without even considering morals: any person with national political ambitions definitely should - pure pragmatism.

Michelin: "I don't think somebody should be expected to leave a club solely because it doesn't have any black members."

I think it's ignorant, unpatriotic, and divisive for a high ranking US politician to remain a member of a country club that would deny our nation's PRESIDENT membership because of his skin color.

*I say would, because while it is unconstitutional and would not hold up in court, it is on their books and therefore they would if the could!

MSucre, I thought it was implied that I meant nobody should be expected to leave a club just because they didn't happen to have any black members. If it was solely a matter of circumstance. Certainly nobody should knowingly endorse a racist policy.

"but it's disingenuous to suggest that he could have not been aware that the club didn't have black members"

I was responding to this. Somebody might notice there were no black members, but they wouldn't necessarily assume it was the product of a whites-only policy. And they wouldn't necessarily be morally obligated to leave if it were simply a matter of circumstance.

I don't hang out at places where there aren't a lot of black people. Remember at the RNC when I kept pointing out how few black people they were showing on TV? Definitely wasn't there.

Dawson is allegedly intelligent, it is a club in Columbia, South Carolina, this is 2008 - Dawson should have noticed and should have asked why - he should have determined before now whether it was a matter of circumstance.
Dawson wants a position guiding a national political party in choosing its candidates and policies - he needs to be more aware of his surroundings, his actions and what they may say about him.

I will not deny that this situation is inexcusable.

I'm also really impressed that there are so many mind-readers and real estate attorneys here!

There's a ten-year waiting list for this country club.
No one (here) knows who is on it.
If a minority applies, should they be bumped to the top of the list?
If so, how fair is that?

Since we are all in favor of equity, and the elimination of race-based membership, I suggest that we eliminate any black or hispanic congressional groups. Those are exclusionary, which is particularly unforgivable among our elected leaders.

The "restrictive covenant" that does not allow blacks to purchase property, is on my deed (I live In California) It's illegal but it still hurts...

Did minorities just move to Columbia? The club's been around for like 80 years - do you really expect anyone to believe minorities are just languishing on the waiting list?
By trying to equate a country club with a Congressional caucus, you're going pretty far to try and cover his a$$ aren't you? Make excuses for a stupid person this early on, and the party could find itself with an embarrassing, ugly situation down the road. You should really hope someone asks this guy some real tough questions before he goes any further.

You have to be invited to join these clubs. Back ground checks(black blood in your family etc.) Nobody wants to be singled out for bring in trash (the KKK has drs, judges, politicians...you don't want to get on their wrong side).

I think that this sort of community, the community that would make up such a club has traditions and certainly a reputation. It isn't some great hometown club that just hasn't updated the books in a while.

I don't think we should be talking about what this politician ought or ought not to do. I think it's important to just realize what background this man is coming from. An elite and RACIST background.

It's not a matter of excusing such and such a politician for the racist and unconstitutional club that he has been a member of, it's a matter of deciding if he's the type of person we want to run the Republican party.

I don't know. At least he quit.

I was in a sorority in college (in the Deep South) that had never had a non-white member. It wasn't any official policy, but that was just how it was. None of the Panhellenic sororities had ever had a black member. In the two years I was there before transferring to another University, only one black girl went through rush. I don't mind telling you I voted against her at my chapter because I'd had a class with her and knew her to be super obnoxious. I'm sure some of my sorority sisters voted against her because she was black or because they were worried fraternities would want to "swap" (have parties) with us if we had a black member.

I wasn't excited about it, and I wished it were different, but I didn't quit. My options for sororities were the all-whites or all-blacks. It's not like there was some multi-cultural option available.

Which is not to say that it's okay to have an all white club, just that something it's a little more complex. Even if they successfully deleted the language from their rules, do you think tons of minority families would suddenly be banging down their door?

No. We have our own sororities. It's a cultural and generational thing. In my family we all are Deltas, Eastern Stars, Masons, (teachers,lawyers,politicians). Our sororities are our home away from home, some date back to slavery. The Mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley was denied membership in the "clubs". This honor is given to all elected officials in California. To make things equal no one got the HONOR from then on. (the much media talked about "Bradley effect" in Obama's presidential campaign) It is pride that we no longer seek inclusion.

I think we should hold off on crucifying the GOP until they elect the next RNC. I have a feeling that this guy won't win, given this (only partial) information.

Undave: I need your sunglasses...Now, everything is beautiful again (what was I thinking?).

