# Blacks and the GOP **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 13, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057 "2010-06-13T22:53:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/261 "2010-06-22T02:50:18Z")
> [@kingbighair](#): > > And how many black reps have come from each party in recent memory? It’s a self-fulfilling prophesy that a voting block that is predominately one party will field candidates in that party. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/262 "2010-06-22T02:58:17Z")
> [@kingbighair](#): > > I do not recall you bringing up any GOP achievements in the last 40 years. Do you really think present blacks give a damn about a politician in 1935? 1964 civil rights vote. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/263 "2010-06-22T02:59:03Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > 1964 civil rights vote. Math is hard. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/264 "2010-06-22T03:08:44Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > So now the Republican vote didn’t count? That is beyond lame because it ignores the failure of the party you’re trying to defend. If you want to get the record straight then you have to go with the ACTUAL RECORD. Either LBJ was too busy to twist some arms or Democrats were too racist to actually vote for the rights of black people. That is the reality of it. > > Isn’t the board suppose to be about fighting ignorance? The Republican party has been there since the end of the civil war. Go back and read my post. Not only did the GOP nominate one of the few Republican senators who voted _against_ the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 2/3 of the delegates (you know, the party faithful, the rank and file) voted against a plank in their party platform affirming the Act. Do you really want to know where the Republicans have been? [Let’s start with this from their party platform from 1948.](http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25836) > [@](#): > > Lynching or any other form of mob violence anywhere is a disgrace to any civilized state, and we favor the prompt enactment of legislation to end this infamy. > > One of the basic principles of this Republic is the equality of all individuals in their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This principle is enunciated in the Declaration of Independence and embodied in the Constitution of the United States; it was vindicated on the field of battle and became the cornerstone of this Republic. This right of equal opportunity to work and to advance in life should never be limited in any individual because of race, religion, color, or country of origin. We favor the enactment and just enforcement of such Federal legislation as may be necessary to maintain this right at all times in every part of this Republic. > > We favor the abolition of the poll tax as a requisite to voting. > > We are opposed to the idea of racial segregation in the armed services. Noble, honorable and progressive. Now let’s compare the [party platform of 1968.](http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25841) > [@](#): > > In many areas poverty and its attendant ills afflict large numbers of Americans. Distrust and fear plague us all. Our inner cities teem with poor, crowded in slums. Many rural areas are run down and barren of challenge or opportunity. Minorities among us—particularly the black community, the Mexican-American, the American Indian—suffer disproportionately. > > [And] > > This nation must not blink the harsh fact—or the special demands it places upon us—that the incidence of poverty is consistently greater among Negroes. Mexican-Americans, Indians and other minority groupings than in the population generally. 1968 was the year Martin Luther King was murdered. And those two sentences right there were all the Republican Party had to say about race. “There from the Civil War”? Yes. Still there? I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/265 "2010-06-22T03:23:23Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Now let’s compare the [party platform of 1968.](http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25841) > > 1968 was the year Martin Luther King was murdered. And those two sentences right there were all the Republican Party had to say about race. > > “There from the Civil War”? Yes. Still there? I don’t think so. ??? so acknowledging black people were afflicted with greater rates of poverty is bad because??? Was this a secret we weren’t allowed to tell the world? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/266 "2010-06-22T14:53:07Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > ??? so acknowledging black people were afflicted with greater rates of poverty is bad because??? Was this a secret we weren’t allowed to tell the world? Still not reading my posts closely? Those two sentences in the Republican platform were all the party had to say about one of the two most defining issues of the postwar era (the other was the Cold War.) Interested in what the Democrats had to say [in their platform](http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29604)? > [@](#): > > We acknowledge with concern the findings of the report of the bi-partisan National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders and we commit ourselves to implement its recommendations and to wipe out, once and for all, the stain of racial and other discrimination from our national life. > > “The major goal,” the Commission wrote, “is the creation of a true union—a single society and a single American identity.” A single society, however, does not mean social or cultural uniformity. We are a nation of many social, ethnic and national groups. Each has brought richness and strength to America. > > The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1968 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, all adopted under the vigorous leadership of President Johnson, are basic to America’s long march toward full equality under the law. > > We will not permit these great gains to be chipped away by opponents or eroded by administrative neglect. We pledge effective and impartial enforcement of these laws. If they prove inadequate, or if their compliance provisions fail to serve their purposes, we will propose new laws. In particular, the enforcement provisions of the legislation prohibiting discrimination in employment should be strengthened. This will be done as a matter of first priority. > > We have also come to recognize that freedom and equality require more than the ending of repression and prejudice. The victims of past discrimination must be encouraged and assisted to take full advantage of opportunities that are now opening to them. > > We must recognize that for too long we have neglected the abilities and aspirations of Spanish speaking Americans to participate fully in American life. We promise to fund and implement the Bilingual Education Act and expand recruitment and training of bilingual federal and state employees. > > The American Indian has the oldest claim on our national conscience. We must continue and increase federal help in the Indian’s battle against poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, ill health and poor housing. To this end, we pledge a new and equal federal-Indian partnership that will enable Indian communities to provide for themselves many services now furnished by the federal government and federal sponsorship of industrial development programs owned, managed If you were black, who would you think would be more committed to your interests? If you want to keep arguing that blacks were mistaken in turning away from the Republican party, you’re going to have to convince us that today’s Republican party is closer to its 1948 ideals than its 1968 lip service. