Democrats were the racists' party

Mark Rose, one of our great conservative Tennessee bloggers (Right Minded), writes a weekly column for our major local newspaper, The Lebanon Democrat. Yesterday, he knocked one out of the park with "Democrats were the racists' party." Here's how he begins:

You would think that with Barack Obama becoming the Democrats' nominee for president that civil rights activists on the left would concede that we have finally arrived at a color-blind America. In reality, the emergence of Senator Obama has only brought about more discussion about race and the continued accusation of racism in America. Much of the accusations are aimed at conservatives, perpetuating the false stereotype of the racist Republican. (Even Hillary supporters in West Virginia were called racists.) As history shows us, however, nothing could be further from the truth.

The Democrat Party was formed in 1828 with the election of Andrew Jackson to the White House, and was largely pro-slavery right up to the Civil War. The Republican Party, on the other hand, was formed in 1854 specifically to oppose slavery on a national level. Abraham Lincoln was elected as the first Republican president just six years later.

According to historian David Barton, author of "Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black & White," the first grand wizard of the KKK was honored at the 1868 Democratic National Convention.

Writes Barton, "Although it is relatively unreported today, historical documents are unequivocal that the Klan was established by Democrats and that the Klan played a prominent role in the Democratic Party. In fact, a 13-volume set of congressional investigations from 1872 conclusively and irrefutably documents that fact."

"Contributing to the evidences was the 1871 appearance before Congress of leading South Carolina Democrat E.W. Seibels who testified that 'they [the Ku Klux Klan] belong to the reform part -- [that is, to] our party, the Democratic Party.'"

Furthermore, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted citizenship to blacks, came before Congress in 1868. While 94% of Republicans endorsed the amendment, not one Democrat, either in the House or the Senate, voted for the 14th Amendment.

Barton also argues that "The Klan terrorized black Americans through murders and public floggings; relief was granted only if individuals promised not to vote for Republican tickets, and violation of this oath was punishable by death. Since the Klan targeted Republicans in general, it did not limit its violence simply to black Republicans; white Republicans were also included."

There's lots more. By all means, go read the whole thing – including the comments. (I've left one myself, which is presently in the queue awaiting moderation. Maybe by the time you read this, it'll be up.)