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GOP Holds Listening Session With Black Republicans in Georgia

GOP chairman Reince Priebus meets with Black Republicans in Georgia to discuss outreach.

Black Republicans in Georgia are fired up and ready to help bring other African-Americans to the Party. Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus met with about two dozen members Thursday for a closed-door "listening session" to discuss ways to diversify, WXIA-TV reports.

"No longer is going to be the day that Democrats can count votes by color," Ashley Bell, a former county commissioner said after the meeting. "The Republican party is going to be out there fighting for every vote in every neighborhood."

Priebus has dubbed the effort the "Growth & Opportunity Project." He believes the GOP's policies and principles are just fine, but the party needs to be more disciplined, understand what issues resonate and spend money year-round delivering its message.

"We have to ask for the sale," he said.

Bruce Levell, a Georgia state party chairman, acknowledges that the party's message delivery needs some work.

"It's hard to attract someone to a party when there are people involved in that party who say mean things," said Levell, who is African-American.

But Democratic state Sen. Vincent Fort isn't buying what Priebus is selling and doesn't think African-Americans will either.

"It isn't just that the African-American community doesn't like how the message is communicated. They understand the policies that Republicans have and they reject them out of hand," Fort said.

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(Photo: NBC News 11 ALive)

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