# 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:** 17
**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 28, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/321 "2010-06-28T02:55:37Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > Some people say: “that we should not vote for, support, or belong to the Republican Party because, even “if”, the Republican Party were to cure cancer, obtain world peace, lower all taxes, secure our borders, guarantee the Bill of Rights, etc…since those things are not exclusively pro-black/anti-white, since whites might also enjoy those things, therefore, we blacks should not want any of those things”. > > I say: Hogwash! I don’t know who those people are. Perhaps you could provide a cite? In any event, when the chairman of the party that cures cancer, obtains world peace, lowers taxes, etc. comes right out and says “Some Republicans gave up on winning the African American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization,” it’s probably a legitimate concern of African Americans to say “thanks for the apology. Now let’s see if your actions match your words.” ---
**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 28, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/322 "2010-06-28T04:03:24Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > Quote: > Originally Posted by Susanann > Ummmm, in order to save your life and keep your freedom? > Is that enough reason ? God made men Colonel Colt made them equal, huh? You really think that blacks feel the need for looser gun control laws? Enough to vote for racists? > [@](#): > > Here is a real life example from a couple of days ago: I am fairly pro-gun rights (mostly because I don’t think I can pick and choose the parts of the bill of rights I like and ignore the parts I don’t like, even if I really, really want to) but for every example you give me of someone who was saved by their gun, I can provide you with about a dozen examples of someone who was killed by a gun. Outlawing guns would mean only criminals have guns you say? Korea was practically littered with AK-47s and M-1s after the Korean war, then they made guns illegal and do you know how Korean gang fights are fought? With swords. Compulsory military service means that every one of those gangsters knows how to use a gun but they just don’t use them because the penalty for carrying a gun is too severe. Why is it that Republicans that a severe enough penalty can deter everything from smoking marijuana to rape and murder but don’t think they can craft a penalty severe enough to deter illegal gun ownership? > [@](#): > > Condoleezza Rice, Martin Luther King, and many other black leaders have spoken out how owning and carrying guns (a Republican Party theme) preserves self respect and has preserved their own family in the past True, and which party do you think the people they were protecting themselves from belong today? > [@Susanann](#): > > lower taxes for blacks, > > I dont know where to start. > > Is there any valid reason why you think black and hispanic people do not want lower taxes? …just because they are black or hispanic? Well your original reply that started this tangent was that blacks should vote Republican because Republicans have done so much for the black people, and then proceeded to list a few things that they did for blacks 40 years ago but couldn’t name anything they did specifically for blacks after they adopted the southern strategy. Aside from the fact that irresponsible tax cuts are not good for anyone, they are not good for blacks in the same way that the Emancipation Proclamation or the Voting Rights Act was good for blacks. Its not enough to overcome the fact that most of the racists seem to be on the Republican side. > [@Susanann](#): > > Do you really not understand that laws and freedoms and rights and privileges and benefits given to “all” Americans benefit black people? > > We do not need, nor do we want, laws, rights, taxes, benefits, privileges, penalties to ever be given to just “1” race. > > A better life for all Americans means a better life for all Americans. > > Pro-american, means pro-black…and pro-hispanic… and pro-white…and pro-everything > > Blacks are “people” too… you know. The question of whether Republican policies are good for Americans is still a v ery unresolved issue. The question of whether the Republican party is where the racists hang out is not. > [@Susanann](#): > > Some people say: “that we should not vote for, support, or belong to the Republican Party because, even “if”, the Republican Party were to cure cancer, obtain world peace, lower all taxes, secure our borders, guarantee the Bill of Rights, etc…since those things are not exclusively pro-black/anti-white, since whites might also enjoy those things, therefore, we blacks should not want any of those things”. > > I say: Hogwash! When the Republicans cure cancer, obtain world peace, manages to magically lower taxes without cutting programs that are important to the black community, then come back to me. But so far I have seen gun rights and tax cuts for the rich. > [@Susanann](#): > > Just because… at the moment, if as you say, blacks are Democrats and whites are Republican, would not mean that this kind of segregation would “have” to continue, nor is it necessarily healthy for our country. Of course not but you need more than tax cuts for the rich and deregulation of industry to promote more diversity among the Republican ranks. > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > **Susanann** or **erez** , just n the spirit of debate, what do you think are blacks’ main reasons for not supporting the Republican Party as enthusiastically as you think they should? Because of some phone call by JFK apparently :rolleyes: > [@gonzomax](#): > > No I did not say at this moment. The white rich man face of the repub party has been seen for generations.I noticed it in the 60s when I first became politically aware. Conventions have been on