Rand Paul said this, in a speech at Howard University, by way of explanation for how the party of “The Great Emancipator” lost the black vote to the party of Jeff Davis:
I think what happened during the Great Depression was that African Americans understood that Republicans championed citizenship and voting rights but they became impatient for economic emancipation.
African Americans languished below white Americans in every measure of economic success and the Depression was especially harsh for those at the lowest rung of poverty.
The Democrats promised equalizing outcomes through unlimited federal assistance while Republicans offered something that seemed less tangible–the promise of equalizing opportunity through free markets.
You see, it wasn’t our racial politics, from our fierce (and persistent!) opposition to civil rights, to our southern strategy, to all those welfare queen/Willie Horton ads, to the 47% comments. Nor was it the so-called political work begun by FDR and sustained through the generations by Democratic leaders and policy makers. No, it wasn’t anything we did wrong, or anything they did right. You see, folks, it was you. It was you who missed our genius, it was you who made the mistake of abandoning your loyal friends, it was you who fell for all the undeserved free shit and socialistic nonsense and easy solutions that they sold you. It’s not us, it’s you.
Still, you can change. I swear to God, you can still change. Just give yourself another chance, and you’ll see that doing the right thing is still within your capacity.
