Welcome the History of US Civil Rights (Revised)

I’m not sure which of the flaming idjits in the Texas Board of Education is speaking in these videos, but his contribution to that board’s effort’s to rewrite Texas (and, through its buying clout, the rest of the nation’s) textbooks coverage of American History is … well, it would be laughable, if it might not end up in a text book my daughter’s using.

“The Way I Remember History …”

Yeah, the GOP deserves the biggest credit for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, so why the hell aren’t there more “conservatives” listed as civil rights leaders? 

Those who forget their history are doomed to distort it …

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by 290-130 in the House, 73-27 in the Senate, and then 289-126 when the House revisited the Senate bill.

If you look at the vote by party, the Democrats outvoted the Republicans in each of those votes. The Dems actually outnumbered the GOP in both houses, in point of fact, so that’s not surprising. 

The percentage of Republicans voting yea was higher — around 80% of Republicans voted yes, vs. around 65% of the Dems. But remember that’s because the Democrats from the South voted en masse against the bill, even filibustering it.  The southern Republicans were solidly against it, too, but there were very few of those — only 10 House Republicans were from the South, and 1 Republican Senator).

And, of course, the “Southern Strategy” by Nixon in 1968 turned most of those Dems/”Dixiecrats” in the South into … well, Republicans. Which might argue that the party best representative of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is, in fact, the Dems, since most of the opposition got sucked into the GOP shortly thereafter.

But don’t tell that to Our Man in Texas.

So, in summary, yes, the GOP can take credit for a higher percentage, but only because they were abysmally represented where the bill faced the most opposition (and then took advantage of that). It’s also worth noting that there is a huge distinction between what passed for “Republican” then and where the GOP is today. Neither Goldwater nor Nixon would stand a chance at getting the Republican nomination today — almost certainly not from Texas.

There were likely some civil rights leaders  and organizations, that were in fact from the GOP side of things, at least in their origins. Recall that the Republican party, under folks like Teddy Roosevelt, was a progressive party, so there are big blocks of civil rights history in the early 20th Century when you can find a lot of Republican involvement, esp. in areas related to women’s suffrage.

But after the business-focus takeover of the GOP of the 20s-30s, and the GOP opposition to FDR and the New Deal, by the 50s-60s, the Republicans were much focused on being anti-communist and pro-business, and telling businesses what to do was never seen as a GOP virtue in those days. That was the reason why Goldwater voted against the Act — and, in turn, got the electoral votes from five Southern states. George H. W. Bush campaigned against it as well during his unsuccessful 1964 run for the Senate. And most of the groups that led the civil rights activism of the 60s were considered on the left (just ask J. Edgar Hoover), and those groups became more vilified as liberal and leftist as the 60s and 70s progressed. 

I’m not in opposition to anyone reasonably suggesting Republicans (not Conservatives, but Republicans) who were Civil Rights leaders, and offering up some actual examples … but insisting that there must be some listed in history books just to be equitable smacks almost of … well, quotas. Eek!

Well, after all, they are called “Rights” not “Lefts.” Obviously conservatives and Republicans should get the majority of the credit. Ah, but, then, it’s all about majorities.

Yes, you heard it right. The only reason why minorities have any “rights” is because they were given them by majorities.

Never mind about all that “inalienable rights” that folks are ostensibly granted by their Creator, regardless of gender or skin color — all those women and ethnics ought to be down on their knees and thanking their Massahs for so graciously and magnanimously granting them a seat at the table.

And this is what he wants to see in the school curriculum.

I keep hoping that Texas will follow through on its threats to secede …