Robertson Decries Welfare, Births Out of Wedlock in Speech to Blacks

Republican presidential candidate Pat Robertson, in a rare appearance before a predominantly black audience, Wednesday decried welfare and births out of wedlock, asserting that his was a “message of hope and freedom.”

Speaking in a sun-drenched parking lot at South Carolina State College, Robertson was given a generally tepid reception. At times it turned hostile.

On the first day of a two-day swing through coastal South Carolina, Robertson made the stop in an effort to attract black voters for the GOP primary on Saturday. About 4,200 students--90% of whom are black--attend the college.

The former religious broadcaster has asserted that he expects to win 30% of the black vote. Here, however, he failed to ignite a spark.

About a dozen students waving signs supporting Democratic candidate Jesse Jackson appeared to unsettle Robertson, who said: “What Jesse’s been saying is what I’m saying to you too. If you want to get ahead, it’s time you stopped saying the federal government’s got to do it. I’ll open the door of opportunity, but you folks have got to walk through on your own. I’m not going to carry you across.”

In an effort to strike a positive chord, Robertson invoked the name of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and told the crowd of about 300 that he has long worked to help feed, clothe, teach and shelter the poor through Operation Blessing, an organization he founded.

At one point he urged blacks, and specifically black men, to take responsibility for their children. “It’s time that we recognize that if a man fathers a child, that child is not the responsibility of the local government, of the state government or of the federal government,” Robertson said.