TV a long time. The face of the repub party has been clear and obvious for many, many years. The repubs have taken measures to disguise who they represent, but it is so overwhelming they have not been successful. > The repubs actually believe a few rich and powerful people should run the country. The dems think all classes should have input in policy. Trickle down is a stupid and dishonest mantra. If you permit the rich to have all the power and money, they will keep it. They just spent 8 years proving it. > [@gonzomax](#): > > [http://tri-statedefenderonline.com/articlelive/articles/3134/1/The-GOPs-diversity-challenge-African-American-voters/Page1.html](http://tri-statedefenderonline.com/articlelive/articles/3134/1/The-GOPs-diversity-challenge-African-American-voters/Page1.html) Blacks were 1.5 percent of the repub convention in 2000. They dug up enough to hit 6 percent in 2004. It has since dropped again to low levels. It is not a fabrication that the Repubs are the party of rich white men. > The dems run consistently at about 25 percent blacks and minorities. > [@Honesty](#): > > With the sole exception of Oprah, Blacks don’t want lower taxes, they want higher wages. The GOP will never gain black support in my lifetime. You guys have too much baggage. The GOP could _possibly_ get black votes if they supported slavery reparations (something that Democrats don’t support) but I don’t think the racist element of the party could stomach that. > > Bush fucked up when (a) got on LIVE National TV to whine about Gratz v. Bollinger (Like he got into Yale on intellectual merit alone) and (b) Hurricane Katrina (including his mother’s unapologetic comments about the ordeal). Also, you have to realize that Fox News and Rush Limbaugh consistently make deragotory comments about blacks all of the time. This is the face of the Republican party. In order to get black support, the GOP has to redefine itself as caring about the concerns of blacks in the country. > \ > > - Honesty > [@tomndebb](#): > > This is a pretty important point. > Rush is clearly opposed to a lot of things that the black community supports and a lot of his language comes across as code for “keep them in their place.” (He would deny that, of course, but even his denials look like he is winking at his primarily white audience.) So when the Republican Party routinely genuflects at his altar and when major players in the GOP, (such as the black head of the RNC–regardless whether he is or is not a token), have to publicly apologize simply for disagreeing with him and no other Republican stands up to note that Rush is out of line, it sends a pretty strong message that the GOP is not particularly interested in or supportive of black Americans. > [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > You’re purposefully not answering my question, and ignoring the reality that black people, in the main, find the Republican party abhorrent. > > It’s disingenuous to foist the implication that a Republican piece of legislation was designed to benefit blacks because it benefits some people and blacks are people. In that way, you could argue that lynching benefited black people because the company manufacturing the rope used in lynchings probably employed black people, or poll taxes, the collection of which incidentally accrues to blacks in the form of community services those funds pay for like the parks that blacks can walk through, or literacy tests, etc… You see what I’m saying? > > You consider concealed carry to be a positive piece of legislation. I believe it’s absolutely crazy and ultimately harmful to everyone, but we both have our opinions on that issue, so I’m willing to respect yours even though I strongly disagree with it. However, to insinuate that any law that eases gun restrictions was enacted as a direct benefit to blacks is simply untrue and you know it. > > In the '80s, welfare reform, strengthening drug and weakening gun legislation, the weakening of affirmative action statutes, and the expansion of states rights were of urgent import to the Republican party, all of which I would argue were perceived, if not designed, to negatively impact blacks primarily. It didn’t matter that welfare reform would also hurt whites because the perception ingrained in the minds of the white voting public was that the majority of welfare recipients were black, the lion’s share of whom were somehow scamming the system or simply lazy and happily living on the dole, and therefore had to be done. > > The 1986 drug legislation that brought about the 100 to 1 disparity in legal penalties imposed for the possession/distribution of crack vs powdered cocaine negatively impacted blacks far, far more than whites, as it was designed to. Even if you take umbrage with my assertion that blacks were the target of the legislative disparity, the fact is that was the result, has been for over 20 years, and has not yet been changed. > > You, I believe wrongly, reject the very idea that blacks are hurt by Republican legislation. Any further argument from me will fall on deaf ears because you, inexplicably, believe that all the damage and hardship realized by blacks as a direct result of legislation by the GOP and other acts by it and its proxies over the last 40 or so years, to this very day, should somehow be mitigated by any legislation the benefits of which are incidentally accruable to, though not necessarily actually accrued by, blacks. > > Your argument is insulting to blacks and other minorities, as you continue to dismiss and ignore the inexcusable. Today’s GOP has offered laughably little, other than twisted rhetoric, that expresses anything passing as interest in the welfare of black people. > > Contrary to your earlier assertion, blacks don’t want the GOP to give them anything. Blacks simply would like the GOP to place a full and immediate stop to any practice, a reversal of any legislation, and a dismissal of any platform plank, that is either designed to, or results in, harming blacks or any other brown person in this or any other country. > > Excuse me if I refuse to hold my breath. ---
**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 28, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/323 "2010-06-28T05:01:02Z")
some of my post didn’t make it through. > [@Honesty](#): > > In order to get black support, the GOP has to redefine itself as caring about the concerns of blacks in the country. So being good for America while the Democrats are bad for America aren’t enough (I mean who can argue with tax cuts and deregulation of industry). 