Since the Presidential election of 2016, there has been much talk about what it means to be Republican or Democrat. As a result, I did research specifically as it pertains to Blacks in Country.
Given the level of discord, acrimony, and in some cases hate, I did research on Politics in Country and seek to discover why Blacks seem obligated to support the Democrat Party. Simultaneously, I wanted to see if Blacks support of the Democrat Party was legitimate.
My findings indicate that Blacks support of the Democrat Party is illegitimate and misguided. Warner Wolf, would say lets go to the Video Tape but I say lets go to the Archives. Here are some facts gathered from research. Revelation was somewhat of a Blinded by the Light experience.
Fact: The Republican Party was established to oppose slavery. The Republicans eventually abolished slavery. The Democrat Party tried to maintain and expand slavery. The 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery, passed in 1865 with 100% Republican Party support and only 23% Democrat Party support in congress.
Fact: During the Civil War era, the Republican Party wanted to end slavery and endow the freed slaves with full citizenship, equality, and rights. The Democrat Party opposed.
Fact: Lincoln Vice President, Andrew Johnson, was pro-Union but also a pro-slavery Democrat who was selected by Lincoln as a compromise candidate to attract Democrats. After Lincoln’s assassination, Johnson opposed Republican Party efforts in Congress to recognize the civil rights of the freed slaves. The Democrat Party continued to prevent any such efforts for almost a century.
Fact: The 14th Amendment, giving full citizenship to freed slaves, passed in 1868 with 94% Republican Party support and 0% Democrat Party support in congress.
Fact: The 15th Amendment, giving freed slaves the right to vote, passed in 1870 with 100% Republican Party support and 0% Democrat Party support in congress.
Fact: The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was primarily an arm of the Southern Democrat Party. Its mission was to terrorize freed slaves and “nigger-loving” Republicans who sympathized with them.
Fact: In the 1950s, President Eisenhower, a Republican, integrated the US military and promoted civil rights for minorities. Eisenhower is responsible for the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Eisenhower is responsible for the development of the Highway System, which though unmentioned was literally a Road Map for Blacks to relocate.
Fact: President Eisenhower primary political opponent on civil rights prior to 1957 was Lyndon Baines Johnson, then the Democrat Senate Majority Leader. LBJ previously voted on straight segregationist line until he changed his position and supported the 1957 Act.
Fact: in the 1960’s the Democrat Party engineered a subversive strategy of getting blacks as dependent as possible on government to secure their votes. At the same time, they began a smear campaign to label anyone who opposes their clandestine strategy as racists.
Fact: The historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 was supported by a higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats in both houses of Congress. In the House, 80 percent of the Republicans and 63 percent of the Democrats voted in favor. In the Senate, 82 percent of the Republicans and 69 percent of the Democrats voted for it.
Fact: The Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Fair Housing Act, provided for equal housing opportunities regardless of race, religion, or national origin. The Civil Rights Act of 1968, made it a federal crime to “by force or by threat of force, injure, intimidate, or interfere with anyone by reason of their race, color, religion, or national origin; was an upgrade to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was also an appeasement consistent with the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Since the Republican Party took the lead in Civil Rights Act of 1964, credit has to be given to the Republican Party.
Barry Goldwater opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 attracted some racist Democrats to the Republican Party. However, Goldwater was not a racist or at least not an overt racist like many Democrats of the time, such as George Wallace and Bull Connor. He publicly supported racial equality and his opposition to the 1964 Act was consistent with his support of states rights. Regardless, his views were inconsistent with the mainstream, and he lost the 1964 Presidential election to LBJ in a landslide.
Goldwater’s opposition to the 1964 Civil Rights Act provided liberals an opening to paint the Republican Party as racist, and they have echoed that narrative over the years. However, it is nothing more than an unsubstantiated myth.
If the Republican Party had more members, who were predispose to racism than the Democrat Party in 1964, why did a higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats in both houses of Congress vote for the 1964 Civil Rights Act? The idea that Goldwater’s vote on the 1964 Civil Rights Act changed a century history of the Republican Party is ridiculous.
Every political party has its racists. The liberal media narrative that Republicans are more racist than Democrats is unsubstantiated innuendo and assertions. It is a classic example of a Lie that becomes true, simply by repeating it many times. Sadly, that has become a tactic used by Politicians. In essence, Politicians believe that if they tell you someone is an Angel numerous times, then you will ultimately believe.
In the 1960s, the Democrat Party changed its strategy for dealing with Black Americans. Thanks to Republican initiatives on civil rights, blatant racial oppression was no longer a viable political option. Whereas before Southern Democrats had overtly and proudly segregated and terrorized blacks, the national Democrat Party decided to be subtle and get them dependent on government as much as possible. As LBJ so elegantly put it, “I’ll have those niggers voting Democrat for the next 200 years.” At the same time, the Democrats started a campaign of lies and innuendo, falsely equating any opposition to their Welfare State with racism.
From a political perspective, the Democrat Party strategy of black dependency has been extremely effective. LBJ knew exactly what he was doing. Black Americans routinely voted well over 90 percent Democrat for fear that Republicans will cut their government benefits and welfare programs. Fact is before LBJ’s Great Society welfare programs, the black illegitimacy rate was about 23 percent, but it tripled to about 72 percent by the 1970’s.
