LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: LYING PROPAGANDIST (OR REALLY BAD FACT-CHECKER)
I do not troll around Facebook looking for arguments. Generally I go to Facebook to see if any friends have posted interesting pictures. Occasionally I will bump into an interesting article. But, from time to time I run into inflammatory and false, but pithy platitudes trumpeting the righteousness of the left. I suppose these are created and published to reinforce the progressives’ brainwashing that they are good and conservatives are evil.
These posts are designed to pump up the intended audience’s morale and not designed to actually convey substantive information. Consequently, a few facts posted as a comment can dispel the propaganda. Trying to shed light on progressives’ misinformation can be time-consuming, however, and I recently had vowed to stop responding to these types of posts on Facebook.
The very next day, of course, I ran into my first temptation to break my vow. This particular graphic is so patently false I could not resist. It is based on an excerpt from the 2005 episode “Live Debate” of the now defunct TV show, “West Wing.” Lawrence O’Donnell was a writer for the show, and this line was his brainchild, apparently. Here it is in all its glory:
Let us take a look at actual facts. I obtained most of these numbers from Wikipedia.
15th Amendment, granting blacks the right to vote
House (could not easily find Senate split out by party)
Democrats 0-41 (100% against)
Republicans 144-3 (98-2%)
Which party supported and which party opposed the constitutional amendment more? (in percentage and actual numbers)
19th Amendment, granting Women’s Suffrage
Senate (could not easily find the House side)
Democrats 20-17 (54-46%)
Republicans 36-8 (82-18%)
Which party supported and which party opposed the constitutional amendment more? (in percentage and actual numbers)
Civil Rights Act of 1957 voting record
Senate
Democrats 29-18 (61-39%)
Republicans 43-0 (100%)
House
Democrats 118-107 (52-48%)
Republicans 167-19 (90-10%)
Which party supported and which party opposed the act more? (in percentage and actual numbers)
Civil Rights Act of 1964 voting record
Senate
Democratic Party: 46–21 (69–31%)
Republican Party: 27–6 (82–18%)
House
Democratic Party: 153–91 (63–37%)
Republican Party: 136–35 (80–20%)
Which party supported and which party opposed the act more? (in percentage and actual numbers)
Voting Rights Act of 1965 voting record
Senate
Democrats 49-17 (74-26%)
Republicans 30-1 (96-4%)
House
Democrats 217-54 (80-20%)
Republicans 111-20 (85-15%)
Which party supported and which party opposed the act more? (in percentage and actual numbers)
Here are a few other facts to consider:
What political affiliation was the person who started the KKK – Democrat or Republican?
Answer – Democrat
What political party was in power when the U.S. Constitution’s 13th and 14th Amendments were adopted?
Answer – Republican
What was Bull Connor’s political affiliation? For those who do not know, Bull Connor was the mayor of Birmingham Alabama, when the fire hoses were turned on black civil rights protesters.
Answer – Democrat
Which party do conservatives belong to and which party do liberals belong to? (Hint: The graphic is purportedly attributed to the “Anti-Republican Crusaders”. I guess they do not fact check well either).
Democrats have a handy tool to rewrite history and spread propaganda: Hollywood. Many are all too willing to receive what Hollywood doles out, unchallenged.
Admittedly, Lawrence O’Donnell did not address only civil rights issues. If he wants liberals to take credit for the Social Security governmental Ponzi scheme, be my guest. If he wants liberals to take credit for Medicare, to which much of our health care woe can be attributed, be my guest. But, the facts prove that the Republican Party is pro civil rights and Democrats are the party of racists and sexists.