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/267 "2010-06-22T15:24:25Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > ??? so acknowledging black people were afflicted with greater rates of poverty is bad because??? Was this a secret we weren’t allowed to tell the world? You’re intelligent enough that this pretend stupidity doesn’t work for you. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/268 "2010-06-23T01:39:30Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > If you were black, who would you think would be more committed to your interests? While its true that the Republicans gave us our freedom and ensured all of our rights, consistently, for the past 150 years, the Democrats today is that party that gives us more “stuff”. Since I already have my rights, then I dont need to vote Republican anymore. I can now vote for the free stuff, i.e. Democrat. It makes perfect sense, and it is pretty simple really. Why is everyone trying to cloud this issue and make it more difficult to understand? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/269 "2010-06-23T01:54:41Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > While its true that the Republicans gave us our freedom and ensured all of our rights, consistently, for the past 150 years, the Democrats today is that party that gives us more “stuff”. > > Since I already have my rights, then I dont need to vote Republican anymore. I can now vote for the free stuff, i.e. Democrat. > > It makes perfect sense, and it is pretty simple really. > > Why is everyone trying to cloud this issue and make it more difficult to understand? Yeah, well, there are gay Republicans, too. They make about as much sense. So tell me…what have Republicans done for African-Americans _lately_? I think 50 years is about long enough for them to lounge about on their laurels. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/270 "2010-06-23T01:58:38Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > While its true that the Republicans gave us our freedom and ensured all of our rights, consistently, for the past 150 years, the Democrats today is that party that gives us more “stuff”. > > Since I already have my rights, then I dont need to vote Republican anymore. I can now vote for the free stuff, i.e. Democrat. > > It makes perfect sense, and it is pretty simple really. > > Why is everyone trying to cloud this issue and make it more difficult to understand? Hey, you should get with Magiver and that great big old 1965 sign he’s carrying. With that kind of message I’m sure the GOP is going to have to beat the blacks off with a stick. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/271 "2010-06-23T02:41:16Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > While its true that the Republicans gave us our freedom and ensured all of our rights, consistently, for the past 150 years, the Democrats today is that party that gives us more “stuff”. > > Since I already have my rights, then I dont need to vote Republican anymore. I can now vote for the free stuff, i.e. Democrat. > > It makes perfect sense, and it is pretty simple really. > > Why is everyone trying to cloud this issue and make it more difficult to understand? **Susanann** , “the past 150 years” includes the last 50 years, during which period the GOP actively disenfranchised blacks and attempted to reinvigorate/reinvent the practice of institutionalized racial discrimination, but I’m sure you already knew that. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/272 "2010-06-23T03:29:13Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > So tell me…what have Republicans done for African-Americans _lately_? I think 50 years is about long enough for them to lounge about on their laurels. I am not a Republican, but, for starters, the Republicans were primarily and mostly responsible for: lower taxes for blacks, Deregulated the airlines resulting in lower airfares, the Republicans passed laws giving the right for blacks to carry concealed weapons for self defense in 38 states, started building a fence to keep out foreign illegal aliens and make blacks more safe and secure, Thanks to Republican Sarah Palin every black in Alaska gets a check for over $1500.00 a year from the oil that is taken out of Alaska, REpublicans were mostly responsible for continued advances in our space program, space shuttle, etc yielding better satellite phone communications, better GPS, giving us more knowlege about the universe, etc. If you want to go all the way back to 35 years ago, then Republican Richard Nixon ended the Vietnam war and stopped the dying of American black soldiers in Vietnam ============================================================= Dont get me wrong, I dont like Republicans very much either lately. The Republicans gave us too much debt for out children, and gave us too many needless wars for us to die in. Republicans do bad things too, like Iraq and Afganistan, but the Democrats are just as bad and the Democrats also voted for those wars and the Democrats are continuing those wars. Frankly, other than what i mentioned above , there is not a whole lot of difference between the Democrats and Republicans lately. I am not saying the Republicans are much better than Democrats, esp lately, but one would guess that blacks should be voting roughly 50-50 for Democrats and Republicans because there is not much difference. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/273 "2010-06-23T10:58:27Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > I am not a Republican, but, for starters, > > the Republicans were primarily and mostly responsible for: > > lower taxes for blacks, > > Deregulated the airlines resulting in lower airfares, > > the Republicans passed laws giving the right for blacks to carry concealed weapons for self defense in 38 states, > > started building a fence to keep out foreign illegal aliens and make blacks more safe and secure, > > Thanks to Republican Sarah Palin every black in Alaska gets a check for over $1500.00 a year from the oil that is taken out of Alaska, > > REpublicans were mostly responsible for continued advances in our space program, space shuttle, etc yielding better satellite phone communications, better GPS, giving us more knowlege about the universe, etc. > > If you want to go all the way back to 35 years ago, then Republican Richard Nixon ended the Vietnam war and stopped the dying of American black soldiers in Vietnam > > ============================================================= > > Dont get me wrong, I dont like Republicans very much either lately. The Republicans gave us too much debt for out children, and gave us too many needless wars for us to die in. > > Republicans do bad things too, like Iraq and Afganistan, but the Democrats are just as bad and the Democrats also voted for those wars and the Democrats are continuing those wars. > > Frankly, other than what i mentioned above , there is not a whole lot of difference between the Democrats and Republicans lately. > > I am not saying the Republicans are much better than Democrats, esp lately, but one would guess that blacks should be voting roughly 50-50 for Democrats and Republicans because there is not much difference. It seems you’re being willfully obtuse to an end I can’t fathom. Whether one likes it or not, although not all Republicans are racist, it’s no secret the GOP is the party where racists feel most at home. The party, to this very day, uses anti black and anti hispanic rhetoric to its political advantage. Knowing this, why would a black or hispanic person with any self respect belong to such an organization? ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/274 "2010-06-23T13:11:15Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Yeah, well, there are gay Republicans, too. They make about as much sense. Don’t get me going on this bit of crazy. Gays are the one group it is still okay to openly and legally discriminate against, which the GOP does with seemingly great fervor and glee. I can’t speak for gays or LCR’s, but I wouldn’t affiliate myself with an organization that actively seeks to destroy me. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/275 "2010-06-23T13:13:47Z")
Vote Republican, black people. 'Cause, you know, _GPS._ ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/276 "2010-06-23T13:31:38Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Vote Republican, black people. 'Cause, you know, _GPS._ Last night, as I made an airline reservation, I thought, “Thank god for Republicans, enabling me to go visit my black boyfriend for less!” ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/277 "2010-06-23T14:46:44Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Last night, as I made an airline reservation, I thought, “Thank god for Republicans, enabling me to go visit my black boyfriend for less!” Isnt it great!!! **“A rising tide lifts all boats”** (John Kennedy 1963) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/278 "2010-06-23T14:56:40Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > the Republicans were primarily and mostly responsible for: > > lower taxes for blacks, Oddly, I can’t find anything in the tax code that differentiates rates based on race. Where is that? > [@](#): > > Deregulated the airlines resulting in lower airfares, That was done by the Carter administration. You could look up his affiliation, and we won’t even bother to ask what that has to do with race relations. > [@](#): > > the Republicans passed laws giving the right for blacks to carry concealed weapons for self defense in 38 states, Similar comment to the first one - where in the law is race even mentioned? > [@](#): > > started building a fence to keep out foreign illegal aliens and make blacks more safe and secure, Same comment again, except with the addition of a comment about yoru claim for the Republicans being against “foreign” people instead of blacks. > [@](#): > > Thanks to Republican Sarah Palin every black in Alaska gets a check for over $1500.00 a year from the oil that is taken out of Alaska, Now that’s ignorant above and beyond the call of duty. The Alaska Permanent Resident Fund was created in 1976 (what was Sarah doing then?), and in effect represents a tax on all non-resident users of North Slope that goes right into the pockets of Alaskans. What’s black about that - the color of crude? > [@](#): > > REpublicans were mostly responsible for continued advances in our space program, space shuttle, etc yielding better satellite phone communications, better GPS, giving us more knowlege about the universe, etc. Better go learn about JFK and LBJ and the leadership behind the space race. > [@](#): > > If you want to go all the way back to 35 years ago Wow, were there even people back then? > [@](#): > > then Republican Richard Nixon ended the Vietnam war and stopped the dying of American black soldiers in Vietnam True, he’d been sending far-disproportionate numbers of them over there in the first place. But did you know how he got elected? That Southern Strategy stuff we keep telling you to learn about? > [@](#): > > I am not saying the Republicans are much better than Democrats, esp lately, but one would guess that blacks should be voting roughly 50-50 for Democrats and Republicans because there is not much difference. The mind boggles. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/279 "2010-06-23T14:59:50Z")
Thank you, Almighty Father, for the GOP. Through them, you have allowed me to capture the white woman I’ve always wanted. Through them, you have allowed her to find her to way to me via airline-installed GPS. Through them, you have allowed me to stay legally strapped so that I might keep other brothas from trying to take my white woman from me. Through them, you have erected a wall to keep other minorities away from me and my white woman, making my chicken-and-waffles meals more peaceful. Lord, thank you for the GOP. My life wouldn’t be the same without them. Amen. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/280 "2010-06-23T15:49:24Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Do you have even the slightest clue how obnoxious that sounds? Lets look at the real world of politics. > > If you object to the David Dukes of the world, how do you think Republicans view a party that explicitly promotes a racial political apartheid? 43 members of Congress openly segregate themselves in a political caucus that excludes other races in an effort to promote their agenda. I don’t think you understand what apartheid means. Either that or you are using apartheid to describe teh congressional black caucus in the same way that some folks use Ponzi scheme to describe social security. I have my issues with a congressional black caucus that won’t admit non-black members who support issues that are important to the black community but its not apartheid? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057.md?page=15)