How can any black person be a Republican?

[Cyrano]

I find black Republicans to be mind-boggling. What's wrong with them? Self-hatred? Brain damage? How can any black person stand to be among people who hate them, oppress them and would just as soon lynch them as talk to them?

The only possible rationale I can come up with is that it's all about money. Republicans need token blacks to help disguise their true goals. And any black person who plays along gets well compensated.

Nonetheless, I find the idea of being black and being a Republican incomprehensible. Can someone explain it?

[Agnosticsherbet]

1. It isn't the skin, but the way way the mind works. How can any gay peson be Republican? They also

exist. It is not sexuality or skin color that defines political ideology.

[FarPoint]

6. True....

it still boggles my mind!

[ScreamingMeemie]

19. Or a woman, for that matter.

[Aerows]

52. My first thought.

How on earth can you be a female and vote for someone that takes away your reproductive rights? I don't even care because I'm a lesbian and I have no intention of sleeping with a man, but if I get raped, I sure want the option to stop it before it happens.

[ScreamingMeemie]

56. Exactly.

Republican women blow my mind.

[Aerows]

62. Mine, too.

I can't imagine thinking it is a great idea to put my health and safety into the hands of people who have repeatedly demonstrated that they have no idea what my health and safety means. It certainly isn't hand-waving in the back room with other women like we are witches for having periods. We bear the children, and suddenly you think we are tainted? That's idiocy and jealousy right there.

[SheilaT]

59. I'm a heterosexual woman who is well past child-bearing

at the age of 65, and I still think women should be able to make their own decisions about this.

[RKP5637]

57. It always amazes me, it's almost, if not, masochistic in the big picture IMO. n/t

[gopiscrap]

2. Same goes for a woman, member of the LGBT community, Hispanic, or union member

the only ones who should be voting for them a white males over the age of 60 making 150K a year or more

[we can do it]

3. How can any gay person be a Republican? How can any woman be a Republican?

How can any poor person be a Republican? How can any disabled be a Republican?.....................

[dkf]

4. Maybe you need to talk to Ted Cruz and tell him he is in the wrong party too.

[Cyrano]

7. Actually, Cruz is in the right party.

In general, Cubans differ from other Latinos in that they have always been given special treatment. If they leave Cuba and set foot on American soil, they won't be deported.

Here in South FL, the Cuban community has historically voted Republican because of GOP "hatred of communism." They couldn't care less about the issue of immigration.

[Cleita]

10. Also, the Cubans who ran afoul of Castro, were mostly upper class

and wealthy, and Republican political conservatism is to their liking even when in the USA where their family name and wealth aren't that important.

[JEB]

5. How can any woman be a puke?

Any thinking human? Any body with less than 10 million dollars?

[BlueCaliDem]

34. Boggles the mind, doesn't it?

I believe it's due to successful propaganda, and the fact that our Fourth Estate after Reagan has been usurped by mega for-profit corporations hellbent on taking as much from us as they can via corporate-friendly pols.

[leftstreet]

8. Good grief n/t

[Cleita]

9. Or Latino, any woman or LBGT person for that matter.

The Republican suit only fits white males really.

[LittleBlue]

11. When someone says "black Republican", I think of Uncle Ruckus

To answer your question, rich blacks or blacks who work in the defense industry.

[sakabatou]

14. Same.

[Andy823]

12. How can any "sane person" be a republican

I mean it's not really that hard to see through the BS and see it's the rich people and the corporations the republicans work for not the average person in this country.

[JaneyVee]

13. I find the idea of anyone being a Republican incomprehensible.

[former9thward]

15. Do you question how any white male can be a Democrat?

Most people don't look at their skin color or gender and let that decide their political views. Political views are based on life experiences, culture, family history, friends and a bunch of other things. None of which is necessarily in equal portions.

[woolldog]

16. I know it's not meant this way,

but I find the OP to be a bit racist.

It's possible that black republicans believe in limited government and a more individualist society. It's not up to you to tell them what philosophy they must subscribe to based on their race.

