Letter to a College Friend on the True Civil Rights Record of the Democratic Party
Dear Matt:
Thank you for your thoughtful response. You brought up many interesting points that deserve to be addresses.
It is true that I engaged in some cherry picking, after all I was trying to build a case.
I will comment on your assertion: “…but nobody's going to be stupid enough to fall for the implication that the Republican Party was responsible for passing civil rights!”
Now Matt, I hope you’re hungry because I have a big slice of humble pie for you today. Indeed the Republicans did play a pivotal role in passing the 1964 bill. The votes by party:
The original House version:
· Democratic Party: 152–96 (61–39%)
· Republican Party: 138–34 (80–20%)
The Senate version:
· Democratic Party: 46–21 (69–31%)
· Republican Party: 27–6 (82–18%)
The Senate version, voted on by the House: [16]
· Democratic Party: 153–91 (63–37%)
· Republican Party: 136–35 (80–20%)
“Most Democrats from the Southern states opposed the bill and led an unsuccessful 83-day filibuster, including Senators Albert Gore, Sr. (D-TN), J. William Fulbright (D-AR), and Robert Byrd (D-WV), who personally filibustered for 14 hours straight.” Byrd who by 2008 had become a darling of the new left was a former member of the KKK.
Also, please note: “Republicans…had included equal rights for women in their party's platform since 1944…”
Matt you’ll want to wash down that slice because there is more pie coming.
“President Obama has what Politico is calling a debt problem: The staggering national debt — up about 60% from the $10 trillion Obama inherited when he took office in January 2009 — is the single biggest blemish on Obama's record, even if the rapid descent into red began under President George W. Bush. Obama has long emphasized Bush's role in digging the immense hole. But he owns it now…What happened in 2007? The financial crisis hadn't struck yet. But we did elect a new Democratic Congress, with Democrats controlling both houses for the first time in over a decade… So does that mean that the ballooning debt is all Obama's fault? No. Most of those spending bills got Republican votes, too. But it does mean that, as Politico notes, Obama now owns the 60% increase in the debt that has occurred on his watch, and can no longer credibly blame Bush (under whom plenty of Democrats voted for spending bills). (From Glenn Harlan Reynolds writing in USA Today, on Tuesday, January 15, 2013)
The truly dangerous thing about the 21 century debt crisis is the president and the new Democrats, do not care about the trajectory of the debt because more government spending means more votes for their party. Your points about Reagan were only half correct. Yes, he did dig a big whole but he ended the cold war that was fought courageously by Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford. It is also true that that President Bill Clinton along with Speaker Newt Gingrich dispatched with the debt.
Although I personally liked George W. Bush especially his brilliant work combating AIDS in
Ironically, his invasion of
My point with Bob’s original comment was that feel-good rhetoric does little to advance serious policy discussions very far. I believe my party has a proud history and is trying to advance policies today that build on individual liberty and economic opportunity through fewer regulations and smaller government.
Best, from the Right, Geoff Fisher World Total: 659
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