😉 > [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > It’s disingenuous to foist the implication that a Republican piece of legislation was designed to benefit blacks because it benefits some people and blacks are people. In that way, you could argue that lynching benefited black people because the company manufacturing the rope used in lynchings probably employed black people, or poll taxes, the collection of which incidentally accrues to blacks in the form of community services those funds pay for like the parks that blacks can walk through, or literacy tests, etc… You see what I’m saying? Its not that stark, only SOME of the laws they support are directly against the interests of the black community. Mostly what Suanananan seems to be saying is that Blacks should vote Republican because Republicans are good for the country (and presumably Democrats are bad for the country) and therefore good for blacks in America as well. She points to a few areas where the black community is pretty ambivalent (gun control, really?) and ignores the areas that directly affect the black community. The Republican party is never going to win the black vote because everything they do is geared towards pretending that whatever may have happened between slavery and segregation… well thats water under the bridge, noones racist now, ESPECIALLY not the Republicans who want everything to be race neutral./QUOTE] > [@kunilou](#): > > I don’t know who those people are. Perhaps you could provide a cite? > > In any event, when the chairman of the party that cures cancer, obtains world peace, lowers taxes, etc. comes right out and says “Some Republicans gave up on winning the African American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization,” it’s probably a legitimate concern of African Americans to say “thanks for the apology. Now let’s see if your actions match your words.” If they actually cured cancer and obtained world peace, I say we all give them another look. ---
**Author:** ![erez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@erez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erez)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/324 "2010-06-28T05:37:50Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > **Susanann** or **erez** , just n the spirit of debate, what do you think are blacks’ main reasons for not supporting the Republican Party as enthusiastically as you think they should? As to the premise of your question, I don’t support the Republican Party myself, so I definitely don’t think anybody else should support it enthusiastically. There are a few obvious reasons why the Democrats get most of the black vote, such as their support for the affirmative action (people do vote in their self-interest) and the virtuous/vicious circle effect ever since the Democrats supported the Civil Rights Act and got a lot of the black vote. ---
**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 28, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/325 "2010-06-28T12:32:41Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Its not that stark, only SOME of the laws they support are directly against the interests of the black community. Mostly what Suanananan seems to be saying is that Blacks should vote Republican because Republicans are good for the country (and presumably Democrats are bad for the country) and therefore good for blacks in America as well. She points to a few areas where the black community is pretty ambivalent (gun control, really?) and ignores the areas that directly affect the black community. > > The Republican party is never going to win the black vote because everything they do is geared towards pretending that whatever may have happened between slavery and segregation… well thats water under the bridge, noones racist now, ESPECIALLY not the Republicans who want everything to be race neutral. I wouldn’t say ‘never’, because I believe at some point in the next 20 to 50 years the Republicans, because of their current self-destructive trajectory, will see the light and change their ways, if only to prevent their ultimate annihilation. However, I don’t think the GOP’s diminishingly small number of black voters has as much to do with the 200 years before civil rights than with with the direction of rhetoric of the party for the last 40 or so years. ---
**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 28, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/326 "2010-06-28T15:39:48Z")
> [@erez](#): > > As to the premise of your question, I don’t support the Republican Party myself, so I definitely don’t think anybody else should support it enthusiastically. There are a few obvious reasons why the Democrats get most of the black vote, such as their support for the affirmative action (people do vote in their self-interest) and the virtuous/vicious circle effect ever since the Democrats supported the Civil Rights Act and got a lot of the black vote. In addition, Republicans seem to believe that blacks vote for Democrats because of promises made, whether they’re kept or not, thereby ensuring blacks are beholden to the party. Contrary to this belief, blacks don’t consider Democrats to be the best thing since sliced bread; they’re just not as bad as Republicans on matters that directly impact blacks and other groups the GOP typically demonizes for political gain. The Democratic party could be much better for blacks, hispanics, muslims, gays, and women than it currently is, but the organization and its leadership is too weak; crumbling at any opposition, too willing to compromise on its convictions, and too naïve when dealing with the Republicans and other conservative groups. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/327 "2010-06-28T16:32:28Z")
