As the 2018 Midterm Elections draw closer, the usual tired cliches are rolled out about the Democrats being the party of African-Americans and Latino voters while the Republican elite works solely for white males. The question we must ask ourselves, does the evidence support the consistent claims of the Democrat Party to represent the working classes and those from minority groups. After all, Democrats fought the attempts of President Abraham Lincoln to abolish slavery in the U.S. in the 19th-century and formed one of the most vicious right-wing racist groups in the history of 20th-century politics.

One of the major reasons the Democrats are known for their support of the rights of African-American groups is the 2008 election of President Barrack Obama to The White House. However, as details of the election campaign of 2008 have come to the attention of the public, the behavior of some of the leading figures in the party have been called into question for their attitudes towards minority groups. Former President Bill Clinton is often referred to as the “first black President” of the U.S. because of his supposed work for the rights of African-Americans. However, a reported conversation with Senator Ted Kennedy saw Clinton state in the 1990s the then-Senator Obama would have been bringing the two politicians coffee.

In an article for “The Hill”, Armstrong Williams reported another conversation President Clinton is reported to have had with African-American Congressman Jim Clyburn during the 2008 Primary season. On the night President Obama won the South Carolina Democratic Primary by more around 30 percentage points from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton is reported to have shown his racist colors by telling Clyburn, “if you bastards want a fight, you damn well will get one.”

Racism on the left of U.S. politics is often well hidden with outrage tossed around by left-leaning politicians whenever it suits their needs. The New York Post revealed a case of double standards was seen during the 2000 election campaign when Al Gore and George Bush were aiming to win The White House and the issue of racial politics came into play. Harking back to 1988, when the first President George Bush was accused of racist behavior regarding the case of Willie Horton. The convicted murderer was given a furlough period from his jail and made his way to Maryland where he raped a woman and terrorized her husband. The Republican Party candidate was accused of playing the race card in his ads but only Vice-President Al Gore used pictures of Horton in his campaigning and called for an end to a furlough policy created by Democrat politicians.

The question to ask does the left really hope to provide a better life for minority groups such as Latino and African-American communities who are in need of the greatest assistance. The racism of left-leaning politicians have been well-known for many decades and include the work of President Bill Clinton to eliminate the welfare safety net many of the most deprived groups rely on. In 1994, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act allowed the racial profiling of young African-American males classed as “super-predators.” Then-First Lady Hillary Clinton was a major supporter of the 1994 crime reform bill and supported the easy passage of the new laws through Congress. The racism of the Clinton’s was not limited to the 1994 criminal reform bill but also saw the welfare system attacked by a raft of reforms eliminating the welfare system relied upon by financially deprived minority groups, according to the PBS Newshour.

Many historic cases of racism are not the only instances to show the racism remaining rife within the left of U.S. politics. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the leader of the party in Nevada’s Clark County, Donna West took exception to the appointment of three African-American women to the Democrat Political Organizing Committee for the region. The white Chair of the committee believed too many black voices were making their way onto the POC following the election of Erika Washington to the group as Vice-Chair. Washington is then said to have been the victim of racism at the hands of West throughout 2017 as she worked to build a brighter future for the people of Las Vegas.

Sources

https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/civil-rights/348552-democrats-face-a-conundrum-of-hypocrisy-when-it-comes-to-race

https://nypost.com/2000/01/19/double-standards-on-racism-democrats-ignore-racial-skeletons-in-their-own-closets/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/column-the-democratic-party-is-not-what-it-seems

Clark County Democrats blast party chair for ‘racist’ actions against black women