Infamously Racist Democrats
Keith Farrell
The Democrats are at it again: using hateful and racially charged imagery to raise money. They seem to forget that some of the ugliest chapters in America’s history regarding racism featured their party prominently.
The Democrats were the party of slavery, Jim Crow, the Ku Klux Klan, and later, eugenics. As a reminder, here are some famous racist Democrats from history and today.
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Slave trader and Lieutenant General of the Confederate Army, Nathan Bedford Forrest is the founder and first Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. Forrest was accused of war crimes during America’s Civil War for allowing his men to massacre hundreds of black Union Army alongside Union sympathizers. His Confederate superiors cleared him of wrong doing.
Governor George Wallace
Elected to the Governor’s office of Alabama in 1963, George Wallace became a figurehead for Southern segregationists. That year he attempted to block the federally ordered integration of Alabama schools. In an attempt to prevent enrollment by black students, Wallace stood at the door in obstruction at the University of Alabama. He also tried to prevent four students from enrolling in Huntsville schools.
Wallace is famous for declaring in his inaugural address: “In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.”
Wallace later recanted his views and apologized to black leaders. But his political legacy will always be marked by hate and bigotry.
Senator Robert Byrd
Robert Byrd is the longest-serving Senator in US history. A lifelong Democrat, Byrd was also an active member of the Ku Klux Klan. After helping to found West Virginia’s chapter Byrd was soon elected to its highest officer’s position: Exalted Cyclopes.
In a letter to Senator Theodore Bilbo penned in 1946 Byrd wrote “I shall never fight in the armed forces with a negro by my side … Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.”
Like most politicians who were associated with the KKK, Byrd later downplayed his involvement in the organization.
President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson remains popular to this day amongst liberals. However, his reputation as America’s first progressive president is contrasted by his unabashed racism.
As president of Princeton University, he discouraged black applicants. As president of the United States, Wilson not only supported segregation in the South, he allowed the federal government to be resegregated.
In his first year in office he signed a law outlawing interracial marriage in D.C. In response to black American’s displeasure with his presidency, he told the New York Times in 1914 “If the colored people made a mistake in voting for me, they ought to correct it.”
Eugene ‘Bull’ Connor
Bull Connor was the Commissioner of Public Safety in Birmingham, Alabama and a sitting member over of the Democratic National Committee during the height of the civil rights movement. Connor had a deplorable, racist history.
A member of the Ku Klux Klan, Connor had led the walkout of the 1948 Democratic National Convention which spurred the rise of the segregationist States’ Rights Democrat Party, known as the Dixiecrats.
As Commissioner of Public Safety he had used the city’s police to intimidate and arrest politicians who were opposed to segregation. In 1960 he sued The New York Times and lost for insinuating that he had promoted racial hatred. Despite federal court orders, in 1962 he ordered all of Birmingham’s public parks closed rather than allow them to be desegregated.
However, he will be forever known for his actions in response to Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s demonstrations in Birmingham in 1963. Connor ordered the use of fire hoses and police dogs to brutalize a crowd of peaceful protestors, including women and children.
Vice President Joseph Biden
Including the current Vice President may seem a stretch, but some of the remarks which have come out Joe Biden’s mouth are astoundingly racist. In 2007 when speaking about Barack Obama, Biden said “I mean you’ve got the first sort of mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and nice-looking guy.”
Another unbelievable remark was when Biden told an Indian-American supporter “You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking!” And when Biden tried to warn a group of black voters that Romney and the Republicans wanted to “put y’all back in chains,” he did so in his best Ebonics. “He said he gonna do nothin’ about stoppin’ the practice of outsourcing.” Biden told the crowd with the sudden hint of a southern accent.
24 comments
Yes Dems have a lot of skeletons in their history closest which is why they either downplay as you mentioned or outright try to hide it.
