How To Get Black People To Objectively And Critically Analyze The Democratic Party (Pro-Tip: Not Like This)

A friend of mine suggested to a Facebook group I'm in that we watch the video.  The video begins with Quannell X.  Quannell X is an "activist" that I was done with years ago, after watching him and Guardian Angels head Curtis Sliwa go head to head, and eventually making, of all things, Sean Hannity look like the voice of reason.  That's an almost unpardonable sin.  But, despite my own misgivings about Quannell, I powered through the video.  

The video is an attempt to get Black people to take a critical look at the Democratic Party, and to stop with the undying loyalty that Black people have towards the Democrats.  As an attempt to get Black people to look beyond the Democratic Party or consider the Republicans, this video fails.  And here's why.  I posted the following comments in the group.  And since I believe that sharing is caring, here are my comments for everybody.

The Quannell X segment was just half of the video. The other half featured the creator of the video attempting to make the case about Black people and loyalty to the Democratic Party. 

Unfortunately, his attempt fell short. For example, as I said earlier, he invoked "Democrat Plantation." Personally, that's a term that I can't stand, and yes, I coined the term "Pet Negro Apologist." But Black conservatives throw out the "Democrat Plantation" term to prove that THEY'VE escaped the "plantation" and left everyone else behind. And the people who invoke that term usually (and almost to a fault) ignore the racism that oozes and seeps from every pore of the current GOP.

Next, the Civil Rights leader says that while Trump is only "rumored" to be connected with the Klan, Hillary Clinton has legitimate ties. And as I mentioned before, the proof is the standard "ROBERT KKK BYRD" card. It doesn't work when it comes from Sean Hannity, and it doesn't work when Black people play that card. And whenever I talk to people and they play that card, I simply ask them why current white supremacists, like David Duke, Breitbart (the civil rights leader completely dismissed Breitbart's white supremacist ties, even though Bannon himself said that they're basically an alt-right clearing house) and others are flocking behind Trump and saying that he speaks THEIR language.

The Civil Rights leader then goes on to list the Republican accomplishments for Black people. He starts with the 13th and 14th Amendments, and ends with Civil Rights legislation. He, like everyone else, completely ignored the Southern Strategy and the ideological switch that took place between both parties.

Which brings us to where we are now. 

Does the Democratic Party take the Black vote for granted? Yes. Oui. Si. Are *SOME* of us loyal? Absolutely, to a fault. That loyalty is what wound up killing Clinton's 2008 run, because she took it for granted that Bill Clinton's Black Community "goodwill" would be automatically conferred upon her. When Bill showed his behind after the South Carolina primary, Hillary got her wake up call. But she was in the midst of a horrible campaign ran by (until now) the worst campaign manager in modern history, Mark Penn. No one forgets how she was in a Black church talkin' about how she "don't feel no ways tah'rd."

No one forgets how her Black surrogates at the time were her unofficial attack dogs, from Bob Johnson floating balloons about then-Senator Obama's drug use to John Lewis saying that Obama should wait his turn, to Jesse Jackson forever cutting himself off from the Obama Administration when he said, on Fox News, on a hot mic, that he wanted to "cut Obama's nuts off."

Where was I? Oh yeah. Today.

Is Hillary Clinton the perfect candidate? Not to me. Elizabeth Warren and Senator Sanders were my 1A and 1B choices. But when it comes to things that I support, like the restoration of the Voting Rights Act, the reversal of Citizens United (interesting that the HEAD of Citizens United is now an active part of the Trump campaign), support for unions, support for a living wage, an expansion of Obamacare into something like single-payer, a President Hillary Clinton is more likely to accomplish that. 

Doesn't mean that she will... after all, President Obama campaigned on universal health care, but wound up with the CONSERVATIVE compromise of the ACA. And President Obama has fallen short on several progressive issues. 

But dang it, I go rambling again. This is almost like my blog post. ANYWAY... 

(ed. note:  It is now a blog post... heh...)

YES, as informed Black voters, we have to hold the Democratic Party that we (those of us that vote Democratic) accountable. The accountability works up and down the ticket, at EVERY ELECTION. 

If Republicans want to woo Black voters, they have GOT to do better than the surrogates that they send out now. They have GOT to stop it with the "Black plantation" remarks, and assume that a light bulb will go off and they'll automatically switch parties. And while the Democrats aren't perfect regarding race, they are MILES ahead of the GOP. The GOP had a chance to nip the bigotry of their party in the bud with Michael Steele as head of the RNC. But when push came to shove, Steele kissed the ring of Boss Limbaugh and was nothing more than a figurehead. He was ousted and replaced with useless tub of goo Reince Priebus.

THIS is who the GOP/Donald Trump is sending out.  For God's sake, NO. 

Locally, the Republican platform stands for everything that I'm against, including things like "right to work" and the belief that tax cuts for big businesses will trickle down to the electorate. I'm against the privatization of essential government services. I'm a Christian, but I'm against my faith being used as a cudgel against anyone who doesn't pray and worship the way I pray and worship. And more often than not, the so-called Party of Family Values is nothing more than the Party of Rank Hypocrisy and Deflection.

