Minority party

Is the Republican party trying to offend minority groups? Consider these attempts at outreach:

The GOP woos blacks. The party aired an ad in which a black man says the following, vis-a-vis abortion:

"If you make a little mistake with one of your 'hos,' you'll want to dispose of that problem tout suite, no questions asked."

Believe it or not, that gem was aimed at the black audience.

The GOP woos Jews. In Arizona, surrogates for Republican congressman J.D. Hayworth -- who endorsed Henry Ford's anti-Semitism -- attended a synagogue event at which they managed to offend every Jew in the room.

The comment by Jonathan Tratt, a spokesman for the Hayworth campaign, drew loud and angry boos and caused nearly three-quarters of the crowd of more than 200 to walk out in disgust. After the walkout, another Hayworth surrogate, Irit Tratt, stood on the Temple's bimah as she told members of the audience who gathered to ask questions, "No wonder there are anti-Semites."

The GOP woos Hispanics. GOP congressional candidate Tan D. Nguyen sent out a letter threatening Spanish-speaking voters with arrest if they try to vote. (Responsible party leaders promptly urged Nguyen to drop out.)

Smooth moves. Smooooooth. But it's not as though the G.O.P. has offended all minority groups. When was the last time a conservative insulted gays or Muslims?