It Takes a President....
Senator Hillary Clinton a few days ago:
"I would point to the fact that Dr. King's dream began to be realized when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when he was able to get through Congress something that President Kennedy was hopeful to do, the president before had not even tried, but it took a president to get it done. That dream became a reality. The power of that dream became real in people's lives because we had a president who said, "We are going to do it," and actually got it accomplished."I do not understand how Senator Clinton's words ("spade work", is another matter, though) could have gotten interpreted to insinuate a minimization of Dr. King Jr.'s impact in the Civil Rights Movement. Well...ok, maybe I do understand. But this kind of race-sniping can only hurt both presidential candidates. I certainly do think that the "race card" is beneath Senator Obama's dignity; at least, if he is smart, he will continue to put on the facade (no, he has not been pure on this- remember his 60 Minutes appearance, for one?) that he is beyond race; that it is neither an advantage nor disadvantage that he is black. If he is smart, he will portray himself as an American presidential candidate first, and downplay skin-color.
As far as Senator Clinton's comment that "it took a president to get it done", she is correct. The legislation required a President's signature, and LBJ was there to provide one. And acknowledging that fact takes nothing at all away from Dr. King's work; nor does it take away from the fact that it took 79-80% of Republicans and 63-64% Democrats in the House, and 82% Republicans and 68% Democrats in the Senate to get the legislation through Congress. But we won't go there...
(^_^)
Further Reads:
The Influence of Barack Obama
Labels: Barack Obama, Civil Rights Movement, Election 2008, Hillary Clinton, LBJ, Martin Luther King Jr., political cartoons, Racism
posted by The WordSmith from Nantucket at 1/17/2008 12:04:00 AM
5 Comments:
I hope Hillary wins the nomination, Wordsmith. I think she'll be easier to beat than Obama.
This is off topic, but I'm going to give you a link to WTR's blog, so you can see the flag on the wall during one of Hillary's speaches, the stars on the American flag are upside down!
http://whitetrashrepublic.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-names-satan-father-of-all-lies-and-i.html#4317389555300813616
She is getting desperate. One King was the driving force behind the movement and neither Presidetn wopuld have done anything without Kings force.
two - she also forgets that LBJ could not get the legislation passed at all until he came to the GOP side of the isle and recived their support. So actually in her context it took the GOP Congree not a President
She was on BET yesterday talking about how she and Bill like and even dance to Hip Hop music. THAT is a sickening thought even though it is a lie!
It was the Republicans who supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964:
Civil Rights Act of 1965:
SENATE:
Democrats: 69% voted “yea”
Republicans: 82% voted “yea”
CONGRESS:
Democrats: 61% voted “yea”
Republicans: 80% voted “yea”
Voting Rights Act:
SENATE:
Democrats: 74% voted “yea”
Republicans: 97% voted “yea”
CONGRESS:
Democrats: 80% voted “yea”
Republicans: 85% voted “yea”
Also, since we're on the race issue, did you know that America's longest running insurgency, the KKK, was the "became the violent arm of the Southern Democratic Party"?
Democrats originated the KKK:
***********************************
http://www.kkklan.com/briefhist.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Anti-kkk-cartoon.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan
"The Ku Klux Spirit", by J.A. Rogers, noted Negro historian of the 1920's. The Ku Klux Spirit was first published in 1923, by Messenger Publishing Co. It was republished in 1980, by Black Classic Press. Pg. 34: "A fact not generally known is that there were thousands of Negro Klansmen. These were used as spies on other Negroes and on Northern Whites."
"Nathan Bedford Forrest: A Biography", by Jack Hurst. On page 305 : "...(the Klan was) reorganized to oppose radical proponents (the Radical Republicans) of what it perceived to be Black domination, NOT to scourge Blacks themselves. Although it has been written that Ku Klux Klan ranks were open only to the more than 100,000 honorably discharged ex-Confederate veterans, the hierarchy in some areas and some instances seems to have accepted and even recruited Blacks, provided they went along with Conservative-Democratic political philosophy. In Memphis of late 1868, sixty-five Blacks organized a "Colored Democratic Club" under the watchful eye of Klansman-editor Gallaway - - who according to an account in the Appeal, "made a motion on behalf of the White men present, that they give employment and protection to Colored democrats."
"The Klan became the violent arm of the Southern Democratic Party."
***********************************
Oh, yes. I'm well-aware of Republicans and Civil Rights.
Here's a partial list of "Republican Evils"
There's a book called "Unfounded Loyalty" that's hard to find.
I love that last cartoon!!
Post a Comment
<< Home