Allan Giberti There are many elected officials, along with several media outlets, telling us that the current civil unrest in America is in response to systemic racism. They talk about it but somehow they have yet to tell us exactly what it is and how to fix it. Their claim is that racism was built into our country by our forefathers, which is why you had a mob try to topple the statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park near the White House last Monday. While I can appreciate the fact that some people will take offense to certain things (because this goes beyond just statues), there is a legal way to address it. Due process not mob rule. Unfortunately, the lack of due process has become all too common when you have recurring national embarrassments like the Democrat’s behavior during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings or the media attacking children like Nicholas Sandmann. The mob’s mentality is based on rumors and innuendo; lies and half-truths told to them to rabble rouse and stir up an emotional frenzy. It’s fuel for the fire of social justice, utilized to right the wrongs and cancel anyone or anything that has contributed to this foundational systemic racism. We must hold the oppressors accountable. So why hasn’t the Democrat Party been held to task? Why haven’t they been forced to apologize and then, ultimately, canceled? Yes, Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law after the Democrats passed it in both the House and the Senate. The Republicans fought against it. And yes, Andrew Jackson owned slaves but he was also the first Democrat. The Republican Party was founded in 1854 by opponents of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which would have allowed the expansion of slavery into the western territories. It was Republican, Senator John B. Henderson, who submitted a joint resolution with other Republicans, for a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment passed the U.S. Senate 38 to 6. The House failed to pass the amendment, falling short of the two-thirds votes needed, 93 in favor and 65 against split mainly along party lines; Republican support versus Democrat opposition. On January 31, 1865, the amendment finally passed the House by a vote of 119 to 56. President Lincoln, a Republican, added his signature to the joint resolution on February 1, 1865. The Civil Rights Act of 1866, led by the Republican party and authored by Republican Senator Lyman Trumbull, was the first United States federal law to define citizenship and support that all citizens are equally protected under the law. It passed Congress in 1865 and was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson, a Democrat. In April of 1866, Congress once more passed the bill to support the Thirteenth Amendment and Johnson vetoed it again. However, a two-thirds majority in each chamber overrode the Democrat President’s veto. It was Republicans who wanted reparations for former slaves in the form of 40 acres and a mule. The federal government was to confiscate 400,000 acres of Confederate land owners property and distribute it to former black slaves. What happened to that? It was Democrat President Andrew Johnson who overturned it in 1865 and then returned the land back to the original owners. The Republicans introduced the 14th Amendment, which guarantees due process and equal protection under the law to all citizens, which passed the U.S. Senate with 94% of Republicans supporting it and every single Democrat voted against it. Every Republican voted for the 15th Amendment, which prohibits the federal government and each state from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude," while every Democrat voted against it. Jim Crow and Black Laws were state-enforced laws, enacted by Democrat legislators, which relegated and restricted the freedoms of blacks and were the creation of the Democrat Party. The Klu Klux Klan, founded by Democrat Nathan Bedford Forrest, was the paramilitary wing of the Democratic party. The Klan killed more than 3000 blacks and over 1000 white Republicans. And don’t give me that drivel about how the parties switched, how the racist Democrats became Republicans and the anti-slavery, equal rights Republicans became the Democrats. It never happened and has been debunked as nothing more than propaganda. Then there’s the 1924 Democratic National Convention, also known as “Klanbake.” More Republicans voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 than Democrats. How about Democrat Presidents Woodrow Wilson or FDR? Not a stellar resume when it comes to race relations? I could continue but what about all of that history? Is none of that important in rooting out the systemic racism that is somehow at the very foundation of our existence as a nation? If we are to root out foundational racism, should we not start with the racist policies of our Democrat forefathers? If not, then it’s nothing more than political selective outrage. However, if we choose to ignore the past sins of the Democrat Party then we should also forgive everyone’s past. That could be one step in the direction of equality but I wouldn’t hold your breath. Remember, it’s an election year and the Democrats are too busy advocating for segregation in the name of inclusion. Allan Giberti is the host of RI Red Radio on 990WBOB.com. You can listen to Allan live on Mondays and Tuesdays at 7pm Eastern. Read More 990WBOB |
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