The Black Question in the Democratic and Republican parties

I find the argument that the Republican party has for most of its history failed to address black people's needs a largely empty argument.

We forget that the Republican party was born as a protest movement against a very specific outrage perpetrated by the Democratic party. That was the 1854 Compromise Act, which allowed slavery to expand into the territories. Opponents of slavery united with a single purpose and declared: "Enough, there shall be no concessions to the slavery element. We draw the line right here. No slavery in the territories.''

Until the “New Deal” era of Franklin Delano Roosevelt beginning in 1932, most Blacks identified with and voted for the Republican party. The Depression of 1929 negatively affected both whites and blacks economically, and by the time FDR’s government programs promised hope for reversal, many blacks, and whites, switched their allegiance to the Democratic party led by FDR (funny thing is that the Democratic party had to be sued in the 1930’s in order for blacks to be in that party). And even though the New Deal programs offered only short term advantages to some, the ensuing claims of the Democratic party as the party of the “little man” stuck.

Taking a look at FDR’s “New Deal” programs they did sound good but had an opposite effect for what is widely preceived to be what "got us out of the Depression and saved black people." For example, the “Agricultural Adjustment Act” resulted in a huge reduction in the growing crops and farming which ended many jobs for blacks. The National Labor Relations/Wagner Act allowed the establishment of labor unions, to which blacks were excluded. Also, the concept of a “minimum wage” was established to guarantee workers better pay, but instead of paying workers the minimum employers simply fired them or failed to hire them. Not surprisely, the “minimum wage” caused an upsurge in the unemployment rate among blacks, especially teens.

Another irony involving blacks swelling the Democratic party ranks is the issue of more recent civil rights. In 1948, a splinter group called "Dixiecrats" strongly opposed desegregation in the South and wanted to retain the old Jim Crow laws. The issue of civil rights and integration became a political hot potato for the next five decades. Republican President Dwight Eisenhower signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which was little more than a token symbol having been watered down in the Senate by Lyndon Baines Johnson, a Democrat.

By 1964 a new Civil Right bill was debated in the Senate. Democratic Senators Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Al Gore, Sr., led a filibuster that nearly derailed the bill’s chance of passage, until Republican Minority Leader, Senator Everett Dirksen of Illinois, broke the filibuster. In the House of Representatives, 40% of the Democrats voted against the bill, while only 20% of the Republicans opposed; in the Senate 21 Democrats voted against it, while only 6 Republicans voted no.

Looking at the facts, Republicans were the ones who passed both civil rights and voting rights for blacks. Democrats get the credit. Yet 40 years later, the image of the Republican party as unsympathetic to equal rights for blacks seems to persist. Black voters seem still focused on a moment in history 40 years ago.

My point is that the battle for black civil rights is done, and now the battle is for social power. Understand blacks and the GOP are traveling on a ''two-way street.'' Democrats can get away with making borderline racist statements because it is easier for them to find black spokespersons such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to vouch for their integrity (i.e. Howard Dean).

In looking at the highlight of liberal and black anger -- namely Trent Lott's statements concerning Strom Thurmond's presidential run -- I come aross this arguement, that "those comments reflect a problem that has long plagued the Republican party: its consistent failure to court Black votes and to attract Black candidates."

That's just crap!

They have sold their freedom to the Democrats, for a handful of foodstamps, a welfare check, and a few gallons of free home heating oil.

The baseline assumption about Republicans is that they are all racist until proven otherwise. I wish I were merely mouthing off, exaggerating, whatever; but believe me, I've spent too much time watching before my very eyes comments that point to such an assumption to indulge in delusions. Republicans do not have issues in black America: Republicans ARE the issue. And until the Republican party goes onto black turf, and say who they are with persistence and passion, the party will remain what the Democrats want it to be: the Bogeymen, the backdrop for scaring black non-politicals to the polls. Fighting back is the only way.

What do Republicans offer blacks? A far fairer chance than the current liberal power base--viz. Clinton advisor Paul Begala hanging onto Al Sharpton's cuffs but failing to make the tackle. Democrats are everywhere claiming to be the party with blacks' interests at heart--while demonstrating it's a damnable lie--and they incidentally have no heart. It was Al Gore who had the quota for blacks on his Secret Service detail--but it was an upper-level limit, not a baseline requirement. Democrats are pulling off the biggest of the Goebbelsian Big Lies--that they care for blacks. We now have a president who evinces the King dream where a man is judged by the content of his character, not the color of his skin. To counter that, there is only the demagoguery of Maxine Waters and Jesse Jackson.

In April 2004, Senate Democrats, while taking the black vote for granted, blocked extension of welfare reform, demonstrating their soft bigotry of low expectations and social promotion policies that keep blacks in poverty. Recently, supported by the racial slurring of Dr. Condoleezza Rice by liberals in the media, Democrats joined former Klansman Senator Robert Byrd in the shameful filibuster of the confirmation of Dr. Rice to be the first black woman Secretary of State.

The Democratic party’s current policies on taxes and national security put our nation in danger and are contrary to Democratic President John F. Kennedy’s beliefs on those issues. Although Kennedy was on the wrong side of civil rights, since he voted against the 1957 Civil Rights Act and opposed Dr. King’s 1963 march on Washington, he cut taxes to grow our economy and spent money to strengthen national defense. Democrats today are pro tax increases and soft on national defense.

This is a key point. People create a "world view" based on their perceptions and conceptions. Their conceptions are based on their perceptions. So if people hear on a daily basis lies about the Republicans, from radio and from slanted "news" coverage from liberal papers, this is what they are exposed to. They will tend to believe that all media, not just the media they listen to and read, has the same viewpoint. Or that what they listen to and read is normal (since after all, they're normal), and so any other views are "right-wing", or cracker, or whatever.