Representative Elbert Guillory recently switched Party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, and as is true whenever a politician switches parties, it’s struck a little chord of controversy. Representative Guillory made a short but emotionally charged video to explain why he was switching parties and to encourage others in the black community to do the same. In the short production Representative Guillory uses a multi-pronged approach to try to explain why he has chosen to make this move now. He cites history, beginning with one of the earliest African-American Republicans, Frederick Douglass, who said: “I am a Republican, a black, dyed in the wool Republican, and I never intend to belong to any other party than the party of freedom and progress.” He also notes the main reason for the founding of the Republican Party, and that President Lincoln, the “Great Emancipator”, was also a Republican. The Republican Party wrote the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments freeing the slaves and giving them equal rights in our great nation, but it was the Democrats who were the authors of Jim Crow laws. He then moves forward into the 1950s, reminding us that in 1957, Republican President Dwight Eisenhower pushed hard to pass the Civil Rights Act, only to be filibustered by the Democrats in the Senate. Representative Guillory then moves on to what is the heart of the conservative argument against liberal values today – control. While liberal politicians champion social justice causes, all of their solutions for these issues extend more government involvement and control. In fact, when conservatives attempt to solve the same problems using the private sector, they are often mocked by their liberal counterparts for being “uncaring”. The truth of the matter is that while both parties may genuinely care about those living in difficult life circumstances, one party offers solutions that extend freedom and the other offers solutions that extend government control. The hear of his message comes near the end of his presentation: “But most importantly, it is the idea that the individual must be free to pursue his or her own happiness free from government dependence and free from government control. Because to be truly free is to be reliant on no one other than the author of our destiny. These are the ideas at the core of the Republican Party, and it is why I am a Republican.” Representative Guillory makes a clear, concise and heartfelt argument for African-American support of the Republican Party – I hope they hear him.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 01:57:11 +0000
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