Why Minorities Must Wise Up

Posted September 10th, 2008 by gestroud • 19 views • Print • Email

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Up until the late 1960′s it was hard to find a black American who was not a Republican. One of the very reasons for this was the country was still well aware that the Republican Party, from its inception, has advocated for civil rights.

One would be hard pressed to find a historian that is not privy to the fact President Abraham Lincoln so unashamedly condemned slavery. It is true, the Civil War was fought for reasons other than slavery, but that issue, above all, was the centerpiece in what became the darkest period of American history.

Now, we flash forward 144 years later and stop in awe to realize we could be electing the first black president in our nation’s history. Unfortunately, most Americans see this as an advantage to the Democrats.

Here is a black man who is a Democrat, therefore the Democrat Party must be the party for minorities. Wrong. What many fail to realize is, that very “color blind” party has effectively held a stranglehold on blacks and other minorities for decades through entitlement programs. To really examine the state of the Democrat Party and its attitude towards blacks we must first go back to the beginning.

In the early 20th century Democrats fought hard to pass Jim Crow laws in the South. White supremacist Southerners, waving the Democrat banner, formed KKK groups to head off any efforts of equality. This was all largely in part done as a rebellious manner, having the bitter taste of defeat fresh in memory.

Throughout much of the late 1800′s and well into the 1950′s and 1960′s, Democrat’s battled any new kinds of pro-civil rights laws. The equalizers in those days were the “Radical Republicans.” This brand name was given to those individuals because they were going against majority consent in the South solely on their belief in humanity. The outcome was astonishing to say the least.

Republicans enacted legislation that would ensure slaves would be set free. Later on, GOP leaders would secure the passing of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, which set the groundwork for blacks in politics today.

However, by the 1950′s and 1960′s blacks were still “separate but equal.” Democratic leaders such as John F. Kennedy and Al Gore Sr. along with West Virginia Senator Robert C. Byrd, a former Klansman, would make life hard for the civil rights cause. Fortunately, Republicans in the Senate, under the leadership of Senator Everett Dirksen of Illinois would pass civil rights laws beginning in 1957 through the mid 1960′s.

For much of the 20th Century, times were tough for minorities. Looking back from today we are learning that the greatest struggle from slavery would not come from the Civil War but from the dependence on a nanny state. In fact, blacks are living in another Civil War, only this bloodshed comes from within.

Today, blacks look to the Democrat party to provide them with a huge government they can depend on in every aspect of life. Why? Does America owe the black community because of how they were treated over a hundred years ago? We’ll never know the exact reason but we do know they are beholden to government “giveaways.”

The truth is, having been around blacks all of my life, no two black people hardly think alike. The fact is most black churches, aside from the radical ones, preach self reliance, honesty and hard work. Sadly, most black Americans are not reflecting these views on Election Day. In fact, Republicans and black Americans are a lot more alike in ideology. An overwhelming majority of blacks are pro-life and pro traditional values, yet they vote the opposite. Let us remember that Bill Clinton, who was labeled the first “black president,” never had a large minority cabinet. Actually it was current President George W. Bush that will have had, up until this point, the largest minority cabinet in history. One must realize it isn’t a cabinet with just blacks but of many races including women.

Here is a look at the minority cabinet for Bush’s first term:

Condoleeza Rice – National Security Advisor (now Secretary of State)
Colin Powell – former Secretary of State
Roderick Paige – Secretary of Education
Alphonso Jackson – Secretary to Housing and Urban Development
Claude Allen – Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services
Leo S. Mackey Jr – Deputy Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs
Larry D. Thompson – Deputy Attorney General
Steven Perry – Administrator of General Services

These are just to name a few and are blacks only. Let us take a quick moment to consider the following.

The first Asian American senator was a Republican from Hawaii
The first woman on the Supreme Court was Republican Sandra Day O’Conner
The first Hispanic presidential Cabinet member was a Republican Lauro Cavazos
The first woman elected to the majority leadership in both the House and Senate were Republicans Jennifer Dunn and Kay Bailey Hutchinson
And Mel Martinez was the first Cuban-American Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

The list actually goes on but we don’t have time for that.

Nobody will ever convince me that the Republican Party is not the party for civil rights. Up until 1935, every single black American member of Congress was Republican. There was a clear reason behind this. The facts are so wide open it would be hard to argue against it. I am someone who looks into facts first, platitudes and rumors last. The bottom line is simple: minorities must answer the call to self-reliance and it won’t be through the Democrat Party. Today’s Democrats are simply out to enslave blacks with big government programs that will tell them it is ok not to work, we will take care of you. When minorities practice what they preach in church and to their families, they will re-register as Republicans.

About the author: Ashley Stinnett is a writer and syndicated writer. He is currently a columnist with the Huntington Herald Dispatch.

Source: IdeaMarketers
photo credit: arimoore