The other day, I came home to an odd political flyer attached to my mailbox. It was a flyer for the Republican candidate for my Congressional district. First of all, it was odd that a Republican candidate is even trying to campaign in my district. In this district, only one Republican has ever won and that was in 1965. The district is incredibly gerrymandered for minority voters with tentacles reaching out to take in majority African-American populations of major Alabama cities. The current shape of the district was largely formed in 1992. It includes some of the Black Belt counties as well as portions of Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. The highly irregular shape is because this is a majority-minority district, formed under provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as amended in 1982 to include greater representation for minorities in Congress. In other words, Republicans have as a good a chance of winning as a snowball has of surviving in Hell (or and Alabama summer).
Alabama Republicans can be a bit strange anyhow, but this flyer introduced me to one of the weirdest concepts in modern American politics: Frederick Douglass Republicans. I know there are many non-racist Republicans in America, but there are too few in Alabama. This congressional candidate (Don Chamberlain) is running as a Republican to receive white votes using the name of Frederick Douglass in hopes of receiving black votes. In the flyer, Chamberlain says:
I Believe
If Thomas Jefferson, Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, Jr. we're alive today, they would stand shoulder to shoulder in a fight that is inevitable to be waged in Washington to help me rid the poverty that has existed in the Black Belt for 30 years.
Don Chamberlain
US Congress
A Frederick Douglass Republican
The whole concept seems ludicrous to me. Chamberlain's website has not mention of him being a Frederick Douglass Republican, which doesn't really surprise me. It's your standard Republican website.
So who are these Frederick Douglass Republicans?
In October 2009, KCarl Smith resigned from his motivational speaking career and rededicated himself to defending liberty. This former U.S. Army officer, took on a new challenge- becoming a political agitator. He became the founding servant-leader of The ConservativeMESSENGER.
KCarl began the ConservativeMESSENGER with his flagship presentation, “The Making of A Champion Party” and a unique mantra, A Frederick Douglass Republican™. Inspired by the life of Frederick Douglass and a student of his writings, KCarl narrowed the focus of this grassroots initiative to five specific objectives:
- Re-ignite America’s passion for Liberty
- Save the souls of the Politically Lost (politico-schizophrenics)
- Restore the Republican Party’s Political Distinction
- Change how the GOP relates to minorities
- Create an atmosphere for political dialogue without accusations of racism.
In less than one year’s time, KCarl had perfected the Frederick Douglass Republican Methodology, advocating and expounding upon the Life-Empowering Values of Frederick Douglass:
- Respect for the Constitution- “The American Constitution is a written instrument full and complete in itself. No court in America, no Congress, no President, can add a single word thereto, or take a single word there from. It is a great national enactment done by the people, and can only be altered, amended, or added to by the people.” ~ Frederick Douglass
- Respect for Life – Douglass Championed women’s rights and was the face of the Abolitionist Movement.
- Belief in Individual Responsibility – Douglass viewed entitlements as a detriment to freed slaves because it robs one the chance of self-sufficiency
- Belief in Limited Government – Douglass believed the role of government is to protect the freedom of opportunity for its citizens.
KCarl has taken this strategy to Tea Party and Conservative groups across the country, educating and empowering attendees on how to effectively espouse the conservative message, pushing past the veil of assumed racism and Uncle Tom-ism. The result: the birth of the Frederick Douglass Republican™ Movement.
Who are Frederick Douglass Republicans? Everyday people- filled with passion and conviction- who have come together as a unified front, committed to help the Republican Party once again become the “party of freedom and progress”.
No longer satisfied with the status quo, Frederick Douglass Republicans are willing to fight for liberty and justice; and to seize the God-given right to self-rule.
Frederick Douglass Republicans are not bound by race, color, religion or creed but are bound by our rich American Heritage.
This is pure political bullshit, if I have ever seen it. Is anyone else seeing Frederick Douglass Republicans running in your district?
P.S. They call themselves FDRs. LOL.
"This is not pure political bullshit"? I'm guessing that "not" shouldn't be in this sentence.
ReplyDeleteI'm also guessing that if you could get republicans to be absolutely honest, far more than half would prove to have plenty of racist beliefs. As would a large percentage (50% or close to it) of Dems and independents.
FDR has a totally different meaning to most people and invokes the exact opposite feeling. Haha, I wonder if they are smart enough to figure the irony.
ReplyDeleteGo, you are right on all accounts. I fixed the "not."
ReplyDeleteEven my students today got that one, FoC.
Coop, we all have our odd political candidates. At least, I can almost understand a Log Cabin Republican, but these "FDRs" are just too odd.
Just goes to show a politician will say anything...and the people most likely will fall for it, hook, line, and sinker.....First time this has caught my eye though.
ReplyDelete