why are blacks a key constituency for democrats?

[Ausm]

umm Democrats....

You can cry southern strategy all you want, but the undeniable truth is that the Democratic party dominated the south until the 1990s

1990's???

 

[ProfJohn]

The basic history is that The Democratic Party was largely the South around the time of the civil war, and the new Republican party was largely the 'north'.

The Republicans' first president, Lincoln, 'freed the slaves', and blacks' loyalty was set for decades to come.

The whole nation was basically racist this whole time. Not as much as the south, but quite racist, and the parties were not far apart on it.

Up through the 50's, both parties had a claim to the black vote. The Democrats' northern faction had some more pro-black activities - appointing black judges, integrating the military - but it also had the boweevils, the racist Southern Democrats who filibustered civil rights bills. This was the case headed into the JFK-Nixon elections.

Starting then, JFK called Martin Luther King's wife while he was in jail, symbolically showing support for the blacks - but quite cautiously. While president, he changed a lot on the issue and became with his brother a leader for civil rights. He was the first president to tell the nation it was a moral issue. This was where Democrats sided with blacks; in the 60's, this also led to the black riots. Republicans chose to use the issue for themselves by siding with whites and racists against blacks.

This was called the 'Southern Strategy' in the Nixon campaign. LBJ had said when he signed the civil rights bill that he'd handed the White House to Republicans for many years to come; Republicans made sure of it. This was 'dog whistle' politics, and the end of the 'Solid South', which further became and largely stayed Republican with Reagan (who began his campaign with a states' rights (code for anti-civil rights)speech in Mississippi where civil rights had been killed.

This is the modern history; since Reagan, Republicans have been the party of the rich, while Democrats had launched the war on poverty and helped the poor.

Wow... Craig made a very good and rather truthful post...

He missed the ball with the 'Southern Strategy' bit though. He forgets that the Democrats still dominated local and state politics in the south until the 1990s and the rise of the Religious Right. It was the creation and dominance of the Religious Right that finally turned the south from solid Democrat to Republican and that didn't happen until the 1990s.

 

[Red Dawn]

Party affiliation matters to most voters. It certainly matters to the media who distort the news. And the Democrats have a long history of racism, yet they are the ones who tend to call other people racists. The Democrats had a former KKK member in the Senate until just last year.

But today the number of Klansmen who are Republicans dwarfs the number who are Democrats

 

[Spikesoldier]

Please jump in a time capsule and join us in the 21st century this isn't the 80's anymore.

um sorry, all those things i listed are hot issues today. time to stop being a childish liberal.

 

[Ausm]

um sorry, all those things i listed are hot issues today. time to stop being a childish liberal.

Maybe in your own little world but not in reality...sorry to break it to you.

 

[Greenman]

Lets see. Because Republicans hate blacks. Why would you join a group of people that hate you?

There are 3 types of Republicans.

1. The greedy ones who will sell their own mother.
2. The religious ones who are backwardass US Taliban that don't believe in science
3. The racist ones who hate black people.

How do you think we should deal with these greedy, ignorant, haters? Internment camps? Perhaps just strip them of their rights and tattoo a big red R on their foreheads? Or is it time to go for the finial solution and begin systematic extermination of these obviously inferior humans?
I'm curious to see your solutions.

 

[fskimospy]

umm Democrats....

Which party had a former KKK member as its Senate leader?
The same Senator that filibustered against the 1964 Civil Rights act.

The same party that dominated the south for a century. The party that passed all the Jim Crow laws. The party that had a sitting governor block the integration of schools. The party that let the dogs loose and turned the water cannons on blacks in Birmingham. The party that put the confederate flag onto their state flags.

And the Republicans... voted for the civil rights act in greater percentages than the Democrats.

ONE southern Democrat switched parties, the rest died Democrat. Bill Clinton own mentor was a segregationist Democrat. The Democrat control of the south was so strong that it wasn't until the 1994 election that Republicans gained control of the majority of southern House seats.