Yes, we need to hold our elected officials accountable. And yes, changes need to be made. But as I said earlier, the changes that are needed are best implemented at the local level, and not attempted every four years. 

I've been doing a little research on Jill Stein and Gary Johnson, and they're not much better. Despite Stein being an MD, she has cozied up to anti-vaxxers and has said some goofy things about wi-fi being dangerous. Anyone who is in favor of civil rights legislation, voting rights legislation, government agencies that protect the public, etc should be against the Libertarian party. Their solution is to leave everything alone and let the market figure it out. So, if the EpiPen obscene price hike offends you, and companies polluting water, and fracking offends you, and if openly-racist businesses and establishments offend you (separate-but-equal, anyone?), then the Libertarian Party isn't for you.

Completely dismissing the Tea Potty behavior, the casual and blatant racism from the party, and history is not an objective analysis as to why Black people should join the Republicans. If they want to start wooing Black people, they can actually FOLLOW the things listed in their GOP Autopsy.

Until then, I welcome the upcoming Republican Extinction Level Event and hopes that the party as it stands now gets wiped off the face of the earth. The survivors will have no choice but to reevaluate themselves or die from the fallout.

Additional Note:  My friend who runs the Primarily Politics Facebook Page covered Republican Outreach in a three-part video series.  Do yourself a favor and check them out.  He covers a lot of things that I mentioned here.

Part 1:  Say No To The Democrat Plantation

Part 2:  Stop Attacking The President

Part 3:  Don't Ever Send Black Republicans To Recruit Black People

Yes, The Southern Strategy Was A Thing

Conservatives love re-writing history.  Advanced Placement (AP) History and other high school history classes are being rewritten to downplay all of the nasty things about America, like Jim Crow or the Ku Klux Klan.  Some have even gone so far as to re-write American History to feature Moses as an honorary Founding Father.

"Fourscore and seven thousand years ago... wait... HERE is where the HAND OF GOD signed the Declaration of Independence..."

Recently, on MSNBC's Facebook page, I read a post from a guy stating why Republicans and Black people are "natural allies."  He calmly stated his point, citing the Democratic Party's terrible track record with slavery and civil rights.  However, like most conservatives and fans of revisionist history, his comments included a denial that the Southern Strategy ever happened.  Rather than respond point for point, I just responded with the following, and this will be my official response when someone either states that the Democrats are still the party that supports slavery, that the Southern Strategy never happened, and/or the Republicans are the party of civil and human rights.

If you believe that the Democrats that supported slavery are the same Democrats today, then there's probably nothing that I can say to convince you otherwise. However, here are some facts to consider:

1. If you ask any white supremacist, racist, or member of any Aryan groups if they align themselves with the party that has an African-American with the middle name of Hussein as their standard bearer, their answers might surprise you. And, ask them if they align themselves with a party that supports things such as marriage equality, wage equality, affirmative action, and the like.

2. Upon the election of President Obama, which party felt that it was no problem mailing out racist mailers, such as those with the White House covered in watermelons, or the President's face on a bucket of chicken?

3. Regarding the horrors of slavery that the Republicans back then fought against: Which party today is crying the loudest about the removal of the Confederate flag from government institutions, such as the South Carolina State Capitol? And which party is trying its best to preserve "heritage not hate" regarding the Confederate flag? And let me know if you want to defend the "heritage" of the Confederate flag. If you do, since you're well-versed in history, you will want to include such things as the Cornerstone Speech by the Vice President of the Confederacy, and the words of the Confederate flag's designer - all of which supported white supremacy and the subjugation of Africans in America.

4. Let's look at Voting Rights. Yes, the Republicans back then fought in favor of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But when the conservative-leaning Supreme Court decimated this landmark legislation, as yourself this: Which party TODAY celebrated by passing draconian "voter ID laws" that reminded Civil Rights stalwarts such as John Lewis of the time before this legislation was passed? And which party today is now fighting to have this legislation restored?

You may have convinced yourself that there was no ideological switch between the parties, but history, facts, and the modern ideals of both parties say otherwise.

And lastly, which party TODAY has pundits that tell Black people that we ought to be THANKFUL for the horrors of the TransAtlantic Slave Trade? The key to answering this question is by Googling "Jesse Lee Peterson."

Edited to add the following regarding GOP Presidential Front-Runner, one Donald J. Trump

BONUS ROUND:

If you really believe that the Republicans are the party of civil rights, and that the Democrats are the party of racists, then ask yourself this:

In recent memory, when was the last time that someone felt comfortable enough to yell "White Power" and pass out racist literature at a Democratic Party Presidential candidate's rally?  Because that certainly DID happen at Donald Trump's rally.

Edited again, because the hits just keep on coming.

One more thing to my conservative brothers and sisters.  If the Democrats are the pro-slavery party, when was the last time a liberal media host talked about slavery?  And you know where this is going.

A conservative Iowa radio host, who is supposedly an Iowa king-maker for the Republicans (think Karl Rove on a local level), offered a unique solution to the immigration problem.  If they don't leave, they become property of the state.  Property.  PROPERTY.  In other words, under this guy's plan, immigrants who don't leave become SLAVES.  And he thinks that idea is just peachy-keen.