[Igel]

21. There's this assumption that

somehow melanin content or ethnic history determines thinking and other cultural traits.

You see it implicit in this post. You also see it when people assume that somehow you should learn "your" language, which is to say, the language some ancestors spoke. So I studied Russian--and people think it must be because I'm Russian. Carlos studied Russian in the same grad program, and everybody wanted to know why he didn't study Spanish--as though he were somehow betraying his ethnicity.

On the one hand we have people offended when we don't assume that skin color or surname is meaningful when it comes to outlook and cultural background, and we have people offended (sometimes the same people) when we assume that skin color or surname is meaningful when it comes to outlook and cultural background.

Culture and language are completely distinct from skin color, hair cross-section, teeth structure, presence or absence of epicanthic folds, eye color--and only accidentally correlated in many cases these days (with the rest being a sort of historical accident).

[annabanana]

31. yeah... limited like forced ultrasounds....

(things that make you go "hmmm&quot

[Cyrano]

33. I knew someone would infer that

my op was racist. It's not. It's a question regarding people who join a group that is 100% against their very being. I really don't get it.

That's not to say there are not multiple other groups that Republicans despise. But given the history of slavery, it's hard to conceive of any black person wanting to be among neo-confederate scum.

(And yes, I know that the South used to be Democratic. They switched when Lyndon Johnson signed the civil rights and voting rights acts. Same scum. Different title.)

[Adam-Bomb]

54. You, Sir, need to read some more history....

You are painting in some seriously wide strokes and it makes you appear
less than educated.

The south USED to be Democratic? How did the south vote for Carter's first
term? How did the south vote for Clinton? How did the south vote for Obama's
first and second term? Not perfectly Democratic, I know, but more than a couple
of states voted Blue.

[Cyrano]

58. It started to change until

the Supreme Court castrated the voting rights act. Now, many states, including ones outside the south, are back to their Jim Crow tactics. North Carolina is a perfect example.

I really hate the fact that Scalia and his ilk on the Court turned back the clock when real progress was being made.

[Zorra]

17. I believe a black transsexual lesbian teabagger might be the ultimate political masochist. nt

[FarCenter]

29. Only if (s)he's an unwed mother on unemployment receiving food stamps

[Throd]

18. One example of my white privilege is that nobody questions my politics based on race.

[egduj]

20. Racist drivel.

You're implying that black people should think one way, and one way only. And if, by chance, they think differently than you think they should, then they must be corrupted by money.

[BlueCaliDem]

36. Wrong. The OP is asking based on anti-minority policies pushed by Republicans. Why would any

minority support being discriminated against?

[Cyrano]

37. See reply 33 above.

And I resent your implication that I'm a racist.

[egduj]

46. Sounds like a duck... and all.

And I find it resentful that someone should tell a whole race of people how they should feel, how they should vote and who they should support.

[Cyrano]

49. I guess we're going to

have to agree to disagree about what I can and can't ask here on DU.

[aquart]

22. Or any woman.

[PasadenaTrudy]

23. I know a black chiropractor

who is a Republican. He peddles the woo, the magnets, etc. He's a former dancer too. I just don't get it....

[Bryn]

24. This is going around on facebook by rightwing: Thomas Sowell

The rightwings on facebook are delighted by this. Thomas is also a rightwing black.

Thomas Sowell: Who shut down the government?

Oct. 12, 2013 @ 07:55 PM

Even when it comes to something as basic, and apparently as simple and straightforward, as the question of who shut down the federal government, there are diametrically opposite answers, depending on whether you talk to Democrats or to Republicans.

There is really nothing complicated about the facts. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted all the money required to keep all government activities going — except for Obamacare.
This is not a matter of opinion. You can check the Congressional Record.

As for the House of Representatives’ right to grant or withhold money, that is not a matter of opinion either. You can check the Constitution of the United States. All spending bills must originate in the House of Representatives, which means that congressmen there have a right to decide whether or not they want to spend money on a particular government activity.
Whether Obamacare is good, bad or indifferent is a matter of opinion. But it is a matter of fact that members of the House of Representatives have a right to make spending decisions based on their opinion.
Obamacare is indeed “the law of the land,” as its supporters keep saying, and the Supreme Court has upheld its constitutionality.

