General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Just for the record, I want to get this off my chest. [View all]TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)blacks or anyone else. I've been curious about that since he spent a lot of time cleaning up one infamous bigot's big mess, but he did understand that the law is the law and must be obeyed when it rights a wrong.
Since at least McKinley Republicans have been on the side of the rich and powerful, maybe as a result of being on the winning and profitable side of the Civil War, but, except for the startling appearance of the first Roosevelt, stayed that way. They fought with FDR and supported Hoovervilles over jobs but never seemed to reach that nadir of indecency until Nixon. Taking all those Dixiecrats in with the money guys was the death of decency in Republican party.
I think Nixon tried a little, but never really got it. He went along with a voting rights act and some other good stuff, and oldtimers in the White House say he paced the floor asking "What do Blacks want?" But he never had a black staffer to ask. Or any other black who might have an answer-- just like these guys today. And I don't think for a minute he asked because he cared-- it was just part of the job to keep a large part of the population minimally satisfied and stop rioting. Again, a lot like these guys today who constantly ask the questions but don't want answers. The difference with these guys now is that they not only don't want answers, they want the questions to stir up shit.
BTW, I stopped asking the blacks I know about politics. They had something to say but they were often uncomfortable talking to me about it unless it was campaign or issue related or otherwise impersonal. I assumed it was because they talked among themselves in terms of a shared experience I didn't fit into, but I may never know.