| | | "After the Civil War, Republicans passed laws that granted protections for African Americans and advanced social justice; again, Democrats largely opposed these expansions of power."
One could make a credible argument that post civil war Republicans remained committed to both civil rights AND limited government. However, when faced with the return to the Union of a powerful contingent of southern Democrat Governors and Congressmen who were still largely committed to slavery and the oppression of African Americans voters, it became necessary to reluctantly expand the power of government in order to cement the gains won by the war and the passing of two Constitutional amendments in a way that did not ignite another war or trample the on principles of self government and state's rights.
Go ahead and attempt to move the discussion away from civil rights to the abuses of big business, opposition to the New Deal, and the economy in general, but when your underlying presupposition remains that conservatives are the party of racism you are standing on very thin ice. History, current events, and the standing psychology of the vast majority of conservative men and women today just don't bear that out. Opposition to civil rights, for any reason, including (ostensibly) aversion to "the expansion of power" is still evil. Democrats have been at this game for more than 100 years. Enough is enough. And given the Democrat's newfound love affair with socialism/communism I say it's time to drive the final nail into that bloody coffin and be done with it. |
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