Even today liberals are involved with racist policies. It’s no coincidence that in America today 51% of black babies are aborted! 1876 black babies a day! In 82 years the KKK lynched 3446 blacks. Liberal democrats who support abortion exceed that in 2 days! liberals are a more sinister death cult than the Nazi’s were!!! Housing projects and inner city neighborhoods are the new death camps! Abortion clinics are the modern gas chambers!
Libertarians and Conservatives are not the same thing, even though Conservatives seem to be calling themselves Libs a lot these days. An actual Libertarian is fiscally conservative and socially progressive, because Libertarianism is about individual freedom and personal responsibility in all things. Being anti-choice is extremely un-Libertarian.
The government should stay out of the “choice” business!!! That is a very libertarian position! Anti- aggression by government to it’s citizens is also a libertarian position! Abortion is a very aggressive and violent thing! I believe in the individuals right to do what they want with their own body as long as it does not interfere with the well being of another human! Labeling people as something to define the level of rights they have in a society is a liberal dogma! Labeling aggressive actions towards a person as a “choice” is a completely un-libertarian thing to do! It puts being pro baby killing square into the liberal category! Now let’s tackle the racist part of the liberal abortion position. The government spends 85% more money promoting groups like planned parenthood in predominately black neighborhoods! Most abortion clinics are in these areas as well! Government should have in no way shape or form the right to promote abortion predominately to blacks! They are doing so and the statistics do not lie!If you as a libertarian support this level of government control over where and who has an abortion then I say you are in the wrong group! Your dogma predominately liberal! I’m not saying outlaw abortion! I’m saying government and political parties have no right to be involved in it’s promotion or implementation! Are you for government or for the people’s rights? Government has no right to even be involved in the argument! I can tell you that I am far more libertarian in my dogma than you!
Um, calm down with the exclamation points, buddies. You know nothing about my beliefs, and I have no dogma. If you don’t believe the government should be involved in a social decision whatsoever (as I believe), then you effectively believe it should NOT be illegal. It has to be either legal or illegal; there’s no way around that. I defend your choice to never have an abortion and to judge anyone that does, but NOTHING gives you the right to take away a woman’s liberty over her own body, regardless of what you think of it. There is no scientific agreement on abortion being aggressive, violent, or affecting an actual human life (rather than the possibility of one). This is all bile based on your extremely zealous opinions. Gary Johnson, the most recent Libertarian presidential candidate, was pro-choice because he understands, like an actual Lib, that “Pro choice” is basically a summary of ALL Libertarian beliefs. But I guess the actual Party isn’t familiar enough with its own standpoints to have chosen the best possible representative? I’m not asking the government to be “involved” in the decision. I’m not asking them to fund abortions. I’m simply asserting that neither you, nor the government, nor anyone else has a right to take away a woman’s individual liberties.
You should watch the video’s of an abortion(especially a late term one) and tell me it’s not aggression against a life! I’m not for outlawing abortion ,but saying that it should hold the place it deserves. It is snuffing out a human life! Have your abortion but I should in no way shape or form be forced or obligated to pay for it or support it! It should fall entirely on the individual to bear the burden! Aborted children should have the right to be treated with the dignity they deserve including a name and formal death certificate signed by the parents and doctor! A death notice should be put in the newspaper as well! Have your abortion but take responsibility for the life you chose to destroy! The problem with people like you is you want this and want to be exonerated for it at the same time! I would have more respect for you if you just came out and say “I’m for killing babies ! I have no moral apprehension about destroying the human life inside of me”. Go ahead and be a monster,but don’t expect me to cover for you when you are! What you are doing as only giving me 2 options on this when there are far many more! I can support women and be against this brutality! I support that if you do choose this that the full brunt of the damage it causes to not only the child but to society as a whole is your responsibility as well! This is my entire position on this and it is a straight up libertarian one at that! Non aggression, personal accountability,and no government involvement! Maybe We need someone who will not use the political buzzwords of the left to define themselves as a political candidate next time! Gary Johnson tried to be defined by the 2 other parties. Maybe he should have stood out by being a true Libertarian and not a “pro-choice”wannabe!
