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Democrats need Republicans

To the editor:

In her August 19 letter “Democrats are the problem,” Marilyn Sager made an indisputable case to dispel decades of false narratives crediting the Democratic Party as the enduringly devoted guardians of African Americans.

Ms. Sager wrote, “The Republican Party was founded on an anti-slavery platform. The 13th Amendment banning slavery was passed in 1865 by Republicans. In 1868, Republicans passed the 14th Amendment granting citizenship to former slaves. In 1873, Democrats won the House of Representatives and soon gained control over the South’s state governments. In 1877, Reconstruction ended by removing federal troops from Southern states. This permitted segregation policies to be enacted which disenfranchised blacks in all aspects of society. This inequality continued for nearly a century until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed.”

However, even though Sager made a solid case in favor of Republicans, she inadvertently demonstrated one of the reasons the Democratic Party has gotten away with its never-ending charade. And it all boils down to the old adage that there’s “more to this than meets the eye.”

Below Sager’s letter the Mining Gazette accurately wrote:

“Editor’s note: The Democratic Party was the party in power in the South until it showed signs of breaking apart in 1948. This was due to the fact that Southern Democrats were upset by the policies of desegregation enacted by Democratic President Harry Truman. Southern Democrats created the States Rights Democratic Party, nominating Strom Thurmond for president in 1948, who eventually lost. Thurmond became a Republican in 1960. Following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, both of which were signed by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson, who was a Southern Democrat, many white southerners switched to the Republican Party at the national level.”

Except, the historical record glaringly illustrates that without an overwhelming majority of Republicans both Acts would have died in the Senate and President Johnson would have had no bills to sign into law. For example, Democrats, who ironically outnumbered Republicans (67-33) by the exact same two-thirds majority required (67) to end debate (invoke cloture) and advance the Civil Rights Act to a final vote, could only muster 44 votes! In the end, 27 of 33 Republicans voted to advance and then pass the bill.

Experience the lengthy drama at senate.gov and search “Civil Rights Act of 1964” (then click on “cloture and passage”).

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