You can cry southern strategy all you want, but the undeniable truth is that the Democratic party dominated the south until the 1990s

You've tried this line before in the past and you got buried on it. You really want to go through all this again?

 

[Rainsford]

Bullshit, but since that's pretty much the only card in the liberal deck it's no wonder you might think that. I'm not saying there aren't some people that oppose him because he's black, but it isn't even close to the magnitude that the left tries to pretend. And if you don't think there's any Democrats that feel the same way, you are naive.

What exactly are you calling bullshit on? I didn't claim any particular magnitude of racist attitudes towards Obama, I just said they exist, which you agree with. And I didn't claim it was only conservatives who had a racially based negative attitude towards Obama. So are you just arguing out of habit, or is it easier to just imagine what my argument was?

 

[Greenman]

But today the number of Klansmen who are Republicans dwarfs the number who are Democrats

You and BarneyFife are on the same page. You're arguments are nothing more than finger pointing and made up facts. It's embarrassing to even read this crap.

 

[ProfJohn]

What side? I'm a liberal, not a Democrat. The problem was racist conservatives, and they have since been folded into the Republican party. It's not really up for dispute.

Attempting to discuss the issue without mentioning the differences between the southern and northern Democrats as they pertain to the modern Democratic party is a willful attempt to distort reality.

But the never folded into the Republican Party as you claim.

The voted Republican during national elections and voted Democrat in state and local elections.

It wasn't until MUCH later that the GOP started winning local and state elections in the south and that was long after Civil rights had stopped being an issue.

The main reason the south turned Republican was not due to racial issues, but due to religious and moral issues. The south has always been morally conservative and when the National Democratic Party gotten taken over by the 60s radicals and hippies the southerners would have freaked. That is why they kept voting for their local Democrats who were conservative Christians like them, but stopped voting for the national Democrats.

Then over time the rise of the Religious right caused the local Democrats to slowly be replaced with conservative Republicans. And the message of these Republicans was never a segregationist one, but a moral and religious one.

The whole "Republicans are racist" argument comes down to one phrase "states rights." To Democrats it is code word of racism (they love code words when it fits their views) And yet here it is 2012 and what is Rick Perry's major platform? The 10th amendment and states rights... Could it be that states rights actually means giving power back to the people through state and local governments??

 

[Spikesoldier]

Maybe in your own little world but not in reality...sorry to break it to you.

ah the liberal mind, where taxation, responsibility for entitlements and welfare programs, and finance in general are conveniently lobotomized and omitted.

on topic: damn, if i was black id vote for this shit too.

 

[Ausm]

Lets see. Because Republicans hate blacks. Why would you join a group of people that hate you?

There are 3 types of Republicans.

1. The greedy ones who will sell their own mother.
2. The religious ones who are backwardass US Taliban that don't believe in science
3. The racist ones who hate black people.

You forgot the paranoid ones that one to blow up everything larger then a mosquito.

Oh off topic my Oldman falls under Republican type no 1 and I have a brother who falls under number 2 makes for some interesting conversations

 

[Ausm]

ah the liberal mind, where taxation, responsibility for entitlements and welfare programs, and finance in general are conveniently lobotomized and omitted.

on topic: damn, if i was black id vote for this shit too.

Oh wow what a bunch of bullshit LMAO...like Republicans are financial authorities? If it wasn't for your love of deregulation we wouldn't be in the economic mess we are currently in.

 

[MovingTarget]

umm Democrats....

Which party had a former KKK member as its Senate leader?
The same Senator that filibustered against the 1964 Civil Rights act.

The same party that dominated the south for a century. The party that passed all the Jim Crow laws. The party that had a sitting governor block the integration of schools. The party that let the dogs loose and turned the water cannons on blacks in Birmingham. The party that put the confederate flag onto their state flags.

And the Republicans... voted for the civil rights act in greater percentages than the Democrats.

ONE southern Democrat switched parties, the rest died Democrat. Bill Clinton own mentor was a segregationist Democrat. The Democrat control of the south was so strong that it wasn't until the 1994 election that Republicans gained control of the majority of southern House seats.

