My fascination with the Republican Party
Guys, I have a problem. No really, a big problem.
I am a 27 yr old African American female. I am an Obama supporter (I voted for him in the PA primary). I am a proud democrat, yet…I am fascinated with the Republican Party.
Not the type of fascination that makes me want to vote republican. But the type of fascination that makes me wonder how did the party of Lincoln, the congress that passed the thirteenth, fourteenth AND the fifteenth amendment, the party that acted in the best interest of black people…What the hell happened?
You gotta give it up to those guys, they were cool. They did the hard thing, the unpopular thing, and the right thing.
So what the hell happened?
I frequently listen to indignant republicans that make the same previously stated points about the party’s past, and rightly so. This is a proud history. But how did they get to where they are today?
Blacks (myself included) vote overwhelmingly democrat. And Republicans are perceived to be (not by all but by some)
White
Rich
Racist
Intolerant
Self Righteous
Morally Bankrupt
Corrupt
Warmongers
Now I would be remiss not to state that the same list of attributes could be EASILY applied to the Democratic Party as well.
I hear many views on this subject. The most consistent reasons I hear are… The media. Social programs…minorities want the government to take care of them. Minorities think they are owed something because of the past history of the country. Minorities want handouts, they don’t want to work hard, they want to be taken care of.
I’m sure there are more reasons, but these are the ones I hear the most.
So in hearing these various reasons as to why minorities vote democrat, I stop, breathe, and digest the opinion that people have about my race.
I am not an expert on race relations; I do not pretend to have the answers. But I wonder if this is why minorities (black in particular) don’t vote republican?
I wonder… if I voted republican would I then be classified as a hard worker? Would I be saying that no one owes me anything because of the past? Would I then be repudiating handouts? And would that be a signal that I was ready to take care of myself and not depend on the government?
I could be completely wrong and just talking out of my ass, but how do you insult someone, then asking for their vote?
Again, this is just my decidedly left of center opinion. I don’t know why over 90% of the minority electorate vote democrat. I just know why I do.