West says the leadership council never met with Romney or anyone on his senior campaign staff. “No. Never did,” said West. “We had a good foundation of people that could have helped out but, you know, once again, that’s ‘outreach.’ Doesn’t mean anything unless you actually show up.” And Romney never did. This side of Jack Kemp, conservatives seem allergic to campaigning in urban America or communities of color…

I asked West who in the GOP he thought did the outreach well and no names immediately came to mind. What about his home state of Florida’s former governor, Jeb Bush?

“Yeah, but what is reaching out?,” he rhetorically replied. “It’s not just because you have an Hispanic wife or you can speak a little Spanish, you know. What are you doing to go in and not just show up at a Hispanic-American breakfast at the Chamber of Commerce or what have you. Not just showing up in Black History Month. When are you really going in and talking about the issues? My parents were raised as Democrats,” West continued. “My parents raised me with very conservative principles and values, and I tell you, when you talk to the black community really about who they are on a Sunday, they’re the most conservative people in the United States of America. Now you got to get that message home Monday through Saturday.”