You can cry southern strategy all you want, but the undeniable truth is that the Democratic party dominated the south until the 1990s

Key word: FORMER. "Sheets" Byrd left the klan and went on to adopt policies that were more conducive to the civil rights movement. Ditto with Thurmond. I for one am not willing to judge someone based on positions that they no longer hold/held. I suppose your image of Gov. Wallace just prior to his death was based on the whole "stand in the schoolhouse door" debacle. People change, and their positions change. But hey, keep perpetuating outdated and outmoded opinions about my state, Southerners in general, and the modern day Democratic party. :thumbsup:

 

[fskimospy]

But the never folded into the Republican Party as you claim.

The voted Republican during national elections and voted Democrat in state and local elections.

It wasn't until MUCH later that the GOP started winning local and state elections in the south and that was long after Civil rights had stopped being an issue.

The main reason the south turned Republican was not due to racial issues, but due to religious and moral issues. The south has always been morally conservative and when the National Democratic Party gotten taken over by the 60s radicals and hippies the southerners would have freaked. That is why they kept voting for their local Democrats who were conservative Christians like them, but stopped voting for the national Democrats.

Then over time the rise of the Religious right caused the local Democrats to slowly be replaced with conservative Republicans. And the message of these Republicans was never a segregationist one, but a moral and religious one.

The whole "Republicans are racist" argument comes down to one phrase "states rights." To Democrats it is code word of racism (they love code words when it fits their views) And yet here it is 2012 and what is Rick Perry's major platform? The 10th amendment and states rights... Could it be that states rights actually means giving power back to the people through state and local governments??

Uhmmm, a phrase for you. 'Power of incumbency'. When Democrats retired/were replaced/etc, they were replaced more and more by Republicans as time went on. Congress frequently has a 90%+ incumbency re-election rate, so of course it didn't change overnight. National elections didn't present them with that problem because presidential incumbency is minimal. (it can only happen once)

The idea that Republicans ran on a racist strategy came by their own admission. This isn't a secret. Just how brainwashed are you?

 

[ProfJohn]

1990's???

Yes, the 1990s.

Outside of Presidential elections the Democrats dominated the south.
1990 House make up. Blue as can be. Only Florida was 50% or more Republican.

1994 first time in 100 years that the south goes GOP in state elections.

1984 the year Reagan demolished Mondale and only one state was close to be divided.

1966 the election held after the civil rights bill passed. The one that everyone claims should show all the racists Democrats turning into Republicans. And what does it show? Complete Democrat control.

 

[ProfJohn]

But today the number of Klansmen who are Republicans dwarfs the number who are Democrats

Hard to tell actually.

Remember all those videos from the 2008 election of racist Democrats from West Virginia?

The little old ladies who were voting for Hillary because Obama was a black man, not that they actually said that, but anyone could read between the lines.

If you look at the vote break down in the 2008 Democratic Primary you will see that the Appalachian region (which is very Democratic) voted strongly for Hillary.

The purple areas are where Hillary took 65% or more of the vote. West Va went all purple as did most of Kentucky. And West VA is very Democrat and very anti-black.

 

[ProfJohn]

The idea that Republicans ran on a racist strategy came by their own admission. This isn't a secret. Just how brainwashed are you?

Prove it.

Find me multiple statements by Republicans about how they ran a racist campaign to win over southern white voters.

And you can skip the 'states rights' code word and the one statement by Kevin Phillips.

I want quotes proving a 'racist strategy' existed. That they ran on a racist platform and supported racist ideas.

It is one thing to say that the Republicans took advantage of the problems within the Democratic party post 1964 it is another to suggest that they did so by offering racism to southern voters.

And let's not forget the idea that the rise of Republican power in the south matches the rise of the middle class in the south and that the middle class voted Republican because they more closely matched their economic views.

 

[Craig234]

I've proven you wrong, and all you have left is insults.

No you haven't.

And I've quite a bit more left. And it's not an 'insult' to point out what I did.

