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Wrong on Race: The Democratic Party's Buried Past
In Wrong on Race, Bruce Bartlett sets the record straight on a hidden past that many Democrats would rather see swept under the carpet. Ranging from the founding of the Republic through to today, it rectifies the unfair perceptions of America's two national parties. While Nixon's infamous "Southern Strategy" is constantly referenced in the media, less well remembered are Woodrow Wilson's segregation of the entire Federal civil service; FDR's appointment of a member of the KKK to the Supreme Court; John F. Kennedy's apathy towards civil rights legislation; and the ascension of Robert Byrd, who is current President pro tempore of the Senate, third in line in the presidential line of succession, and a former member of the KKK. For the last seventy years, African Americans have voted en masse for one party, with little in the end to show for it. Is it time for the pendulum to swing the other way? With the Republican Party furiously engaged in pre-2008 soul searching, this exhaustively researched, incisively written exposé will be an important and compelling component of that debate as we head towards November.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 8, 2008
16 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
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Bruce Bartlett
25 books15 followersLibrarian Note: There are multiple authors on Goodreads with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 25, 2013
this book would have been much stronger if it was written simply as a political history of racism instead of an attack on the democratic party. the author thinks blacks are misguided in voting democrat because historically and even as recently as the 70s, the democrats were very racist. a democrat gave us minimum wage and that hurt black employment because employers didnt want to pay blacks the same as whites so minimum wage is bad because blacks should be paid less than whites! that is gist of the rational in this book. black people should not vote democrat because 200+ years ago the democratic president owned slaves and didnt want to give them up. he says this in the same breath as "but slaves were needed to grow cotton."
he, like many republicans, say black people blindly follow democrats (i.e. we cant think for ourselves). the republicans only crime is ignoring blacks (not so bad), and they are the true anti-slavery party. hmm... the US isnt the same country as it was 200 years ago, and both parties have changed. the author presents this book as his opinion is fact. it feels like he didnt get input from non-white people that dont see things his way. he claims that "most" blacks know the democratic party doesnt serve them well. where is the data to support this? he has numerous citations for historical points, but when it comes to what black people think, i should accept what this old white man says...
the author says in the introduction and conclusion that because of the democrats' racist past, black people should be republicans. that switch would give them more political power. let's ignore the fact that current republic rhetoric is very racist. the author doesnt think so; the fact that black people do is deemed irrelevant. he also suggests pitting blacks against hispanics. republicans and black people can join together in hatred of immigration! because us vs them is always a good idea.
lastly, the author's suggestion for reparations that would once and for all "settle the debt owed to slaves" cemented my opinion that this man, who calls racial issues simplistic, has no clue what he's saying.
he, like many republicans, say black people blindly follow democrats (i.e. we cant think for ourselves). the republicans only crime is ignoring blacks (not so bad), and they are the true anti-slavery party. hmm... the US isnt the same country as it was 200 years ago, and both parties have changed. the author presents this book as his opinion is fact. it feels like he didnt get input from non-white people that dont see things his way. he claims that "most" blacks know the democratic party doesnt serve them well. where is the data to support this? he has numerous citations for historical points, but when it comes to what black people think, i should accept what this old white man says...
the author says in the introduction and conclusion that because of the democrats' racist past, black people should be republicans. that switch would give them more political power. let's ignore the fact that current republic rhetoric is very racist. the author doesnt think so; the fact that black people do is deemed irrelevant. he also suggests pitting blacks against hispanics. republicans and black people can join together in hatred of immigration! because us vs them is always a good idea.
lastly, the author's suggestion for reparations that would once and for all "settle the debt owed to slaves" cemented my opinion that this man, who calls racial issues simplistic, has no clue what he's saying.
May 16, 2018
Former Reaganite Bruce Bartlett provides an intriguing history of racism within the Democratic Party, arguing that it was really the Democrats who were the bad guys. In fact, for a long time the Democrats were not the bad guys so much as the worse guys, and readers who enjoy antiquarian detail of long past political battles will like much of what Bartlett has to say. However, Bartlett shamelessly skips the later history of the GOP, when conservative heroes Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan embraced not segregation but the segregationists, fighting for the "right" to discriminate, a battle which they most fortunately lost. Bartlett doesn't tell us how Reagan, running for governor in California, promised to give homeowners the "right" to include restrictive covenants (i.e., no blacks) in their deeds of sale, and, running for president, promised southerners that he would give tax free status to racist "private academies" so that their kids could continue to attend private schools. Fortunately, Reagan did not keep these promises once in office, but as president he did provide passionate support to the apartheid regime in South Africa, a "cause" also beloved of the Moral Majority. Reagan hated the civil rights movement and opposed it every step of the way. Bartlett gives an entirely one-sided history, but the side that he gives is well done. Just don't forget about the other side.
