Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Isn't the new Conservative talking point that Republicans were the real force behind the Civil Rights Movement? That MLK was pushing for equality b/c of the Republican ideology? That Democrats were the real oppressors and advocates of inequality?
So where is that fight today, Republicans? Where is that spirit of challenging discrimination and forcing equality under the law? Wasn't that the cause you fought for in the 60s?
Where is the fight to overturn the state's rights argument that defended institutionalized discrimination? That's what you were marching for in the 60s, right?
The way I remember history was that there were 2 sides. One side supported legislated discrimination, supported the right for individuals and businesses to deny services, fought for the states to decide what level of discrimination would be legal inside their border.
The other side fought to grant equal protection under the law for those who were being discriminated against, fought to create federal legislation against discrimination that trumped state laws
So how is it that the party that was on one-side of the fight for equality in the 60s, somehow magically ended up on the opposing side since then...
All of those Republicans (Ev Dirksen, John Sherman Cooper, Bill McCullough, etc.) have been dead for thirty years. They've been replaced by the political descendants of Strom Thurmond. It's a totally different party.
So how is it that the party that was on one-side of the fight for equality in the 60s, somehow magically ended up on the opposing side since then...
It's because they lied about it.
They try to trick you by focusing you on the fact that Republicans tended to support civil rights and Democrats opposed it. That is true fact.
What they leave out is that it was the ideological affiliation that flipped over time. The Democrats at the time who opposed civil rights were Southernconservatives, same proud lineage they had back to civil war times when they defended slavery. Similarly the Republicans at the time and dating back to the civil war represented the more liberal Northern-driven contingent, not the extreme right-wing folks they are today.
Try to explain this to uneducated right-wingers and their heads explode, even though this is well-defined in a myriad of historical documentation.
The real truth is that conservatives tended to opposed black and other ethnic integration into the United States, and liberals tended to support it - same as today. The party names were simply different; the principles were the same.
Only an idiot believes that the same kinds people who proudly flew the confederate flag, who defend the dixie heritage, whose family owned slaves, and who support right-wing xenophobic ideals today today were somehow marching arm in arm with MLK and Malcolm X in support of black rights in the 60s. It is a brazen lie. It never happened that way.
History is pretty clear and the Republicans got the civil rights bill passed in 57 under Ike despite LBJ and the rest of the Democrats trying to block it. It was the same in 64. JFK sat on his hands and did little if anything during his short term and LBJ was dragged across the finish line.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
