|
Came across this on another board. Excellent analysis of why African Americans don't vote GOP. Should be required reading for all freepers.
The question has always been wrong. The question IS NOT how come the blacks only vote for Democrats? The REAL QUESTION continues to be what CHANGED in the Republican Party to completely ALIENATE blacks from the party they SWORE allegiance to? When Republicans ask the first question it is ONLY a subterfuge for avoiding the second question.
So, let’s go on a quick journey.
The GOP was the party responsible for freeing the slaves. When blacks were given the right to vote, starting in the 1868 presidential election, they were EXCLUSIVELY REPUBLICAN. From 1868 to 1901 (although most of the elected black officials occurred between 1868 and 1880) more than 500 SOUTHERN BLACK REPUBLICANS were elected to office at the Senate, House of Representatives, state senate and assembly levels. Heck, in South Carolina ALONE more than 200 BLACK REPUBLICANS were elected to different offices during reconstruction.
It was ONLY AFTER the Republicans CAVED to the SOUTHERN RACISTS in the late 1870s and fed troops left the south that the racists began to disenfranchise blacks. By the 1890s, Jim Crow had been born and, as we all know, the Klan thrived as a terrorist group. Starting in the 1890s through 1903, every confederate state REWROTE their state constitutions to disenfranchise blacks. For example when Alabama rewrote their constitution in 1903 the number of registered blacks went from 190,000 to just over 4,000. The Republican Party DID NOTHING to stop the racists. But still, like loyal dogs, blacks stayed with the Republicans. In fact, in black newspapers, you often saw ads like women Republican bake sale, etc.
Blacks started to migrate to the north during the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th Century to urban cities that were controlled by Democratic machines. This was, in many ways, blacks’ first experience with a Democrat that wasn’t also a double for the Klan.
However, even after the Republicans had abandoned blacks back in the 1880s, it was ONLY in the 1920s that the black elite started to question their undying allegiance with the GOP. (I had a "slow summer" a couple of years ago and I read through EVERY year of the Journal of Negro Education from 1915 through 1928 and you could see the disillusionment of the black elite with the Republican Party.) Nevertheless, the original idea wasn’t to join the Democratic Party but instead, there was a pretty long discourse on forming a third party. Nevertheless, blacks remained LOYAL to the Republican Party.
And yet, EVEN after faulty GOP economic policy LED TO THE GREAT DEPRESSION and in 1932 when FDR was kicking Hoover’s azz all across this country, the best available data says that Hoover won the black vote by anywhere from 60% to 80% in most cities Overall, Hoover won 77% of the black vote against FDR. And this happened AFTER Hoover had caused the depression AND IGNORED blacks. FDR is reported to have barely split the black vote in his home state of NY.
And yet, blacks were still loyal to the Republican Party. In fact, black leaders were, initially, the HARSHEST critics of the New Deal. Black elites labeled the New Deal the "RAW DEAL" because in their mind the only people FDR wanted to put back to work were the whites.
It was only in the late 30s when the Republicans were sent to the woodshed (Democratic landslide of 1936) that the Dems finally started to win the majority of the black vote. But again, that’s MORE THAN 50 FRIGGIN YEARS after the GOP had caved on standing up for black voting rights and yet, this ship was still savable. In the 1948 Dewey vs. Truman presidential race, the GOP STILL could win about 30 to 35% of the black vote and that was the SAME YEAR that the NAACP finally told its membership that "it’s time to turn your pictures of Lincoln to the wall, the debt has been paid."
Ah, but wait, it doesn’t end there. MLK’s father, Daddy King, a preacher and civil rights leader in his own right was ALWAYS a staunch Republican, even through the 1950s. In ‘Bearing the Cross’ MLK stated that he thought NIXON was a good man and could be trusted on the civil rights issue (going into the 1960 presidential election). Here we are 80 YEARS after the Republicans ABANDONED blacks and STILL Nixon was able to win about 32% of the black vote.
It was only with the rise of Goldwaterism in ’64 and the Nixon ‘68 "Southern Strategy" that blacks began to vote at 90% for the Democrats.
So you see, the question isn’t how come blacks don’t vote Republican. The question is , what changed about the Republican Party to COMPLETELY ALIENATE blacks?
I continue to say, if Republicans EVER deracialized their policy discourse, they could win 30% of the black vote. That may not sound like much, but trust me, if they did, who knows HOW LONG it would be before another Democrat won the presidency.
And yet, this is why the Republicans need to look at themselves. Even though they can find many blacks to agree with them on individual issues, from vouchers, to urban enterprise zones, etc., BLACKS STILL won’t vote Republican. Black born-again self-labeled "Christian conservatives" vote 80% for the Democratic Party. That should be a Republican market. In fact, there’s a very minor BUT VOCAL group called Democrats for Life (a Pro-Life Democratic organization) and that group is VIRTUALLY ALL BLACK. Now if the GOP can’t win a pro-life advocacy group, then it’s time for the GOP to do some self-reflecting.
Blacks don’t EVER have to question their party allegiance. They gave the GOP 50 years of BLIND allegiance and another 40 years to get its act together before it was FINALLY PUSHED OUT by Goldwater.
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
