Michael Steele's election as the first black chairman of the Republican Party and Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday have created a lot of discussion about the relationship - or lack of one - between African Americans and the party of Lincoln. Full Story »
Posted by Derek Hawkins
A very well written and insightful article on how the Republican party lost the Black vote. I had never read the quotes of Lincoln about his position on the slavery issue, and would bet not to many African-Americans have either.
I plead ignorance in not knowing that was Lincoln's position. I will be at the library tomorrow to check-out the book of the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
A history information on the history of black americans and the GOP. Loses points for not explaining what Republicans do today the have spurned blacks as much as they have. The NAACP scoring isn't explained.
An interesting historical perspective of how the GOP lost blacks, who had strongly supported Republicans in the past. There was also a political reason for the Emancipation Proclamation: by signing it, Lincoln turned the Civil War into a moral war, making it more than just a war to quell a revolt. The article strangely seems to deliberately ignore the current situation.
Actions speak louder than words.: in the recent election for RNC chairman, one candidate circulated "Obame The Magic Nego" among his amused fellow white candidates; another temporarily resigned from a whites-only country club. to run.; thus, it's no surprise that the selection of the new chairman has done nothing to asuage my black friends.
Some of the information is interesting, but seems a bit selective and lacking in providing context for statements and actions. Politics: could Lincoln have gotten elected if he went against the prevalent white superiority social beliefs of his era? The key role of Lyndon B. Johnson, a southerner, in championing the Civil Right Act, knowing the party would lose any racist southern white voters for a generation, is strangely omitted.
Political analysis solely by color is shallow, in that it ignores the social economic issues behind the votes of all races. Any party on the wrong side of history and the issues of the day deserves to decline, even if they own several networks.
Well done with a good dose of background information. Good chronology and even pointing out Mr. Lincolns own bigotry. Obama's Black votor turnout was 1 point above Gore's it should have been included in the measure.
It would have been a nice touch had Mr. Obama appointed more than one person of color to his cabinet. I find it odd that Mr. Obama paid homage to Lincoln given his view on blacks and his well known racist comments and attitudes.
The author outlines the history of the origins of black support for the republican party. There is no editorializing on behalf of the writer (so it seems) with words or phrases that endorse/or disagree with republican campaign tactics. It simply lists what some of the republican ideologies were when it came to rallying southern white votes vs black votes. Like how in the 1970s, a GOP strategist was quoted saying that Republicans weren't going to get more than 10-20 percent of the black vote, but it didn't matter they didn't need it, because the more blacks who voted Democrat in the South meant more whites voting Republican. Facts like these are listed out in the article without the writer's opinion on whether that was a good ... More »
Yes. The arguments of the author are supported by research. He gives a succinct history of African-Americans and their relationship with the Republican and Democrat parties respectively. In addition, the title is more than adequately explained in the body of the article.
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