Democrats: The Party of Racism

You just know the opinions of Bruce Bartlett will cause a firestorm with the Democrats.

Because it's all too true.

Racial gaffes by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, the meteoric rise of Sen. Barack Obama and the pivotal role of the South Carolina primary on Saturday have intensified the issue of race in the Democratic Party, which makes Bruce Bartlett seem like a prophet of sorts.

In his new book, "Wrong on Race: The Democratic Party's Buried Past," Mr. Bartlett chronicles the party's history from slavery to the civil rights era and beyond, providing a look at such figures as South Carolina's "Pitchfork Ben" Tillman and other racist Democrats.

"At least on a historical level, the Democratic Party has always been the party of racism," Mr. Bartlett said in a telephone interview with The Washington Times.

A former Reagan administration official whose previous book "Impostor" criticized President Bush for straying from conservative policies, Mr. Bartlett said the purpose of his latest book is to challenge Democrats' "party of inclusion" mantra and to encourage black voters to dutifully consider the merits of both major parties.

"One purpose of the book was to give Republicans a kind of story to tell, if they decide to go into the black community and talk to black leaders," he said. "I think at an abstract level there are a lot of blacks who recognize that being almost totally part of one political party and not being involved with the other is not good for them."

Democrats long ago began taking the black vote for granted, and the GOP would be much healthier if they genuinely sought the black vote without having to quiver and quake about being called racist.

In fact, the GOP has been the one party that has promoted and supported the African-American community in deeds, not words.

Just look at the cabinet makeup of the past two presidents if you need a guide.

The rise of Mr. Obama as a challenger to Mrs. Clinton indicates the urgency for Republicans to establish their appeal to black voters.

"If [Republicans] start to talk now about the Democratic Party's racist past, then they'll help prepare themselves for dealing with the possibility of running against a black candidate and being able to frame some of their criticism of him, that they undoubtedly will have, in terms that will not be viewed as potentially racist," he said. "It's going to be a difficult balancing act."

Indeed it will be, if it comes to that.

Of course, the GOP won't have just the Democrat machine to fight this battle against.

You can be sure the overwhelming majority of the media will be whipping out the race card every chance they get while conveniently ignoring the dark past and often odious current history of the Democrats. Instead of running to a racial arsonist like Al Sharpton every time there's a racial controversy, how about seeking out a fresh voice like Michael Steele or a genuine national treasure like Thomas Sowell, a man who knows what real racism is all about?

Senator Robert "Sheets" Byrd (D-WV) was unavailable for comment.