Excuse me? People like me? I would NOT have an abortion. That has nothing to do with whether or not I believe other people should be allowed to. As for pro choice being a buzzword and GJ being a wannabe other-party, that’s just nonsense. It’s a phrase people are familiar with and takes less time to type or say than “I believe a woman has the right to make her own decisions about her body.” I also explicitly stated that I don’t expect the government to fund abortions.
Pro choice is a liberal battle cry! I would rather not be lazy and say exactly what I mean rather than be misinterpreted on my position! I think you are finding out first hand how easy it is to be lumped into something you don’t believe in by using the language of the liberal! Am I teaching you anything yet or are you still bent on labeling me as well? Government should not even be allowed to have an opinion BTW. People will eventually take care of this in a natural social equilibrium if government stays out of it completely.
While you come off a bit brash, I have to agree with you…I myself am Pro- choice, only because it is not my right to dictate to a woman her body…BUT there needs to be more responsibility…treating the killing of an innocent child as if it were nothing is insane…and I too think that in order for a woman to get an abortion the doctors should require certain things, including admitting that is is killing an innocent life…HOWEVER, when it comes to late term abortions ..once a child could survive out of the womb, they should be induced for labor not aborted. While I agree that the right should not be infringed(meaning they can do late term abortions) I think anyone who does should be charged with murder. The only cases I think that should be excused from this late term, is when the mothers life is in danger. You have the right, you must accept the responsibility.
Always interesting that the “Pro Choice” side always resorts to the “woman’s body” argument, while completely ignoring the innocent human life growing inside of her.
People, please do not fall into their trap of playing this game. Nobody wants to control a woman’s body. Pro Life Libertarians want to protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for everyone, including humans yet to be born.
http://facebook.com/ProLifeLibertarians
Dont assume that because a candidate was selected they represent what the ideals of the party mean…history has proven this to be false time and time again.
you realize there is no unified libertarian approach to abortion, right? I’m a libertarian and I support the right to an abortion because it will save the life of a mother and banning abortions will do no good.
As librarians we should all want government out of the abortion issue altogether.
Aggression is also un-Libertarian. Many Libertarians believe that abortion is aggression. So how do you propose adhering to the non-aggression principle and providing abortion as a choice?
Labels!!! Sigh!!!
are you serious? I guess our country was started by a bunch of people smoking peace pipes huh? Our founding fathers were extremely aggressive when they needed to be. Don’t confuse personal dogma with Liberty.
Being pro life, is standing up for a human’s right to live. therefor you can be a pro life libertarian. If you want to encourage personal responsability you don’t sanction murder for a “mistake”.
The Democrats use the same tactics to demonized the TEA party and Evangelical Christians that the NAZIs used to demonized the Jews’ this is transparent and any critically thinking person can see right through it.
there is no definitive proof that Forrest was the founder of KKK
no, but he was the first famous confederate to join. and while he did try to stop it later in life, the cat was out of the bag.
and he was still a racist either way
“Woodrow Wilson remains popular to this day amongst
liberals. However, his reputation as America’s first progressive
president is contrasted by his unabashed racism.”
There is no contrast. Post-hoc lip-service aside, the evidence suggests that Progressivism is founded upon racism. What better example than Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger’s desire to abort the black race out of existence?
Two other indications of Dem’s racism.
First, it is racist to think that a person’s race is an important factor in determining a person’s character. Even today, most Dem’s think that a person’s race is a very important factor in defining who they are. Dem’s often refer to people as African-Americans, or Latino-Americans. They like to put people into categories. Conservatives, on the other hand, tend to see race as an irrelevant factor when assessing a person’s character.
Second, it is racist to treat people unequally based on their race. Dem’s aggressively support many laws, regulations and policies, that intentionally treat people of different races differently in order to achieve some social goal that they themselves have promulgated. Dem’s don’t apologize or shy away from this immoral practice. On the contrary, they’re proud of it.
<3 WELL SAID !!
Theodore Roosevelt, a republican, was the first progressives. They all suck!