Black Republicans Post 50 Billboards in Denver

It seems to me like the only other system that doesn't have two parties would be an autocratic one like you would find in Iran, Venezuela, China, Cuba, North Korea, etc. Look, I'm not saying democracy is perfect but compared with everything else we've come up with it is by far the best system.

Besides, I wasn't even talking to you since you aren't a democrat. I'm sure you're fair enough to see that MLK Jr. was a republican and make up your own mind without the constraints of being a hack for your party. I'm sure of it.

Thanks for the lesson. Can I try?

OK!

First lesson: A member of the democratic party is a "democrat." No, this isn't some Rush Limbaugh conspiracy to demean your great party but is just proper English. Besides, if you think I'm making a swipe at all you democrats in the democratic party then you should also be mad at the democratic party whose website is www.democrats.org.

Second lesson: Strom Thurmond lead a breakaway party with other democrats called the Dixiecrats in 1948. Out of the 17 democrats who joined this party and at some point during their lifetime were democratic senators only Strom Thurmond every changed his party affiliation to being a republican. He became a republican in 1964.

Third lesson: Many of the democrats MLK Jr. fought stayed demomcrats. George Wallace, for one, was the democratic governor of Alabama all the way up to 1987 - slightly after Nixon's Southern Strategy - and never became a republican. Another democrat with a segregationist background who remained a democrat - Robert Byrd. Amongst the aforementioned Dixiecrats Russell B. Long, John C. Stennis, James O. Eastland, Allen J. Ellender, John J. Sparkman, Spessard Holland, John L. McClellan, Richard B. Russell, Jr., and Herman E. Talmadge all remained democrats and served in the US Senate after Nixon first used his Southern Strategy in 1968.

Fourth lesson:

Maybe the switch from democrat to republican in the South has something to do with other than the republicans being a bunch of racists. But that probably wouldn't fit into your history lesson you gave to me so you'll probably just ignore this.

Fifth lesson: From 1948 (the year the Dixiecrats formed) until the end of the 1970s one senator switched from republican to democrat, one from democrat to republican, and one from democrat to independent [SOURCE]. Searching the House of representatives wasn't as easy but I found Peter Peyser who switched from democrat to republican during this time, there was an Arizonia representative who switched from democrat to republican for the 1980 election whose name was Robert Stump, and Albert Watson did switch from democrat to republican during this time frame (he was under the tutelage of Strom Thurmond) but that's all I found from looking at the list of every congressman ever. I probably missed some who switched parties but I doubt it was a whole lot more.

So, your contention that there was this exodus of segregationists from the democratic party to the republican party rings hallow. Maybe you're talking about local politicians (don't have the time to look through all the party changes for local politicians from 1948 to 1980) and all I would have to say about that is this: so what? We're talking about local politicians here - these are people who become democrats or republicans based on the political situation in their city. 

Sixth lesson: If we're going to call someone a racist based on where they came from (i.e. the South since their region is the only one accused of being really racist) then we need to call President Bill Clinton a racist and how about President Jimmy Carter. They both hail from Southern states and how else could they win an election without playing to the South's racist sensibilities?

Guilt by association doesn't work. Just because the republicans have been winning the South in presidential elections doesn't mean its a party that loves racists and just because the last two democratic presidents hail from the South doesn't mean they're racists. I don't even think it's fair to call the South racist either but since you live in the South, in Texas, you would be in a better position to shine light on that one.

Seventh and last lesson: Last time I checked the democratic party had an Exalted Cyclops as one of their members in Robert Byrd. Not only as a senator but as your party's voted upon leader as both Senate Majority and Minority Leader from 1977 to 1989. Maybe Mr. Byrd didn't get the memo and leave for the "friendlier" republican party but he still did alright. (As a comparison, Strom Thurmond never attained either of those positions.)

If you want to argue about which party has a better record on race the republicans will always win.

No putting down here BitT, I flag the story not for its merit though, more for the comments and the so on. And I came back after the evolution was put in to question, that by it self actually has little to do with the article other then the fact that Evolution is internationally an accepted Scientific base in the same manner then the fact that the Earth is round. You mix two different issues here.