> [@erez](#): > > There are a few obvious reasons why the Democrats get most of the black vote, such as their support for the affirmative action (people do vote in their self-interest) and the virtuous/vicious circle effect ever since the Democrats supported the Civil Rights Act and got a lot of the black vote. But nothing based on the positions or actions or even common attitudes of the Republicans since their enactment of the Southern Strategy? Nothing? ---
**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 28, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/328 "2010-06-28T21:13:03Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > I wouldn’t say ‘never’, because I believe at some point in the next 20 to 50 years the Republicans, because of their current self-destructive trajectory, will see the light and change their ways, if only to prevent their ultimate annihilation. However, I don’t think the GOP’s diminishingly small number of black voters has as much to do with the 200 years before civil rights than with with the direction of rhetoric of the party for the last 40 or so years. I don’t think the Republican party survives until the day when whites are no longer a majority (the largest minority but no longer the majority) and I’ll tell you why. In order for them to change, they would have to turn their backs on the pillars of their core constituency, racists and the ultra-rich. The Republican party cannot survive without their support. ---
**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 28, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/329 "2010-06-28T21:22:25Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > I don’t think the Republican party survives until the day when whites are no longer a majority (the largest minority but no longer the majority) and I’ll tell you why. In order for them to change, they would have to turn their backs on the pillars of their core constituency, racists and the ultra-rich. The Republican party cannot survive without their support. Today the GOP keeps the light on for racists, but I believe the party, at some point, will have no option but to evolve beyond the expediency of hitching their wagon to racists and religious extremists if only to remain relevant as a party. They won’t be the GOP of today, just as the GOP of today is not the same as that of the 1950s, but I’m confident the party, even if in name only, will survive. ---
**Author:** ![erez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@erez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erez)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/330 "2010-06-29T00:30:07Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > But nothing based on the positions or actions or even common attitudes of the Republicans since their enactment of the Southern Strategy? Nothing? That would fall under what I wrote about “the virtuous/vicious circle effect ever since the Democrats supported the Civil Rights Act and got a lot of the black vote.” No mystery here, since the vote distribution became very polarized, both parties started to pander to their voters. Whether it was a political mistake or not is a different topic. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/331 "2010-06-29T13:14:17Z")
No, the Republicans’ active courting of racists would not fall under what the Democrats have done. That’s why I’m asking - do you think that’s been real or don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/332 "2010-06-29T15:19:57Z")
> [@Honesty](#): > > The GOP could _possibly_ get black votes if they supported slavery reparations but I don’t think the racist element of the party could stomach that. That is the stupidest idea I have ever heard! It would be an impossible nightmare to trace, and then prove, and then separate out, by states, everyone’s genealogy. Of course, everyone who has ancestors that immigrated to the United States, AFTER slavery was abolished, would pay nothing, and get nothing. Likewise, those who had ancestors that were slaves before 1789 would have to go to Great Britain if they want financial damages. However, it would not be as simple as seeing who came here after the 1860’s, but you would certainly have to do it by state. If Michigan never had slavery, then people who have ancestors from Michigan get nothing, and they pay nothing. If half of your ancestors were slaves, and half were slave owners, then you pay yourself. For example, the simplist example is that if Tom Jefferson and Sally Hemmings had a child, then that half-white half-black child would simply pay herself, and we would then call it even - the child would net not paying anything, and would not end up with anything either. I wouldthink, to be fair, that if your ancestor was a black slave owner, then you would have to pay the special reparations tax to a white decendant of a Union soldier who fought to end slavery. Certainly people who had no ancestors who were either slaves or slave owners, dont pay or get anything, regardless of when they came here. The farther you get from 1865, or 1789, the more difficult it would be to determine who would pay who much and who would get how much. IF you are 1/32 a decendant from an ancestor who was a slave, then although you get 1/32 of the reparations, you also have to pay 31/32 of the special tax bill which means you might be paying a LOT more than you would be getting . If you really want reparations, then come up with a workable computer program that will correctly process all possible conditions. Until you can correctly figure out how to do it, then the “reparations” that you talk of is just a “red herring”. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/333 "2010-06-29T15:24:39Z")
