Race-Baiting Angst Merchants of the Left Like to Keep 'em on the Plantation

I can’t tell you how many times that I’ve read blogs, from both ends of the spectrum, that talk about African-Americans as if they are a monolithic voting bloc that will ALWAYS vote Democrat. We’ve all seen the videos of African Americans thinking that Obama will pay their mortgages, or that they are going to get “Obama Money,” from his “stash.” Since these are well-publicized cases, they are influencing our perceptions about an entire group of people. So, the question is, is that all true?

And, if is it really that way, will it change? You see, I question both of those assumptions. While the voting issue is true, what is the basis for it? History tells us that that after the civil war, most African-Americans were Republicans, and the first African American Congressmen from the south belonged to the GOP.

We also know that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Republican. It is also true that Democrats were responsible for the Jim Crow laws, and that the southern Democrats resisted the civil rights era legislation vehemently. So, that leaves us with something that bears examining; why did African Americans switch to voting over 90% Democrat in every election?

To answer this, I think we again need to go back into history, and see what happened in the 60’s. Let’s start with some quotes attributed to LBJ...

“These Negroes, they’re getting pretty uppity these days and that’s a problem for us since they’ve got something now they never had before, the political pull to back up their uppityness. Now we’ve got to do something about this, we’ve got to give them a little something, just enough to quiet them down, not enough to make a difference. For if we don’t move at all, then their allies will line up against us and there’ll be no way of stopping them, we’ll lose the filibuster and there’ll be no way of putting a brake on all sorts of wild legislation. It’ll be Reconstruction all over again.”

Lyndon B. Johnson to two governors on Air Force One according Ronald Kessler’s Book, “Inside The White House”

Those two quotes from LBJ are rather telling. For me, they point to a deception of action, as well as a deception of intent. Clearly, LBJ was suggesting that he could win the African American vote by making some promises, and delivering little…”just enough.”.

Obviously, these two quotes have been floating around for a long time, and many are going to suggest that they were never said at all. But, let’s take a look at what has happened, and see if what LBJ said has come to pass. After all, people can say many things, but it’s their actions that show their true intent.

Let’s take a look at some examples…

Welfare and the breakdown of the family:

The various welfare programs of the 1960’s had a tremendous impact on the African American family. Not long after the creation of these programs, the rates of fatherless families began to rise. They have continued to rise for decades, and now, over 70% of African American children grow up without a father living in the home. That was not the case prior to welfare, and the programs have been identified as the cause for this. As well all know, children raised in fatherless homes are many times more likely to have lower educational achievement, use drugs, and engage in other criminal activities. However, what has been done to correct it? Has the intervention of the government really made it better…or worse?

Or, was it, “…we’ve got to give them a little something, just enough to quiet them down, not enough to make a difference.”

Education:

It is also well know that the educational system has failed our children. We also know that minority children suffer even more.

As for graduation rates…

The national graduation rate for the class of 1998 was 71%. For white students the rate was 78%, while it was 56% for African-American students and 54% for Latino students.

And for illiteracy…

September 2008

Graduation, Dropouts, and Preparedness

African American high school students are notably falling behind their white counterparts in graduation rates, dropout rates, literacy rates, and college preparedness rates.

In 2005, only 55 percent of all black students graduated from high school on time with a regular diploma, compared to 78 percent of whites.

In 2005, the on-time graduation rate for black males was 48 percent nationally; for white males it was 74 percent.

Nearly half of the nation’s African American students, but only 11 percent of white students, attend high schools in which graduation is not the norm.

In 2002, 23 percent of all black students who started public high school left it prepared for college, compared to 40 percent of whites.

On average, African American and Hispanic twelfth-grade students read at approximately the same level as white eighth graders.

About half of poor, urban ninth graders read at only a fifth- or sixth-grade level.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress reports that 88 percent of African American eighth graders read below grade level, compared to 62 percent of white eighth graders.

Now, we’ve seen successful alternatives, but “progressives” in the unions attack these, and when President Obama was elected, he shut down the DC waiver program, which greatly benefited mostly poor, African American kids....

If you'd like an additional serving of reality, here's a comprehensive record of racial duplicity from the serial opportunists of the American Left...

The Democrat Party's Long and Shameful History

of Bigotry and Racism

More at Reaganite Republican

While I agree with your basic premise, you seem to be beginning with the assumption that there are not massive cultural and genetic differences between the races. Yes, the Democratic Party’s hypocritical approach to and treatment of American blacks is shameful - but the statistics you quote (and more, like crime) are not just the result of liberals giving them goodies.

Other ethnic/political blocks also overwhelmingly vote Democrat. Asians, Jews and homosexuals reliably top 70% in national voting. They’re voting for the same ridiculous government programs and welfare state, yet they aren’t tempted to adopt a culture of dependency. Those three groups are proportionally the most financially successful in this country.

I’m sure this is not your intention, but conservatives can fall into the same rhetorical game the liberals do - that entrenched and pathological problems in the black community are the fault of the other political philosophy. We say liberals are racist for exploiting their fears and problems for votes. Liberals say we’re racist because we want true equality of opportunity and a dismantling of the welfare state and affirmative action that have raised their standard of living in many cases. I agree with you - we should not subsidize certain behaviors and we should promote real opportunity, education and entrepreneurship. But, the problems that one sees in that community would not disappear if they voted 100% Republican.

Removing the massive affirmative action/welfare state leviathan (which I am for) would admittedly result in upheaval and turmoil. The lot of some would greatly improve as they embraced liberty and and its responsibilities. Others, however, would tailspin as their taxpayer-funded existence and, in some cases, their lucrative and secure jobs in government, social work, the diversity industry, etc. disappeared.

Also, while King was nominally a ‘Republican’ he was also a Marxist. As we do in this country with all martyred figures, we tend to idealize and sanitize their actual identities. He believed in income redistribution and reparations for slavery. His speeches, largely plagarized, and his delivery were outstanding. But the man was no conservative, and no saint. His cause was just, his assassination tragic, but I suggest studying the man’s actions, politics and associations more closely.

The whole problem with race relations and race issues in this country is the layers of nonsense one has to sort through before anything approaching honest debate and examination take place. Both political parties are guilty of this. The Democrats are far, far worse because they incite racial hatred and fear while exploiting them for power. The Republicans could win the debate, and real political power for decades, if they only could be honest and break through the PC haze. But they’re too scared, and some of them even believe the nonsense.

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