Group's Goal: Get More GOP Minority Staffers On Capitol Hill

Former U.S. Congressman J.C. Watts will head up the Insight initiative

Better late than never, but they must go beyond college students. Hopefully, the follow-through will be stellar. J.C. Watts will be heading up this effort. From Politico: "A nonprofit launching this week aims to get more conservative minority staffers on the Hill and to help them climb the ladder once they’ve arrived. The group, called Insight, will start an internship program to help students of color get placed in Republican offices, host professional development events and provide networking opportunities. Former Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) will chair the initiative, which also plans to host an ongoing series of public policy forums on issues that affect ethnic minorities."

Mr. Watts discusses the reasons for starting the Insight initiative: "The animating idea is that the GOP must do more than recruit minority candidates in order to improve outreach. 'It’s really not a matter of having African-American or Hispanic or Asian or Native American candidates or female candidates,' Watts told POLITICO in an interview. 'We cheapen the accomplishments of a Tim Scott when we as a party say, ‘Oh, look at Tim Scott!’ Or, ‘Look at J.C. Watts!’ Or, ‘Look at Colin Powell.’....There’s a lot of work that needs to be done to connect the dots.'

UPDATE: According to Move-On.org, Sen. Tim Scott is an honorary co-chairman.