Boy, Pragmatist, reading clearly isn't among your priorities, is it? I don't see where I made any reference to the origin of racial divisions.
Right-wing racism is a near-universal enemy in the United States (and properly so). To the Right, in general, its existence is a hindrance and a moral embarrassment.
The Left, by contrast "celebrates diversity" and parades identity politics.
Like anyone who watched the Republican Convention, I had difficulty observing more than an occasional African American face among delegates attending. According to a roster of black delegates compiled by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, there are only 36 black delegates attending this week's convention, a 78.4 percent decline from the 167 black delegates at the 2004 Republican convention. At 1.5 percent of the delegation, this is the lowest black representation at a GOP convention in 40 years.
By contrast, the recently concluded Democratic National Convention in Denver drew a record 1,079 African American delegates, representing 24.3 percent of the total count.
It's easy to dismiss the different participation rates by noting that the overwhelming majority of African Americans vote Democratic. That is true. But to stop the analysis there ignores some important history and, more important, today's political reality.
For years, blacks were solid Republicans. Even as late as 1960, when John F. Kennedy barely defeated Richard M. Nixon, the GOP received 32 percent of the black vote.
But when Republicans selected ultra-conservative Barry Goldwater as their presidential candidate in 1964, black support for the party dropped to 6 percent and has never exceeded 15 percent since that time. This is a self inflicted loss of black support and definitely not due to, as many who write to this blog apparently believe, "leftist divisive practices". What are you trying to say say, that black voters are helpless sheep easily cajoled into being blinded to their own interests?
Bullsh-t, not only did the Republican party change, but so did the type of African Americans they pushed to the forefront.
Former Massachusetts Sen. Edward Brooke, former Assistant Secretary of Labor Arthur Fletcher, and former Secretary of Transportation William Coleman were Republicans, but they retained credibility in the black community because they were firm supporters of affirmative action and other social programs.
Beginning with Ronald Reagan, it appeared that any black Republican hoping to rise in the party was required to denounce affirmative action, even in cases where they had personally benefited from race-sensitive programs (Clarence Thomas?).
It appears to be acceptable that every other interest group in the United States is expected to look out after their own best interest - it's an unarguable fact that millionaires, evangelicals, anti-abortionists, et. al. vote Republican in what they believe are their self interest. Yet, when African Americans do the same thing, they are often called racists and dismissed as being obsessed with color.
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So racial balkanization is a solely a product of the left? The right had nothing whatsoever to do with it? You are becoming a cartoon character if you really believe that.
Posted by: Pragmatist at September 9, 2008 10:22 AMBoy, Pragmatist, reading clearly isn't among your priorities, is it? I don't see where I made any reference to the origin of racial divisions.
Right-wing racism is a near-universal enemy in the United States (and properly so). To the Right, in general, its existence is a hindrance and a moral embarrassment.
The Left, by contrast "celebrates diversity" and parades identity politics.
Posted by: Justin Katz at September 9, 2008 12:29 PMLike anyone who watched the Republican Convention, I had difficulty observing more than an occasional African American face among delegates attending. According to a roster of black delegates compiled by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, there are only 36 black delegates attending this week's convention, a 78.4 percent decline from the 167 black delegates at the 2004 Republican convention. At 1.5 percent of the delegation, this is the lowest black representation at a GOP convention in 40 years.
By contrast, the recently concluded Democratic National Convention in Denver drew a record 1,079 African American delegates, representing 24.3 percent of the total count.
It's easy to dismiss the different participation rates by noting that the overwhelming majority of African Americans vote Democratic. That is true. But to stop the analysis there ignores some important history and, more important, today's political reality.
For years, blacks were solid Republicans. Even as late as 1960, when John F. Kennedy barely defeated Richard M. Nixon, the GOP received 32 percent of the black vote.
But when Republicans selected ultra-conservative Barry Goldwater as their presidential candidate in 1964, black support for the party dropped to 6 percent and has never exceeded 15 percent since that time. This is a self inflicted loss of black support and definitely not due to, as many who write to this blog apparently believe, "leftist divisive practices". What are you trying to say say, that black voters are helpless sheep easily cajoled into being blinded to their own interests?
Bullsh-t, not only did the Republican party change, but so did the type of African Americans they pushed to the forefront.
Former Massachusetts Sen. Edward Brooke, former Assistant Secretary of Labor Arthur Fletcher, and former Secretary of Transportation William Coleman were Republicans, but they retained credibility in the black community because they were firm supporters of affirmative action and other social programs.
Beginning with Ronald Reagan, it appeared that any black Republican hoping to rise in the party was required to denounce affirmative action, even in cases where they had personally benefited from race-sensitive programs (Clarence Thomas?).
It appears to be acceptable that every other interest group in the United States is expected to look out after their own best interest - it's an unarguable fact that millionaires, evangelicals, anti-abortionists, et. al. vote Republican in what they believe are their self interest. Yet, when African Americans do the same thing, they are often called racists and dismissed as being obsessed with color.
Posted by: OldTimeLefty at September 9, 2008 10:16 PMOldTimeLefty