Ran across an editorial entitled, "Why Martin Luther King Was A Republican," earlier today. It's penned by Frances Rice, chairman of the National Black Republican Association.

I'm pretty sure most people reading this already have an idea of what was said in the article: the obvious noting of the history of the Democratic Party, including their support of Jim Crow laws and the Black Codes. Oh how Republicans, black and white a like, love to talk about that, yet they leave out the part about many of those Democrats/Dixiecrats switching over to the other side, taking their racist sentiments with them. And stop, tell me if you've heard this, but Lincoln was a Republican. No matter the fact that he wasn't exactly the biggest fan of Negroes, he "freed" us, so that makes it all right and worth mentioning over and over and over again.

These Lincoln/Jesus/Slavery/Civil Rights references no longer resonate with black folk. If you're going to go for the support of blacks in this country, make a real effort. You’re no better than the Democrats you blast for taking black voters for granted.

Let's try to not be disingenuous for a change. Try something new, like honesty. The author mentions Senator Byrd's actions then, but fails to mention that he's since had a change of heart and let his voting record prove it.

Never mind that this man can call King a Republican, though he makes no mention that his very own party didn't want to honor Dr. King by celebrating his birthday as a national holiday.

This part of the article was my favorite:

We must demonstrate that the
Democrat Party policies of socialism and dependency on
government handouts offer the pathway to poverty,
while Republican Party principles of hard work,
personal responsibility, getting a good education and
ownership of homes and small businesses offer the
pathway to prosperity

Yes, and look how wonderfully the poor have progressed under past and current Republican administrations.

You can't reach out to people through condescension, and more importantly, you can't help folks "see the light" if you're using a trite argument full of fallacies.