The Republican Party, seeking its day of racial atonement, have decided to place their decades of divisive politics on the back of their scapegoat, Senator Trent Lott. Because the irrepressible Sen. Lott has been hell bent on proving that racism and good public policy are not mutually exclusive concepts (he said as much in 1981), why not make him the scapegoat and move on?
A myriad Republican elected officials and pundits are sickened by Lott's seemingly glorification of racial segregation. I only regret that they were not sickened sooner.
Was it not their 1964 presidential nominee, the late Senator Barry Goldwater, who in that same year opposed the Voting Rights Act? Perhaps Sen. Goldwater had very good philosophical reasons for his opposition, but that is very difficult for a people to understand who are putting their life on the line in order for America to keeps its promise about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Likewise, Nixon's "Southern Strategy," whereby one ignores black voters to concentrate on southern whites has proven to be a winning formula for the Republicans since 1968. I am sure somewhere Republicans are deeply saddened by this unfortunate episode.
Even the deity of Ronald Reagan was not immune from racial politics. In 1980 at a Republican campaign rally in Philadelphia, MS, then candidate Reagan boldly told to the crowd "I believe in states rights."
Philadelphia, MS was the place where the Ku Klux murdered three Civil Rights workers, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerener and James Chaney in 1964. Symbolically, Mr. Reagan's statements were as much an affirmation for segregation as was the day he stood at the Berlin Wall demanding, "Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall" was an affirmation for liberty. I can just see all of the Republicans lining up to denounce that one.
George Bush, the father, gave us Willie Horton in his 1988 presidential campaign. During the 1990 North Carolina Senate race, Jesse Helms gave us the infamous "hands" commercial unfairly linking his African American challenger Harvey Gant to racial quotas. All of which I know my Republican brothers and sisters are truly, truly, remorseful.
But we are told that George Bush, the son, is a different kind of Republican. He has blacks in key policy-making positions in his cabinet. This is true. However, when victory was uncertain was it not this different type of Republican during the South Carolina primary, who like all the other Republicans, went to Bob Jones University, noted for their prohibition on interracial dating? Was it not this same different type of Republican who had no position on South Carolina flying the Confederate flag?
The Republican Party has held a fundraiser at the former home of Jefferson Davis. Hardly the behavior one would associate wit the Party of Lincoln. This is not to suggest that the Democrats are paragons of virtue. Republicans are correct in stating that the Democratic Party take black votes for granted. When this happens, as was the case in this year election, we stay at home.
Perhaps Republicans are also correct that they have a number of positions that many African Americans might support. What Republicans don't have is trust. Before African Americans can hear the virtues of tax cuts or school vouchers, they must first hear that the Republican Party has rid itself of winning elections with divisive racial politics.
To do so, the Republican Party of today must repent from their past association with the aforementioned sins of Goldwater, Nixon, Reagan, Bush 1, Helms and Bush 2. On second thought, why don't they just blame it all on Trent Lott and call it a day?