Bob Herbert paints its portrait.

But covering it could help advance it if black leaders, church leaders and Democratic leaders don’t follow up aggressively. And that means economic boycotts.

Where were blacks disenfranchised since the 2000 elections, thrown off the voter rolls by GOP governors and Secretaries of State? That’s where it begins.

Update: From Jake Tapper at ABC News:

A former member of the House Republican congressional leadership — and the last African-American to serve as a member of the GOP in Congress — harshly criticized Tuesday the decision of the Republican presidential front-runners to not attend a debate focused on minority issues.

“I think the best that comes out of stupid decisions like this,” said former Oklahoma Rep. J.C. Watts, is “that African-Americans might say, ‘Was it because of my skin color?’ Now, maybe it wasn’t, but African-Americans do say, ‘It crossed my mind.’”

All four GOP presidential front-runners — former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson — have said they will not attend a PBS debate at a historically black college in Baltimore hosted by Tavis Smiley.

Got that? JC Watts left Congress in 2002, so with about 250 GOP members of Congress currently, and about 285 just a year ago, the GOP has had no Black members for 5 years. Set aside his 4 terms and look for other examples of Black Republican congressional representation. Anyone care to list them for the last half century?

Gary Franks, a Representative from Connecticut, served from January 3, 1991, to January 3, 1997.

Melvyn Evans, a Delegate from the Virgin Islands, served from January 3, 1979, to January 3, 1981.

Edward Brooke, a Senator from Massachusetts, served from January 3, 1967, to January 3, 1979.

Four.

Now let’s add the other Black Republicans elected to Congress, over the last 105 years:

Oscar DePriest, a Representative from Illinois, served from March 4, 1929, to March 3, 1935.

Five. Out of thousands of Republicans in Congress in that 105 year period.

In the first 36 years after the Civil War, Republicans elected 22 Blacks to Congress. And only 5 in the 105 years since. And those five were all northerners, except Evans from the Virgin Islands.

The Republican’s ugliest side has a long history. The Democrats had a similarly ugly side till the mid-1960s. With the passage of the major civil rights acts, many switched to the GOP. And the Democratic Party of the past 41 years has evolved and grown more civilized.

Republicans have consciously chosen not to, preferring to exploit the Southern strategy, which is actually a national strategy of exploiting racism. And sure, to make it look less egregious, GOP Presidents have appointed Blacks a few times. But Congress, elected by Republican voters, more accurately portrays nationwide Republican preferences: 5 in 105 years out of thousands of elected Republican members of Congress.

Which beats the records of Saddam Hussein, Josef Stalin and Adolf Hitler. By 1, per every 21 years.