Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Are Black People Brainwashed Slaves on the Democratic Party's Plantation?

Recently, Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain described African American voters as being brainwashed to oppose conservative candidates. Please watch this video.


Supporting Herman Cain's assertions, conservative commentator Pat Buchanan described the Democratic Party as a plantation. Please watch Pat Buchanan's MSNBC video.



African Americans are not brainwashed. The majority of black people support the Democratic Party because it is their interest to do so, at this point in time. Democratic administrations enacted major civil rights legislation ending Jim Crow. Democrats supported and continue to support affirmative action. Democratic presidents have appointed judges and Attorney Generals who have defended civil rights. The opposite is true for Republican administrations.

The Democrats were the first major political party to nominate an African American for President. The Democrats were the first party to appoint an African American as a Supreme Court justice. Most black elected officials are Democrats. Many African Americans hold key positions and wield substantial influence in the Democratic Party. That is not true with respect to the Republican Party.

In response to the enactment of civil rights legislation, Dixiecrats left the Democratic Party and fled to the Republican Party. To win over Southern segregationists, the Republican Party adopted the Southern strategy and became hostile to civil rights, workers rights and welfare. Instead of being the Party of Lincoln, the Republican Party became the party of Strom Thurman and Jesse Helms. In effect, the Republican Party became the new White Citizens' Council. It is no coincidence that Republicans are at the front line defending symbols of the racist Confederate past.

The recent Rick Perry controversy is a prime of the Republicans' callous disregard for the concerns of black people. For years, Republican Presidential candidate Rick Perry used to hunt in an area called Niggertown. Except for Herman Cain, none of the Republican candidates have condemned Perry for doing so. Their silence speaks volumes. Some of the candidates have actually defended Perry. Under pressure, even Mr. Cain was forced to tap dance to tone down his response.



Although the Democratic Party is the better choice, our unconditional loyalty to the Democratic Party has weakened our ability to
negotiate and further our interests. Despite our unparalleled support for the Democratic Party, our interests are made secondary to the interests of white moderates, time and time again. President Obama's approach to addressing unemployment and poverty in the black community is one example. The Bill Clinton/Sista Souljah controversy is another example.

Whether we realize it or not, the Democrat Party is not the solution to the problems facing our communities. Decades of Democratic rule in our inner cities has not eliminated poverty, high employment, inferior education, drugs and violence. Certainly, Republicans will not address those problems either. Although the Democratic Party is not a plantation, we need to create a viable third party alternative.

This article is cross-posted on Jack and Jill Politics.

1 comment:

  1. Martin Luther King was a republican, the first two black man to hold an office in are government was Republican.
    Democrat have always been the group to try to steal away peoples freedom and rights.. and that has not changed.

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