But the whole point of having a division of powers within the federal government is that each branch can decide independently what it wants to do or not do, regardless of what the other branches do, when exercising the powers specifically granted to that branch by the Constitution.

read more: http://www.hpe.com/opinion/x559273386/Thomas-Sowell-Who-shut-down-the-government

[bluestate10]

25. The same can be asked of many Whites. Remember that the republican party was once

a defender of Blacks and the Democratic party as defender and enabler of White racists. Some Blacks such as Colin Powell still have a heritage connection to the republican party, although the modern republican party is very much against Blacks having a equal role in society. Some Black people haven't gotten the memo, but they are a tiny number that is shrinking as their children wise up.

[aznativ]

26. I dont get it either..especially

since they have done so well under this present admin:

http://www.blackchristiannews.com/news/2013/09/national-black-church-initiative-asks-the-black-community-to-leave-tavis-smiley-and-dr-cornel-west-a.html

Seriously, saying this about blacks is just a tad bit racist.

[BlueCaliDem]

38. Welcome to DU!

Hope you enjoy your stay.

[aznativ]

41. Thank you!

[Cyrano]

39. It's not in the least racist.

See reply 33 above.

[last1standing]

27. Greed, self-loathing, ignorance and fear.

Much the same as any other republican, really.

[doc03]

28. How could any working person be a Republican? n/t

[Yo_Mama]

30. Find one and ask?

I do know several black people who say they are conservative, and I know a couple of them have voted for some Republicans in the past, but I generally never discuss politics so I have never asked.

[jberryhill]

32. As a reaction to people with your view, to give one example

[Cyrano]

40. See post 33 above.

Last edited Sun Oct 13, 2013, 03:40 PM - Edit history (1)

And when I wrote the OP, I just knew someone would throw shit at me.

[grahamhgreen]

35. $$$. Selfishness.

[steve2470]

61. agreed ! nt

[Cyrano]

44. See post 33 above.

[spanone]

43. ignorance is colorblind

[Enrique]

45. we should vote for all black people

because some of them don't know the right way to vote.

[egduj]

47. You post sarcasm, but that's exactly what the OP is implying.

[Cyrano]

48. See post 33 above.

[Jamaal510]

50. It's either

a. because they want lower taxes (if they happen to be rich) or

b. because they want to feel like they belong among the elites and the dominant culture, and they don't want to accept the reality that there is still racial tension. Many Black Republicans appear to be of the mindset that if they act like a good ole boy/girl and quit "complaining", then they'll get accepted, but there are some mentally-disturbed people who hate us, no matter what. In fact, if anyone else here watches the Boondocks, you'll know that there is an episode of Uncle Ruckus, where he tours with a racist country singer named Jimmy Rebel, and they get kicked out of a bar at the end. Ironically, it was the country singer who tried to tell him that those people in the bar didn't like Ruckus because of his skin, yet Ruckus denied it. That is what seems to be going on with many real-life Black Republicans and conservatives.

[Cyrano]

53. Thanks for your thoughtful response.

Elsewhere in this thread, I've been called a racist for asking the question.

[NuclearDem]

51. This OP is so full of fail I can't even begin to wrap my mind around it.

[Cyrano]

55. See post 33 above.

[steve2470]

60. If you're rich/high-income and selfish, the Republicans are a natural fit

If you're not selfish, then we Democrats are the natural fit. It's really that simple. The Republicans are the party of the selfish rich/high-income, ignorant and extremely conservative/religious.

[Hippo_Tron]

63. First of all, there are very very few black Republicans

The GOP constantly trots out the ones that they have in order to prove they're not racist and make it seem as though there are more of them than they actually are. But you're talking about maybe 5% of black people are actually Republicans, 5% are independent, and 90% are Democrats.

As to how they are, it's the same exact way white people are Republicans. They think they've pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and therefore everyone else ought to be able to.