 

[ProfJohn]

Back On Topic:
why are blacks a key constituency for democrats?

Blacks are key because they vote 95% for Democrats.

That means to the Democrats that 10% of Americans will vote Democratic in every election no mater who is running.

It is really the whole source of their (black leaders) power. As long as they can deliver the black vote in huge numbers the Democrats have to listen to them and pay them credence.


Also, for Obama specifically. He won at least one state due to the strength of the black vote. Obama won North Carolina by 14,000 votes. 95% of blacks voted for Obama and 95% of registered black showed up to vote. And about 1/3 of the voters were black (1.4 million) Just a drop of 1 or 2% in either turn out of vote percent and Obama losses North Carolina.

Obama wins 94% of black votes and he loses 14,000 votes and the election becomes a tie.

So you can see why it is so important of a group for the Democrats.

 

[ProfJohn]

Florida 2008

13% of voters were black. 96% of them voted for Obama. (Only 87% of Democrats voted for Obama, only 81% of white Democrats voted for Obama, and only 91% of liberals voted for Obama.)

Now the math
8,327,698 people voted.
236,450 was Obama's winning margin
1,082,600 was the number of blacks who voted (roughly)
1,039,296 was the number of them who voted for Obama

Just a few small changes in the make up of voters or % of blacks voting for Obama and the end results change.

Black turn out lowers from 13% to 10% and Obama loses.

Adjust the 2008 results to match the 2004 results (12% turnout 86% Democrat) and Obama loses 180,000 votes and if McCain matched Bush's white vote % and he gains 58,000 votes and wins Florida.

So that is two states where just a few small changes and Obama goes from winning to losing.

 

[xj0hnx]

Lets see. Because Republicans hate blacks. Why would you join a group of people that hate you?

There are 3 types of Republicans.

1. The greedy ones who will sell their own mother.
2. The religious ones who are backwardass US Taliban that don't believe in science
3. The racist ones who hate black people.

And there's only one type of Democrat, manipulative liars that create racism to use to their advantage to further their agenda.

95% of what's said here about liberals is wrong or lies, I can't remember the other 5%.

You're not honest.

100% of what you say here is wrong, or lies. You're not honest.

Absolutely. Conservatives believe the media is victimizing them, they think that the education system is victimizing them, they think that scientists are victimizing them, they think that popular culture is victimizing them.

You name a major part of American life, and there's a really good chance conservatives believe that they are being unfairly persecuted by it. They do this while stubbornly insisting on self reliance without even a single hint of how ironic it is.

As opposed to liberals, who create an endless supply of victims to play marionettes in their political puppet show.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

just heard rachel maddow say that blacks were key constituents for D's every year, but especially now since obama is running for re-election.
so because obama is black, black voters are even more important?

They tended to vote Democrat before Obama. It's a result of the Democrats supporting government welfare and also the Republicans supporting policies that only benefit the upper middle class and wealthy. It's really not that hard to understand.

I do give them a little bit of credit for their voting. At least they have some sense of class consciousness unlike moronic whites who vote against their self-interest by supporting the Republicans. They'll vote for the Republicans because the oppose 'bortion and gay marriage even though they might be lower class, and their support then leads them to get indoctrinated with the free market dogma, which is where the Joe the Retarded Plumber types come from.

 

[xj0hnx]

What exactly are you calling bullshit on? I didn't claim any particular magnitude of racist attitudes towards Obama, I just said they exist, which you agree with. And I didn't claim it was only conservatives who had a racially based negative attitude towards Obama. So are you just arguing out of habit, or is it easier to just imagine what my argument was?

Of course, naturally you were thinking of Democrats too when you said that.

But today the number of Klansmen who are Republicans dwarfs the number who are Democrats

Got some kind of factual link to back that up? Because I remember one Exalted Cyclops that was a Democrat senator.

 

[tweaker2]

In the House, there's like 35+ African American Democrats and one Republican from FLA.

And this is because the Repubs in general really care for and represent their black constituency well? lol