It was a Democrat as President in the 1990’s, who began the dismantling of the Welfare program. That certainly threw a monkey wrench at the buzzword “Democracy” and it was probably about the time that the Democrat Party realized with an influx of new immigrants they might not need a majority of the Black vote to win Elections.
Liberal Democrats ran most major American city governments for decades, and most of those cities have large black sections that are essentially dysfunctional ghettos. With Gangs and drug dealers, burnt out homes on every block in some areas, they destroyed cities like Detroit and Chicago. The land values are so low due to crime, blight, and lack of economic opportunity that condemned homes are not even worth rebuilding. Who wants to build a home in an Urban War Zone? Yet Blacks continue to elect liberal Democrats and blame presumed “racist” Republicans for their problems.
A convincing argument can be made, that the Democrat Party support for affirmative action is racist. Affirmative action is the antithesis of Martin Luther King’s dream of a Color-Blind society. Not only is it “reverse racism,” but the premise is that Black Americans are incapable of competing in the free market on a level playing field. It is predicated on the notion of white supremacy, though “benevolent”, rather than the openly hostile white supremacy of the pre-1960s Democrat Party. My issue with Affirmative action has always been, yes, it is great to get me into an “Ivy League” school but does it get me the Professional or Career opportunity.
These days, Political philosophy and thus Party lines are sometimes blurry. It depends on the person or candidate running for office. Far be it for me to suggest that you should vote for an individual because he or she is Republican or Democrat or Black. However, seems to me that Blacks need to get a Political attitude adjustment. My findings indicate that Blacks support of the Democrat Party is illegitimate, misguided, and unsubstantiated. Seems to be more reason why Blacks should support the Republican Party going forward. The Way Forward (Black America) is clear.
Years ago, I became a Registered Republican. Many in the Black community uttered dirty remarks. It is refreshing to see that some Black celebrities now realize the “Way Forward”. The Black community should embrace this change. For too long the Black Leadership held to the Civil Rights platform apparently not recognizing that Era is over. It is time to move forward and stop complaining, fighting, and marching.
To effect change and bring about your ideals you must be in the room. You must sit at the table. You must articulate the issues and needs. You must have a Road Map and be ready and able to implement plans and solutions.
The Democrat Party is not your conduit or path to solutions. The situations and conditions that affect the Neighborhood will not leave via the assistance of the Democrat Party. The only thing leaving the Hood from the assistance of the Democrat Party, are the “so called” Senators and Representatives. In fact, the Democrat Party added insult to injury with the installation of the previous Executive Branch of Government (2008 – 2016). The previous Administration was ineffective. What was accomplished was not meaningful and what would have been meaningful was not accomplished.
For too long the Black community placed their eggs in the basket of the Democrat Party. They waited decades for the chickens to hatch. Finally, there is an epiphany. Those who thought the ideology of the Democrat Party would bring forth progress and salvation have realized they were WRONG. In 2008 – 2016, there was a Democrat Party administration in the White House and the Black Community received nothing. If in doubt, speak to your neighborhood Baptist Pastor. Chicago and other inner city neighborhoods are rapidly approaching extinction status.
I would argue that Chicago looks worse than it did in 2008. Setting expectations, the Black Community should not count their chickens before they are hatched in interaction with the current Administration but anything is better than nothing. What do you have to lose? However, my bet is the Black community will get attention and assistance to begin moving forward.
The Democrat Party is all about Handouts, keeping you poor and in pursuit but never attaining. The Republican Party is about ideas and Puritan Work Ethic. Look around you, everything you see was once an idea. If the current leaders on the “Way Forward” are looking for prominent Republican Party members to contribute, they should invite Alan Keyes and Colin Powell.
There is work to be done and enough glory to go around. Here are keys to the success of the “Way Forward”:
- Empower and encourage young Black people to become Entrepreneurs
- Train them to be computer literate
- Encourage them to focus on developing Industries missing from our infrastructure
- Encourage them to “Think” and improve on existing Industries
- Encourage them to look at Manufacturing and Farming and not relegate themselves to Services
- Encourage them to utilize and promote their own talents and not be copycats
- Instill in them that not everyone is academically inclined. There are roads, buildings, bridges, and other important segments of our infrastructure that need attention.
- Encourage them to research George Washington Carver, Uncle Ben, and persons of that Ilk so that they can aspire to creativity and ingenuity.
The NAACP and Urban League are in need of an attitude and focus adjustment. The Way Forward is not about complaining, fighting, and marching. The “Way Forward” is not about Jobs, corporate sit-ins, or Internship. Jobs are initial but short-term solutions. Apprenticeship and Entrepreneurship are long-term solution and the “Way Forward”.
If you need something done, be willing and able to do it yourself with the necessary business or financial support. Country is a Capitalistic Society. It will not be a Socialist or Democratic Socialist. Free Press does not exist in an environment steered by Socialism. You must be in the room where ideas are being discussed and decisions made. You must sit at the table. You must articulate the needs and issues. You must have a Road Map and be ready and able to implement plans and solutions.
