Posted on 12/07/2013 5:31:19 AM PST by reaganaut1
Most examinations of Republicans and civil rights are either screeds or apologias. Timothy N. Thurber's "Republicans and Race" is neither but a scholarly examination of the GOP's "frayed" relationship with African-Americans between 1945 and 1974—a relationship now irrevocably broken, some would argue. Mr. Thurber, who teaches history at Virginia Commonwealth University, traces the internal battle between Republican pragmatists like Richard Nixon, looking for the most votes, and liberals like Nelson Rockefeller, who persisted in courting the black vote.
During this period, African-Americans, long denied the most basic rights, demanded that Republicans act decisively on a variety of fronts, including civil rights, voting rights and economic rights. When Republicans didn't respond to blacks' satisfaction, they were called racists, although the real racists were almost exclusively Southern Democrats. Mr. Thurber's book is the case study of a political Catch-22, with Republicans in constant pursuit of an ever-elusive segment of the vote and constantly faulted for not pursuing it enough.
Each time Republicans enabled a civil-rights measure—their support was essential to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964—African-Americans pressed for further federal measures, such as affirmative action in employment and education. Whenever Republicans hesitated or declined, citing the Constitution or perhaps "states' rights," African-Americans saw evidence of racism and voted overwhelmingly Democratic in the next election. Republican pragmatists argued that the GOP could never out-promise the Democrats and that the only sensible strategy was to "go hunting where the ducks are"—among white voters, mostly but not exclusively in the South.
At the same time, as Mr. Thurber shows, Republicans consistently advanced the cause of social justice. President Eisenhower took important steps, most notably at Little Rock, Ark., to further the rights of African-Americans.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
You’re right... we have a better record - a longer record and a more honest record.
Records are nice but its what we do today that matters.
We’ve got to know when its important to talk about race and when its best to overlook it.
Fascinating what happened to Herman Cain. He had a lot of Tea Party support early on in the presidential primaries. Then, he was destroyed by concentrated floodgate of assorted floozies coming forward. I don’t know if it was ever answered about who orchestrated these attacks. My view is that the Republicans need black voices like Cain. Sadly, they’re never going to make inroads with black voters running white conservatives as candidates.
It was pretty clear that David Axlerod did the floozy attack.
Gloria Alred and the demonrats were behind it, but my guess is that enough of it was true that he dropped out.
It’s a waste of time to bother with the black vote, they are mostly socialist/communist and will never vote conservative.
We would lose 10 votes for every black vote gained. We win more votes by running as tough on crime, with that we gain some blue-collar moderate rat votes and some soccer moms.
Its way past time for some man running for office to say “Yup I chased a ton of skirt. When I am on my deathbed and look back I want to see a great movie. That said, this is what I want to do for America” I mean really people its time for manslut equality.
If he said that he might have wrecked Obama in 2012.
I personally think Cain was among the best out there for pulling black voters to the right. I personally like Allen West better but I think Cain would be more attractive to black voters.
The simple fact is that we’re going to need to do better with black voters or we are completely finished. Anybody who thinks we will win by giving minorities an elbow to the face is a moron.
Conservatives need to be engaged in actively encouraging blacks to leave the democrat plantation. I’ve made several trips to Detroit over the past 9 months or so and I’m finding a far more conservative population than I would have ever believed. They just happen to live under an incredibly corrupt city government that crushes above board entrepreneurship.
Things are changing in Detroit and they would change much faster if conservatives would step up. Just yesterday the GOP opened its first party office in Detroit. At the state level, election fraud is being hunted down and eliminated. I personally believe its why the city elected its first white mayor in some 40 years.
The false 'kindness' of low expectations liberals offered blacks hasn't worked for blacks or whites. There's real anger in the black community toward whites - and there's real anger in the white community toward blacks.
That anger - and the reality behind it is a danger.
Anger on our side isn't spoken for the most part - but it's acted upon. Blacks pick up on that - anyone would. It adds to the distrust.
The challenge of our time - like the challenge of the civil rights movement of the 60's - is to speak truth and struggle for what's just... The racial conflict won't get better on it's own. Preventing it from getting worse will take a change in direction based on - as yet - undiscovered truths.
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