“The demographics race we’re losing badly,” said Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.). “We’re not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term.”

When I came into the party with George H.W. Bush, there was a pipeline of other African Americans who worked for the Republican National Committee in the headquarters, staffers who worked for Reagan, etc. We are now some of the most experienced operatives in the game; many of us have our own firms or work for corporate America. Unfortunately, we are never consulted on party issues unless there is an overtly black angle or, more typically, someone in the party leadership has done something stupid and they expect us to go on camera to provide cover.