# Why do blacks support the Democratic party in higher margins than other marginalized minority groups **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 4, 2016, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-blacks-support-the-democratic-party-in-higher-margins-than-other-marginalized-minority-groups/761738 "2016-08-04T14:18:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-blacks-support-the-democratic-party-in-higher-margins-than-other-marginalized-minority-groups/761738/41 "2016-08-05T11:26:18Z")
Well, the voting habits of religious people is another subject, but people of faith don’t tend to fall for the political fad of the day. The less religious northern European countries are more prone to ideological fads. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-blacks-support-the-democratic-party-in-higher-margins-than-other-marginalized-minority-groups/761738/42 "2016-08-05T12:54:00Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Because Republicans say shit like this. Nailed it, the GOP makes it clear every chance they get that they think blacks are lazy. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-blacks-support-the-democratic-party-in-higher-margins-than-other-marginalized-minority-groups/761738/43 "2016-08-05T19:07:49Z")
I think it has to do with slavery. That is so fundamentally part of the American black experience that anything harkening back to that time is sure to be met with a kind of physical revulsion that cannot be explained. The GOP is the only party who reminisces nostalgically about those times, talks about the Confederacy like it wasn’t racist, and pretends that barriers to voting, demeaning blacks in the media, and making difficult their participation in our democracy isn’t racist. Other groups have suffered alongside black people, but they don’t have the history, either in length or severity, to feel those on an almost subconscious level. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-blacks-support-the-democratic-party-in-higher-margins-than-other-marginalized-minority-groups/761738/44 "2016-08-05T19:41:48Z")
you know great grandpa always said teddy Roosevelt was the last true republican and Wilson was the last true southern democrat ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-blacks-support-the-democratic-party-in-higher-margins-than-other-marginalized-minority-groups/761738/45 "2016-08-05T21:29:13Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > you know great grandpa always said teddy Roosevelt was the last true republican and Wilson was the last true southern democrat Interesting comment. I could argue that LBJ was started out as a true southern Democrat, but he obviously changed along the way. The “war on drugs” has hit the black community especially hard and that was Nixon’s baby. But overall, I think it is the dog whistle politics that explains the adherence of blacks to the democrats. Not much of a dog whistle actually since every seems to hear it. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-blacks-support-the-democratic-party-in-higher-margins-than-other-marginalized-minority-groups/761738/46 "2016-08-05T22:06:29Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Other groups haven’t faced quite the same barriers to joining the middle class that African Americans have. The Republican Party until about the 1930s had been known as the more progressive party, and before FDR and Truman, Teddy Roosevelt was probably the strongest advocate of equal rights and protection under the law. The split among democrats started in the 1930s with African Americans having achieved greater economic progress under FDR and then Truman integrated the military. Goldwater and Nixon went after disillusioned Southern Democrats essentially beginning the permanent flip that turned blue states red. > [@Jophiel](#): > > Latin American Catholicism is of a strong Marian bent, being deeply invested in ideas like compassion for the poor, sick and needy. An expectation for the government to actively provide for the needs of the poor [runs strong](http://www.pewforum.org/files/2014/11/PR_14.11.13_latinAmerica-06-02.png) through Latin American culture and religion is a big part of that. Obviously this is also a major platform for Pope Francis. Compassion for others is also reflected in views on immigration where, needless to say, calling people rapists, drug mules and murderers doesn’t get a lot of traction. > > Furthermore, a plurality of American Hispanics now agree with same sex marriage. Abortion is basically the only thing left Republicans have to offer Latin American Catholics on ideological grounds. Conservatives cling to it as the magic thing that’ll turn the Hispanic vote around but I don’t see it. Too much other stuff in the way. On a purely political level, it helps that Latin American states generally have robust and at least nominally left-wing political parties. The [PRI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_Revolutionary_Party) dominated Mexico for decades, while the Central American countries from which more recent migrants come from such as El Salvador or Guatemala had extremely polarized political situations with violent clashes between the Left and the Right. > [@adaher](#): > > 1. Identity. It takes a lot more bravery to be a black Republican than it does to be a Latino, Asian, or gay Republican. Your very identity is questioned. I have never seen a truly liberal African-American except on TV. Average African-Americans have a fairly moderate outlook. Whenever there’s a liberal insurgent candidate, they almost never support that candidate. They always prefer the more mainstream Democrats. Which is why I’m not too concerned about Democrats moving left as demographics move more in their favor. A Democratic Party run primarily by the Latino and African-American base is a moderate party, probably even a little to the right of where it is today. A “little to the right” in what sense? Certainly not on socioeconomic issues considering blacks and Hispanics are lower income then whites and thus much more likely to support welfare programs. Even on cultural issues, general societal shifts on non-abortion issues probably cancel out any greater cultural conservatism on the part of these minorities. It’s true that they generally haven’t supported liberal insurgent candidates but that’s because most of these insurgent candidates before Sanders ran more on cultural progressivism and opposition to war (someone like Howard Dean comes to mind) rather then socioeconomic populism designed to appeal to college students and white progressives rather then the multiracial working-class. The few Democratic insurgents who did real outreach to blacks and Hispanics and focused mainly on socioeconomic issues saw considerably more success with them such as Robert F. Kennedy, Jesse Jackson (who was black himself obviously), and Bernie Sanders. While a majority of blacks and Hispanics certainly didn’t vote for him, Sanders made significant inroads with both especially the latter towards the latter half of the primary cycle if one looks at the microdata. For example, he won CA-40 and CA-46, both of which are urban, majority-Hispanic districts. > [@Nava](#): > > I was recently watching a video by a political analyst talking about “how come Spain doesn’t have something along the lines of UKIP” and “Catholicism” was listed as one of the reasons. Specifically, those compassionate views. Many of our Muslim immigrants are people who didn’t feel comfortable back home (putting it mildly without needing to be in an extreme a situation as that of warzone refugees), it would be uncharitable to tell someone “oh, you’re a leftist/gay/a woman who wants to have a job so your government looks at you funny, so you want to come here? Tough titty!” I think the lack of a Spanish far-right has more to do with bad memories of the Franco dictatorship then anything else. Neighbouring France and overwhelmingly Catholic Austria have some of the strongest far-right movements in the Continent. > [@adaher](#): > > Well, the voting habits of religious people is another subject, but people of faith don’t tend to fall for the political fad of the day. The less religious northern European countries are more prone to ideological fads. Which countries and ideological movements do you have in mind specifically? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-blacks-support-the-democratic-party-in-higher-margins-than-other-marginalized-minority-groups/761738/47 "2016-08-05T23:56:21Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Neither Cruz nor Rubio seem to have gotten the memo (Cruz’ non-endorsement notwithstanding), or noticed that when he says “Mexicans”, he’s also lumping together anybody with a Hispanic last name. Neither Cruz or Rubio is leading the Republican Party. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-blacks-support-the-democratic-party-in-higher-margins-than-other-marginalized-minority-groups/761738.md?page=2)