I don’t even rep political parties like that, but one of the things that drives me crazy about some Black Republicans is the apparent need to claim historical figures, as if that’s somehow significant now. The party of Lincoln. While it’s true that Lincoln was a Republican, I think the historical antecedent argument misses on a couple fronts.
First of all, I guess I hafta reiterate the fact that it’s only some Black Republicans who do it, because others are of the idea that the Republican Party shouldn’t really do anything to appeal to Black voters. It should stand on its own merits and values; if you favor lower taxes, personal responsibility, smaller government, etc., then the Republican Party’s for you. Republicans from that school of thought chafe at the idea of the Republican Party doing something specific as “outreach” to Black voters. Now granted, that doesn’t seem to be an especially large proportion of Black Republicans, or of the Republican Party as a whole — or else, it’s just not something they’d say out loud. Still, there seems to be an element of political cognitive dissonance within the historical appeal.
The other, bigger turnoff for me is this: It’s 2008. How you gon’ make an appeal to Lincoln? The Party of Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln? The 16th President, Abraham Lincoln? Civil War Abraham Lincoln? 1864 Abraham Lincoln? 144 YEARS AGO Abraham Lincoln? That’s supposed to sway somebody? Or else, putting party claims on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. While he may, in fact, have been a Republican in the 1950’s, you ain’t gon’ tell me that he would’ve been in the same party as Nixon and Goldwater in the 60’s. Seriously. And even if I could suspend my disbelief enough to imagine a party with an umbrella for King and Goldwater, I still don’t know what that would have do do with why voters should pull that lever today.
Politics, like football, is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately sport. If we’re supposed to vote Republican because of Lincoln, we might as well vote Whig. He started out Whig, after all. For me, it’s not a question of whether Black folks should vote Republican. Black folks should vote their conscience and their interest just like everybody else. It’s not even a question of whether the Republican Party should court the Black vote. There’s nothing wrong with Black folks having a say in the Republican platform, same as other groups do. To claim historical figures as Republicans and argue that present-day Black folks should vote Republican because those dudes were Republicans is a cheap way to go about getting anybody to vote. In fact, for me personally, it’s more off-putting than inviting. Don’t give me no decades-old political celebrity endorsement, tell me what’s in it for me right now today.
Entries (RSS)
if you favor lower taxes, personal responsibility, smaller government, etc., then the Republican Party’s for you.
Can you say stereotype?
Anyway, IF King was a republican, it only made sense in the Dixicrat era and the southern state in which he lived. I totally agree with you that whether he was is not relevant in any way in 2008. The Republican brand is in disrepute at this point in time, and MLK nor Ronald Reagan can do anything about it.
Like an old tree, the old crusty bark needs to be peeled away. The Democrats are in the process of doing that right now, and if Obama ascends to the White House, that process will be complete.
Doc was a Democrat- to the extent that he supported anyone at all (liked to keep his options open and not be played). Daddy King was a Republican- a general beef that came up when JFK helped spring Martin from a Ga. jail on a trumped on traffic charge- and called Coretta to reassure her.
Add to the Lincoln bit, “The same Lincoln who said whites should maintain superiority over freed slaves and that they should be sent back to Africa.”
It’s more of the same pandering and inauthentic chatter that has me and lots of other black folks forever wary of the Republicans. For sure, I wish there was a viable alternative to the Democrats so our votes could never be taken for granted again.
But, when you have to claim yourself as the Party of Lincoln here in the 21st Century, it just highlights that you haven’t given much thought to some of the principles that guided Republicans back in those days.
You can see the Republicans are just grasping for straws to seem diverse, like when McCain claimed he was down with Rep. John Lewis and, like, minutes later we found out it was all a lie. Instead of just talking, they should offer up some proof of their commitment to represent everyone.