“The unexamined life is not worth living.”—Socrates

Howard Dean has demonstrated that historical ignorance doesn’t stop with teenage mall-rats, but in fact runs all the way up into the very heart of the DNC.  The good doctor (who hopefully knows more about his profession than he does about history) has made the claim that the Republican Party “talks like the 1850s.”  Dean, of course, is attempting to smear the Republicans as a party of racists who are defending systematic public discrimination.  In this he displays a ridiculous lack of knowledge not only of the Republicans, but also of the shameful history of his own party.

Most liberals today loudly proclaim the Democrats to be the party of minorities and the Republicans to be the party of racist oppressors.  I’m reminded of a ridiculous comment from another less-than-aware liberal icon, Bill Maher.  Maher commented on one Republican national convention by saying that “the last time the Republicans had that many black people on stage, they were selling them.”  Anyone—Dean or Maher—who can make such a statement with a straight face should limit their future comments to the failures of the American educational system (of which they are obvious victims).

So, what do Republicans from the 1850s talk like?

“…by the law of nature and of nations, the right of property in slaves falls to the ground; for one who is equal to another cannot be the owner or property of that other.”—William H. Seward

“The white man's happiness cannot be purchased by the black man's misery.”—Frederick Douglas (technically joined in 1860)

 “Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.”—Abraham Lincoln, a somewhat prominent antebellum Republican

The Republican Party in the 1850s was bound together by one thing:  No further spread of slavery.  While no pure haven of abolitionist idealism—there were quite a few racists in the GOP then—the plain fact is that the Republicans entered the American political arena dedicated to containing and (later) eliminating one of the worst abominations ever inflicted by one American upon another.   This dedication to slavery’s destruction become more pronounced as time (and the Civil War) wore on.  After the war, the Republican Party remained the party of choice for African Americans well into the 1900s. 

So, the Republicans of 1850 said quite a bit of which we can today be proud.  As a result, Dr. Dean’s “historically challenged” statement translates into quite the compliment.  And now for the Democrats.  What did some Democrats from the 1850s have to say?

“Military power should not be allowed to interfere with the relations of servitude, either by supporting or impairing the authority of the master….”—George B. McClellan, Milquetoast General and 1864 Democratic presidential candidate

“They [Black people] had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.”—Justice Roger B. Taney in the Dredd Scott decision in 1857

“[The right of slavery] was established by decree of Almighty God...it has existed in all ages, has been found among the people of the highest civilization, and in nations of the highest proficiency in the arts."—Jefferson Davis, an often conveniently overlooked 1850s Democrat.

Though the Republicans in the 1850s had some serious disagreements amongst themselves about how opposed to slavery they should be, they were looking in the right direction.  The Democrats, sadly,  were more united.  Dominated by a southern wing that promoted radical pro-slavery views and supported half-heartedly by swarms of spineless northern moderates, the Democrats were, without doubt, the party of slavery.

But little things like historical facts are hardly something to get in the way of people like Dean and Maher.  In cases like this, they are manifestly more concerned with propaganda than they are with truth.  Blatant falsehoods such as these (even accidental ones) serve a very practical purpose:  They keep minorities chained to the democratic bandwagon.  They reinforce false stereotypes (i.e. “Republican/conservative”=racist) wielded in a campaign of blantant emotional manipulation, thereby encouraging minorities to support the democrats out of some mythical “historical” principle.  This discourages minorities from asking the hard questions democratic leaders fear most.  The Republicans don’t get a pass on those sorts of issues (nor should they); its time the Democrats faced them too.  Frankly, minority voters deserve to be treated as much more than a sure-fire democratic stepping stone.

“Know thy enemy, know thyself.”  Apparently Howard Dean and Bill Maher know neither.