This kind of crap is why the GOP lost - even if Dawson's attempts at integrating (really? in 2008???) his all-white country club was sincere, it still comes off as cynical. That's really the sad part. I feel like anything that the GOP does regarding racial/ethnic diversity is just for show and its all about how to make themselves look better.

That may not be the case but it sure feels like it especially after so many years of hostility towards minorities and immigrants (i.e. opposition to affirmative action, hostility towards immigrants, etc). The GOP needs to do some actual soul searching about their identity as a party before they try and start recruiting people of different backgrounds.

They used to have some good fiscal ideas (balancing budgets, lowering taxes, etc) but that message got lost when evangelicals took over and made abortion the end-all, be-all litmus test for being a true Republican. that's just pathetic...

Thanks for the sarcasm Gkitty. He hasn't been elected, and like I said, he probably won't be. Instead of denouncing the GOP because of one person, let's see what the GOP does, and then give our final pronouncement.

Nica - I agree that the GOP needs to refocus their identity. Not everyone who runs for the RNC will be elected, just like not everyone who runs for President is elected. Can anyone imagine what the country would be like if we had to have Perot, or Ron Paul as President?

Undave: Sorry to hit you with my BRUSH! In real life you have to be honest, I know you "walk like you talk" and I needed your "sunglasses" to help me see a different way.(smile) I know my history, and I also believe CHANGE will come in my lifetime. Now all I need is the grace to forgive and forget.

You're right. Change will come in your lifetime. You may not like the change that comes though.

All is forgiven, we're cool (well, at least in my mind I'm cool.)

I find this to be a bit deceptive. Its actually fairly common in the Southeast for deeds to have white-only restrictions. They are completely unenforceable, so often they just get left on as antiquated provisions. It doesn't mean they are enforceable or those who own property with one of these covenants is racist. I don't mean in any way that these are acceptable, just that this article seems to be creating an issue.

Unenforcable deed or not, there were no black members.
Deal breaker.
Too phony that he now called for an end to the restriction.

I'm sorry, I wasn't clear. It isn't the article that is creating the issue, it is more Katon Dawson. These provisions are all over and should be removed. But he seems to be using this as an avenue for political gain. I hope the deed is changed, but I don't want him to gain from his sudden "revelation." It just doesn't seem like a genuine desire to change things. But then, I guess that is politics.

Katrina: The deed is history, the provision cannot be removed from a legal document. You can end the practice as of the effective date the provision was deemed illegal.

Ah, I am remembering fondly how Fuzzy Zoeller shot his mouth off when Tiger Woods started kicking golf ass.

Sadly country clubs are one of the places that quietly kicked and screamed their way into integration instead of ushering in racial equality with a smile.

Its a subject I do know something about as my father was (and is, to a lesser extent now) a serious golfer and was part of a few country club communities for decades in Texas. Where it wasn't actually on the "deed", it certainly wasn't a multiracial environment. But, legalities aside, the monocolor environment was more endemic, more in the players themselves than the club's bylines....Dad was certainly on the liberal side as these members go, and he both saw and heard things on a regular basis that made him deeply uncomfortable.

The simple reality is those players felt they could "speak" their mind in the "safe" environment of the club, and really seemed to assume everyone (including my dad) must have felt the same way.

Dad's pretty diplomatic, but I wish I could have been the fly on the wall to see how he handled it. At the end of the day he was there for the GOLF.

I guess discrimination (as well as how the staff were treated by some of the golfers) was something that always bothered him. He also told stories of coming home and being embarrassed at how his partners behaved. I always felt kind of proud that the people that worked there liked my dad because he didn't draw lines between them. Success didn't make my dad into some different species from the guy serving a burger.

Sorry, just musing on all this brought up some old memories of years golfing with my parents!

On a side note, he even had the good fortune to get to play the Master's course (lucky git!).

Shadowdamage: These old memories help to teach others how far we've come, and how special life will be when hate is no longer tolerated. THANKS.

Well, the GOP does have to appeal to their constituents and their base. Their constituents just happen to be so freaked out right now, about Obama being elected, that they continue sending out racist filled, hate-mongering e-mails about how Obama is "turning the White House black," and their new dog is going to be "a pit bull with gold teeth." Aren't these people the same group that argued for blinding standing behind Bush?

Are you people serious????? Him belonging to a white country club gets you all riled up, but for a man to sit in a church that preached hatred AGAINST white people and says G..Damn America is ok with you??????? what the ef............you people are seriously screwed up......

Black folks don't go to shrinks (cost too much honey!) We let it all hang out in church.