> [@erez](#): > > That would fall under what I wrote about “the virtuous/vicious circle effect ever since the Democrats supported the Civil Rights Act and got a lot of the black vote.” No mystery here, since the vote distribution became very polarized, both parties started to pander to their voters. Whether it was a political mistake or not is a different topic. The Democrat Party has been considered the “Black Party” for decades. The last Democrat candidate to win the “white vote”, was Lyndon Johnson back in 1964. Yeah, I know, its obvious racism. It is as bad as what some people accuse Republicans of. Like it or not, that is what it is. ---
**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 29, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/334 "2010-06-29T15:29:51Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > The Democrat Party has been considered the “Black Party” for decades. This does not mean what you think it means. Yes, a majority of blacks vote for Democrats. That does not mean that blacks make up the majority of the Democratic Party. I don’t know _who_ considers the Democrat_ **ic** _ Party “the Black Party”. Can you name names? Because it’s certainly not something that I’ve ever heard it called outright. And it is, for at least the third time, the Democrat_ **ic** _ Party. That is the official name of the party. Using the construction that you have been using pretty consistently in this thread is a positive signal of Republican or Tea Party affiliation. So don’t try to pretend you’re “not a Republican”. Your own words betray you. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/335 "2010-06-29T15:30:55Z")
> [@erez](#): > > That would fall under what I wrote about “the virtuous/vicious circle effect ever since the Democrats supported the Civil Rights Act and got a lot of the black vote.” . Opppp, you got it backwards! Republicans get most of the credit for the 1965 Civil Rights Act. Go back to the earlier posts. I thought we all agreed that the Civil Rights act was supported MORE by the REPUBLICANS!!!. It was the Democrats, including the late Senator Byrd, who tried to stop passage of the Civil Rights Act. Abuses of black people, denying them rights and equal treatment, has historically been a Democrat Party trait. On the other hand, the Republican Party consistently and overwelmingly have been for civil rights for blacks. More than 80% of Republicans voted for the Civil Rights Act. It was the Republican Party that stopped the Democrat fillibuster. ---
**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 29, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/336 "2010-06-29T15:33:48Z")
And I repeat, have you been in a coma since 1964? ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/337 "2010-06-29T15:37:07Z")
Originally posted by Susanann: The Democrat Party has been considered the “Black Party” for decades. The last Democrat candidate to win the “white vote”, was Lyndon Johnson back in 1964. > [@jayjay](#): > > This does not mean what you think it means. Yes, a majority of blacks vote for Democrats. That does not mean that blacks make up the majority of the Democratic Party. It means exactly what I said I said. The Democrat Party has lost the white vote in EVERY!!! presidential election since Lyndon Johnson way back in 1964. The majority of whites have voted AGAINST!!! the Democrat Party since then. That is pretty clear. YOU dont need to try to change it, or try to cover it up. Fact is fact. ---
**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 29, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/338 "2010-06-29T15:38:58Z")
I’m struggling to find a way in which pointing out that white people vote Republican is somehow a defense against accusations of racism for the GOP. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/339 "2010-06-29T15:42:03Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > So don’t try to pretend you’re “not a Republican”. Your own words betray you. I know what I am , and I am not a Republican. NObody knows better who I am than me, so stop with the Off-topic personal remarks!!! YOu can stop with the personal attacks, and stop with your innuendos and false implications which add nothing to the subject matter. Your name calling and your false accuations make it pretty obvious that you lack credibility and you are grasping at anything in an attempt to make a response, even if you have to make personal attacks and say things that are not true. ---
**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 29, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057/340 "2010-06-29T15:51:05Z")
You’re very fixated on this “white vote”/“black vote” thing. Is there something more virtuous about the “white vote”? If not, then who cares? A vote’s a vote. If a majority of the _overall_ votes are for the Democrats (as they obviously were in 2006 and 2008), then what does the color of the voter matter? Again, the Republican Party of 2010 is a considerably different animal (you could almost say a different genus, not just species) than the Republican Party of 1964. For the entirety of my life, the Republican Party has been the party to which the racist southern Democrats of the early part of the 20th Century fled when the Democratic Party (as led by LBJ) decided to do the right thing. For almost the entirety of my life, and certainly for the entirety of my adult life, the Republican Party was the party that has used racist dogwhistles, racist images, racist rhetoric and tried like hell to woo racists, period. It. Has. Not. Ended. I don’t CARE what the Republican Party did 150 years ago, or 100 years ago, or 50 years ago. I care what they’ve been doing for almost my entire life. So I ask you again, have you been in a coma since 1964 and you just woke up from it last week or what? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-and-the-gop/543057.md?page=18)