March 14, 2012
Very informative. The book focuses on the fact that Southern Democrats were extremely racist throughout history. Once the Southern Democrats realized that civil rights were going to happen with or without them, they started voting Republican. They didn't change their "stripes"...they just switched party loyalties. The book reminds us that America has a very ugly past when it comes to civil rights and although we've come a long way, we still have a long way to go.
August 14, 2012
Where do I start on this book? The premise of the book is one that attracted me early on. I had it on my "to read" list for quite a while. Finally I read it. I agree with the author on the latter years of the Democratic Party, however as most of my review state, I do NOT agree with this author that Lincoln went to war with the South to free the slaves.
The author says:
"Those who murdered, tortured, abused, and enslaved millions of black people should be given a pass, they implicitly said. Let's just pretend that nothing happened; in effect saying that hundreds of thousands of people on both sides died for nothing"
Funny thing though, the author leaves out how Sherman and his march to the sea murdered innocent civilians that did not own slaves and were not part of the rebel force all under the orders of "The Great Emancipator".
The author paints ALL the North as non-racist, anti-slavery and all around great people. However his opinion on the South is a bunch of racist, slave owning, ignorant fools that deserve the death and destruction they suffered by the hand of the North. The North, being the ones that wanted to "save the Union". I guess by exterminating thousands of women and children that had nothing to do with the South's or North's issues.
"People won't risk their lives in war to fight against a tariff; no war in history can be traced to that origin." Here the author tries to tell you that the war was indeed fought from the south to keep slaves even by those that did not have slaves fought (only 4% of the South were slave owners). He obviously chooses not to remember the Stamp Act of 1765 which can be argued was the genesis of the Revolutionary War.
The book does show the twisted affinity of blacks in this country to the Democratic Political Party which has done so much to keep them to this day enslaved and used for political posturing. I do NOT agree that you party affiliation makes you or precludes you from racism. Racism is something that would not exist if we all ascribed to the notion that ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL. I believe by allowing the government and others to label you or associate you to a group, whether it be race, creed, sexual orientation or whatever, we are segregating ourselves and giving fuel and opportunity to those who use "race" as a political weapon.
This book is chock full of examples of how disingenuous the Democratic Party is about its past. I truly believe that one of the reasons the Dems accuse the Republicans of being racists is to draw the attention away from their dark past with regards to race.
The book is very informative and I think you should read it if only to inform yourselves of the racism the blacks have endured. It is truly sad to see the Human Family act in this fashion. Although slavery is an abhorrent institution, I have to say that level of treatment and abuse suffered by blacks in this country after slavery and up until the late 20th century is far more abusive and vindictive than what we saw with the founding father's era of slave ownership. I do not give them a pass.
The author says:
"Those who murdered, tortured, abused, and enslaved millions of black people should be given a pass, they implicitly said. Let's just pretend that nothing happened; in effect saying that hundreds of thousands of people on both sides died for nothing"
Funny thing though, the author leaves out how Sherman and his march to the sea murdered innocent civilians that did not own slaves and were not part of the rebel force all under the orders of "The Great Emancipator".
The author paints ALL the North as non-racist, anti-slavery and all around great people. However his opinion on the South is a bunch of racist, slave owning, ignorant fools that deserve the death and destruction they suffered by the hand of the North. The North, being the ones that wanted to "save the Union". I guess by exterminating thousands of women and children that had nothing to do with the South's or North's issues.
"People won't risk their lives in war to fight against a tariff; no war in history can be traced to that origin." Here the author tries to tell you that the war was indeed fought from the south to keep slaves even by those that did not have slaves fought (only 4% of the South were slave owners). He obviously chooses not to remember the Stamp Act of 1765 which can be argued was the genesis of the Revolutionary War.
The book does show the twisted affinity of blacks in this country to the Democratic Political Party which has done so much to keep them to this day enslaved and used for political posturing. I do NOT agree that you party affiliation makes you or precludes you from racism. Racism is something that would not exist if we all ascribed to the notion that ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL. I believe by allowing the government and others to label you or associate you to a group, whether it be race, creed, sexual orientation or whatever, we are segregating ourselves and giving fuel and opportunity to those who use "race" as a political weapon.
This book is chock full of examples of how disingenuous the Democratic Party is about its past. I truly believe that one of the reasons the Dems accuse the Republicans of being racists is to draw the attention away from their dark past with regards to race.
The book is very informative and I think you should read it if only to inform yourselves of the racism the blacks have endured. It is truly sad to see the Human Family act in this fashion. Although slavery is an abhorrent institution, I have to say that level of treatment and abuse suffered by blacks in this country after slavery and up until the late 20th century is far more abusive and vindictive than what we saw with the founding father's era of slave ownership. I do not give them a pass.
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January 29, 2008Ronald reagan advisor
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews