It’s often said that Black people suffer from an unreciprocated loyalty to the Democratic Party. Conservatives who pretend it’s not racist AF to liken Black people consistently voting blue to slaves stuck on the plantation would have America believe that the negroes have simply been duped by Democrats because of our tiny, negroid minds, we couldn’t possibly just be deciding for ourselves whether or not a vote for the lesser of two evils is better than no vote at all.
At some point, Republicans are going to have to reckon with the fact that they’ll never win the Black vote as long as they keep being presented with opportunities to either look racist or not look racist and they keep choosing to, well, be themselves.
For example, Republicans in Wisconsin can plan on continuing to not see majority Black votes now that they have voted in favor of a resolution to honor Rush Limbaugh, the Bigoted Witch of the East who somebody finally dropped a house on. (I’m aware that’s not how he died, but don’t act like you didn’t get a nice chuckle out of the mental image. Imagine the little red footies rolling back on his bloated feet and...you know, I’m just going to move on.)
The Associated Press reports that on Wednesday, the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly voted 56-35 in favor of the resolution to pay tribute to the all-grown-up doppelganger of South Park’s Eric Cartman.
From AP:
The resolution calls Limbaugh’s voice “unforgettable” and praises him for advancing conservative policies.
Democrats railed against the resolution, saying Limbaugh’s career was full of racism, sexism and homophobia. Minority Leader Gordon Hintz said passing the resolution signals Republicans are comfortable with that.
Minority Leader Janet Bewley accused the GOP of introducing the resolution to “tick” Democrats off.
Sen. LaTonya Johnson, a Black Democrat from Milwaukee, read a list of Limbaugh quotes disparaging former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Johnson tried to introduce a resolution recognizing February as Black History Month but Republicans killed it.
I know many of you find that last part shocking. I mean, how could a party that thinks Democrats used negro spirituals and Underground Railroad mixtape hymns to hypnotize Black people into voting for them also be a party that would kill a resolution to recognize Black History Month then approve a resolution to honor a guy who probably had his king-size Klan sheets refitted for his mattress while he was alive?
To save me the time, The Root’s Stephen Crockett has already provided a list of some of the racist shit Limbaugh said while still drawing racist breath on Blue Ivy’s green Earth.
So if Republicans are willing to honor a man who once used his platform to list the names of and mock gay men who were dying of AIDS, but they’re unwilling to approve a resolution to recognize BHM, why the fuck should any Black person even consider going to the ballot box for them?
In fact, according to HuffPost, Senate Republicans in Wisconsin had approved the resolution to honor the man who was probably buried with his favorite noose and an empty Oxycontin bottle on Tuesday. In the same session, they voted against efforts to “include slavery and Black history in a bill requiring public schools to teach the Holocaust and other genocides,” the Post reports.
So maybe we’re not stuck on a plantation; maybe we just remain unwoo-ed by Republicans who keep sending a message that clearly states, “We openly hate you negroes, now give us your votes already!”