I did not know that the government didn’t used to have diddly to do with marriage! It was racist Democrats who invented marriage licenses as a means to prevent blacks and whites from marrying. Now anti-Christian Democrats are using it to put Christians out of business. These three guys explain why government shouldn’t be in the marriage business, period.
A Christian Argument: Getting Government Out of Marriage [7:28]
Lyndon Baines Johnson allegedly said, “These Negroes, they’re getting pretty uppity these days and that’s a problem for us since they’ve got something now they never had before, the political pull to back up their uppityness. Now we’ve got to do something about this, we’ve got to give them a little something, just enough to quiet them down, not enough to make a difference… I’ll have them niggers voting Democratic for the next two hundred years”.
This quote is attributed to LBJ in Ronald Kessler’s book, and was supposedly said to two southern governors. Kessler has been cited as the chief Washington correspondent for the far-right-wing Newsmax. IOW, he comes to the table with his own biases. In the absence of a reliable objective record of that quotation, the best source to answer this question may be the presidential recordings made during the Johnson administration.
Several hundred conversations were recorded dealing with issues of racial politics and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A quote like the one in question is not found in any of these recordings, nor do they contain the oft-cited statement to Bill Moyers that LBJ had “lost to the South to the GOP for a generation.” But they do provide excellent insight into how LBJ talked about these issues in private. For example, it is simply undisputed that LBJ did use the prevailing southern racial slurs of the time, including the word “n—–r,” as this actual recording demonstrates. This is hardly the only example.
While his nomenclature leaves something to be desired, the collected recordings show that LBJ had some astonishingly progressive views on race for a rural-born white Texan in the late 1960s. It should also be noted that LBJ knew his audience, and would speak differently to a Georgia state legislator than, say, a Connecticut governor. It’s very difficult to tell when LBJ is putting on an act for audience or when he’s speaking with his “true” voice.
I think the best we can say is that the quote is not inconsistent with LBJ’s style and is either genuine or a fair paraphrase. It’s the kind of thing LBJ might say to a Dixiecrat to convince them not to oppose the CRA. IOW, the quote might be genuine, but the sentiment was not. I think it does a disservice when these kinds of quotes are used to suggest that LBJ was duplicitous and uncaring about black America. Personally, I have no doubt over the bona fides of LBJ’s empathy and humanity after listening to the conversations in June of 1963 during the Freedom Summer disappearances, where LBJ was positively distraught.
I won’t begin to deny that LBJ was a ruthless political operator, and indeed, an unrepentant liar. But I cringe that this single quote, robbed of its context, would be used by some to imply that LBJ was a heartless racist manipulator. That’s one notion that I think the historical record soundly disproves.
Have a safe and happy Independence Day celebration,at least this year. Reflect on all the parades, fireworks displays, cookouts with family and friends. Obunghole has plans to use his EPA terrorists to severely restrict the pollution from these kind of activities.
President Obama Wants to End Independence Day As We Know It
Enjoy Independence Day while you still can. If President Obama gets his way, this could be the last Fourth of July worth celebrating.
New ground-level ozone standards being pushed by Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency would result in widespread bans on fireworks shows, backyard grilling and other Independence Day traditions.
Because the proposed ozone rule is set so low, things as harmless as a few backyard chefs grilling burgers in the same area at the same time, or even festive fireworks being launched during an Independence Day celebration, could cause an area to violate federal ozone standard thresholds. Such a violation of the EPA’s unreasonably low ozone limit would result in fines and other penalties for local governments from federal regulators.
ON A HAPPIER NOTE, A STORY YOU MAY NOT HAVE HEARD:
Activists Planned to Burn U.S. Flag in NYC Park — When They Showed Up, These Guys Were Waiting
The latest grievance group vying for attention, called “Disarm the Police,” planned to protest the Charleston shootings by burning the American and Confederate flags. They got them lit in a little Weber kettle, but not for long. They were confronted by a band of patriots and what I assume was a Christian biker group called Hallowed Sons. You can just feel in your bones these guys wanted to stomp a mudhole in some maggot-infested liberal AND WALK IT DRY but,true to their cowardice, the protesters ran away, ironically whining for protection from the same police they wanted disarmed. I’m including two videos, one shorter than the other, but both are worth a look.