Republicans have announced that they hope to quadruple their support among African-Americans in November, ending up with about 25 percent of the Black vote. If they are successful, they will become the first group in America to expand political support as a result of being hostile to the interests of the people they sought to attract.

There is no better evidence of Republican hostility to African-American interests than the recent NAACP Legislative Report Card. After examining the voting records of members of Congress and the U.S. Senate, the NAACP graded them on their support of issues the NAACP considered important to their constituents such as judicial appointments and job training programs.

How did Republicans do?

Of the 228 Republicans in the House and 52 in the Senate, only one – Congresswoman Mary S. Leach of Iowa – earned a grade as high as D. Every other voting Republican earned an F.

By contrast, no Democrat in the House or Senate received an F and only three – Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Representatives Robert E. Cramer of Alabama and Bill Lipinski of Illinois – earned Ds. Every other Democrat earned a C or above.

And Republicans wonder why more Blacks don’t vote for them? The solution is simple: Significantly expand support of issues deemed important to African-Americans and the political support will follow. Remain hostile to Black interests and Black voters, who give Democrats their support at a rate of 90 percent or more, will remain hostile to Republican candidates seeking public office.

The irony of the GOP latest appeal to African-Americans is that the moderates who could have helped them expand their base have been chased out of the Party. No Republican member of Congress earning at least a C on the NAACP Report Card is clear evidence that there is no such animal as Republican moderate on Capitol Hill.

It wasn’t all that long ago when Republican moderates –such as New York City Mayor John Lindsey, New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and Connecticut Sen. Lowell Weicker – were routinely supported by Black voters. But the Republican Party has shifted so far to the Right that when Colin Powell raised the subject of affirmative at the San Diego convention, he was booed.

And now we have a president who calls himself a “compassionate conservative” yet remains hostile to affirmative action, a bread-and-butter issue for African-Americans. He was so compassionate that he announced his opposition to the affirmative action programs at the University of Michigan last year on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ’s birthday. He’s so compassionate that he opposed a University of Michigan Law School affirmative action program that even a conservative, Republican-dominated Supreme Court upheld.

Not only has the Republican Party silenced the voices of White moderates, they have made opposition to affirmative action a litmus test for high-ranking Black Republicans. Only Secretary of State Colin Powell has voiced unequivocal support for affirmative action. Secretary of Education Rod Paige has expressed strong opposition to affirmative action, as has Acting Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice has sent mixed signals, saying she supports affirmative action while agreeing with Bush’s decision to oppose the University of Michigan programs.

It is not an accident that no Republican can get elected to Congress from a predominantly Black district. There are no Black Republicans now serving in Congress. The last two to serve – J.C. Watts of Oklahoma and Gary Franks from Connecticut – represented districts that were more than 95 percent White. Not surprisingly, their voting records were indistinguishable from White conservatives in Congress.

With all of the talk about wanting to expand the Party, Republicans still haven’t learned that in order to have credibility in the African-American community, they and their emissaries must have credibility on civil rights. Art Fletcher, Assistant Secretary of Labor under Richard M. Nixon, and William T. Coleman, Secretary of Transportation under Gerald R. Ford, were Black Republicans and made no apologies for their political affiliation. But they were also staunch supporters of affirmative action. Because of their stand on civil rights and affirmative action, they were not considered sell-outs. They had credibility then and they have credibility now. That’s not the case with Bush or his Black appointees.

Bush plans to spend a lot of dollars on Black media this year. He will be sending his Black cabinet members to our community with the message that contrary to what civil rights leaders say, George W. Bush is a friend of the Black community. Ignore their words and look at the Bush and GOP records. As Richard Nixon would say, they are perfectly clear.