Leading Republican presidential candidates former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have decided to skip the All-American Presidential Forum on Sept. 27, where leaders will be discussing issues relevant to minorities. Republican leaders are encouraging them to reconsider, concerned black and Latino voters will be pushed further away from the party if they do not participate.

In addition, Giuliani, Romney and McCain have also declined to participate in activities hosted by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and the National Urban League.

Accusations have popped up from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and talk show host Tavis Smiley that Republicans are ignoring the minority voices and ditching the issues most relevant to them, causing their standings with black and Latino voters to slip.

Mack Shelley, university professor of political science and statistics, said the Republican Party has been known as the “party of exclusion” and have been accused of having racist qualities, making racist statements and excluding minorities from their party base.

However, this label has not always been a part of the Republican Party history.

Shelley said when the Republican Party was first established under Abraham Lincoln, it was determined to end slavery and unequal treatment to minorities. The Democratic Party at that time was seen to be more objective of minorities and stood for working class people instead.

However, Shelley said, during the 1950s, concepts started to change for both parties. In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement saw Southern white voters shifting their beliefs as black men and women started to become largely Democratic. This concept continues on today.

“What has happened in Mississippi and in other Southern states is that the county-level Democrats are proportionally African-American. It is very rare to find African- American Republicans. This is because there has been a gut change since Abraham Lincoln’s time,” he said.

Shelley said examining voter records will prove that point, as approximately 90 to 95 percent of Republican voters tend to be white, while in the Democratic Party, only 60 percent are white.

Don McDowell, consultant for ISU College Republicans and senior in political science, said a lot of tactics are used by both parties to stifle intelligent conversation on the issues, causing a barrier for discussion.

“It is not uncommon for Republicans to get strange labels,” he said. “As Republicans on campus, it is frustrating because we know we are not racist. People fail to understand the Republican perspective and this is unfortunate because it is not that way.”

McDowell said although Republicans do not always stand strong for affirmative action, that does not mean they aren’t accepting of minorities. Instead, McDowell believes the Republican Party decides to look at ways to help from an economic standpoint, by helping with employment and entrepreneurship to get minorities on their feet and into well-paying jobs.

“Many Democrats will tell you that the more people they can keep, the longer they will exist. Republicans realize the less people rely on the government, the better off they will be,” he said.

Amanda Halfacre, president of ISU Democrats and junior in women’s studies, said accepting minorities and encouraging equality is something that has come naturally to Democrats for a number of years.

“Democratic leaders are going to areas where minorities are present. Their platforms are just more progressive,” she said.

“The more Democrats get their platform out as an accepting party, the more votes we will get in the future and the upcoming election.”

McDowell said he wished that labeling, especially “loaded labels,” would end on campus as well as in the rest of the country, for both parties.

“What college students don’t realize is that statements and issues are interconnected,” he said.

“The faster you can label your opponent, the more you gain. However, we are at an instituted learning center. If we can’t sit down and talk about issues and stop labeling, we won’t get anywhere.”