Democrats: The Party That Gave Us Racism
Posted by: Blue Collar Muse in Anti Dictionary Democrats, History, Individual Responsibility, Politics, Tennesee TipsThe National Black Republicans Association (yes, Virginia, there are black Republicans) sent me an email referencing a fascinating article which appeared in the WSJ last week. Jeffrey Lord wrote a riveting piece titled ‘The Democrats Missing History’ chronicling the intentional omission of years worth of Democratic accomplishments as recorded on the DNC’s very own website.
Covering decades, documenting it was not a brief or unintentional foray into racism and segregation; and, covering both Party platforms and legislation over these years, documenting it was not merely fringe elements or a minority wing of the Party, Lord paints a clear and horrifying picture of the Democratic Party - the Party really responsible for the evil of racism in our society both then and now.
Quoting the DNC’s site, Lord asks:
“With the election of Harry Truman, Democrats began the fight to bring down the final barriers of race . . .” Truman, of course, was elected in 1948, and to his great credit he did in fact, along with then-Minneapolis Mayor Hubert Humphrey, begin to push the Democrats towards a pro-civil-rights stance. This culminated in the passage of the 1960s civil rights laws–legislation that redid what had been done by Republicans a hundred years earlier but undone by the Democrats’ support for segregation. But the notion that “Democrats began to bring down the final barriers of race” raises the obvious questions. What were these barriers doing there in the first place? And who exactly was responsible for creating them?
He then goes on to list multiple answers to those two simple questions. Among the answers given are:
• There is no reference to the formation of the Ku Klux Klan, which, according to Columbia University historian Eric Foner, became “a military force serving the interests of the Democratic Party.” Nor is there reference to University of North Carolina historian Allen Trelease’s description of the Klan as the “terrorist arm of the Democratic Party.”
• There is no reference to the fact Democrats opposed the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution. The 13th banned slavery. The 14th effectively overturned the infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision (made by Democratic pro-slavery Supreme Court justices) by guaranteeing due process and equal protection to former slaves. The 15th gave black Americans the right to vote.
• There is no reference to the fact that Democrats opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1866. It was passed by the Republican Congress over the veto of President Andrew Johnson, who had been a Democrat before joining Lincoln’s ticket in 1864. The law was designed to provide blacks with the right to own private property, sign contracts, sue and serve as witnesses in a legal proceeding.
• There is no reference to the Democrats’ opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1875. It was passed by a Republican Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses Grant. The law prohibited racial discrimination in public places and public accommodations.
• There is no reference to four Democratic platforms, 1908-20, that are silent on blacks, segregation, lynching and voting rights as racial problems in the country mount. By contrast the GOP platforms of those years specifically address “Rights of the Negro” (1908), oppose lynching (in 1912, 1920, 1924, 1928) and, as the New Deal kicks in, speak out about the dangers of making blacks “wards of the state.”
• There is no reference to the Democratic Convention of 1924, known to history as the “Klanbake.” The 103-ballot convention was held in Madison Square Garden. Hundreds of delegates were members of the Ku Klux Klan, the Klan so powerful that a plank condemning Klan violence was defeated outright. To celebrate, the Klan staged a rally with 10,000 hooded Klansmen in a field in New Jersey directly across the Hudson from the site of the convention. Attended by hundreds of cheering convention delegates, the rally featured burning crosses and calls for violence against African-Americans and Catholics.
Lord closes noting that it was proper for Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen to sponsor the recent US House resolution apologizing for the way blacks were treated in America. After all, it was Democrats, not Republicans, who fought to institutionalize racism and segregation. Unfortunately, more historical revisionism crept into Cohen’s resolution. In his listing of the reasons for which the apology was being offered, Cohen never once mentions who was responsible for the very existence of those reasons - Democrats. Lord closes his article with the following
The word “Democrat.” Never mentioned anywhere. As with the DNC website, all these terrible things–somehow, apparently, it seems, so they keep hearing–happened. Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Cohen and their fellow House Democrats just can’t understand how. But, you know, whatever. They are sorry. Really.
We’re on the cusp of an election. It’s time for Americans in general and Tennesseans in particular to make choices for themselves and their family. We’ll be voting in a few weeks. One of the mantras of this election cycle is “change”. May I suggest that here in Tennessee it’s time for change, too. Time for change from the Party of Hate and Racism to the Party of Equality. Time for change from the Party of Talk to the Party of Action. Time for change from Democrats running things to Republicans improving things. When you step in the booth this November, remember which Party stands for you and your values and then cast your vote.
Blue Collar Muse
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Tags: , Civil Rights, Democratic Party History, DNC website, Jim Crow, National Black Republicans Association, Racism, Segregation, Slavery, Steve Cohen
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