2008 Woodie Awards
Republicans being wrongly accused of racism
Name-calling is supposedly justified by the reaction to Katrina.
By: Ryan Martin
Issue date: 10/27/05 Section: Opinion/Editorial
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Al Sharpton's comment on MSNBC's "Countdown" about the response to Hurricane Katrina is just one example. He said, "I feel that, if it was in another area, with another economic strata and racial makeup that President Bush would have run out of Crawford a lot quicker."
Joel Wendland, the managing editor of the Marxist magazine Political Affairs, also supported the misconception when he wrote, "For Bush's racist politics of cutting needed funds in Louisiana to pay for tax cuts for the rich and a war for oil, tens of thousands are suffering."
American citizens are being inundated with misinformation from the media.
The name-calling is supposedly justified by incidents such as the reaction to Hurricane Katrina. The recent remarks made by William Bennett, host of the conservative radio show "Morning in America," in which he said if people aborted all black babies, the crime rate would go down, also caused quite a stir. However, when all of the facts are uncovered a much different picture appears.
People believe that Bennett said the government should abort all black babies and, in doing so, the crime rate would be reduced. However, that wasn't the whole picture. The remarks were taken out of context. Bennett said, "I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could - if that were your sole purpose - you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down."
However, he went on to say, "That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do." That doesn't sound like a racist person.
The incidents that coincided with the government's reaction to Hurricane Katrina were more of the same when it came to tagging Republicans as racists. The government wasn't prepared for a natural disaster like Katrina, but that doesn't mean the government took its time in evacuating citizens of New Orleans because Republicans make up the majority of the government. It's absurd to say that, especially since under law, the government cannot, unless told by the state, enter the state unless there was a state of insurrection - a rebellion.
There were two officials, Governor of Louisiana Kathleen Blanco and the Mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin, both Democrats, who were responsible for creating evacuation plans and also ordering mandatory evacuations.
The president had to ask more than once for permission for the federal government to enter the state of Louisiana. Also, mandatory evacuations weren't put into effect until a day prior to the hurricane's arrival. Why buses weren't used to evacuate poor citizens is another story.
Maybe we should also take a look at history to get an idea of the Republican Party's roots. The first Republican president was Abraham Lincoln. He was elected in 1860 just prior to the Civil War. The Republican platform in the election opposed slavery in new territories while other candidates were either pro-slavery or pro-popular sovereignty. During the war, the election map looked as if it was exactly opposite of today's map. The southern states supported Democrats while the Union supported Republicans. Slave states didn't support Republicans.
Republicans also opposed the Dredd-Scott decision in which the Supreme Court ruled that Scott was to remain a slave. Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation which freed slaves in Confederate states.
Although both parties have changed a little throughout time and there are different factions within both parties, the fundamental values of the majority of Republicans haven't changed. Historically, the party isn't a bunch of racists.
Sometimes statements are taken out of context and the truth can become skewed. The only way to see the truth is to look at the entire picture. Republicans aren't a one-demographic party. Look at the facts. It's simply not true.
Ryan Martin, a senior journalism major, is a staff reporter for The Journal.