It is not a fringe

(written April 23rd 2011)

There is no question that Donald Trump has successfully appealed to the racist element of his party and this nation.

This makes Donald Trump himself a racist. We should not however start with Donald Trump since much of this actually started with the so-called maverick John McCain. We can even talk about the Pat Buchanan southern strategy for Richard Nixon or Ronald Reagan whose disarming charm hid a benign racism.

While there have been several reporters who have called Trump out on this and they should be complimented, it would be disingenuous or perhaps naïve to think that this represents a fringe part of the Republican Party or even the nation. There will be many people who will try to diminish the existence of racism (including black conservatives) in the actions of a Donald Trump and others. They will say why must race always be used as a reason. That has always been the throwback position. I don’t expect people to acknowledge their racism as I don’t expect an alcoholic to readily admit to their addiction but that doesn’t mean I won’t call attention to the consequences of their actions.

What is troubling is the public proclamation of faith by the people who appeal to the racist elements of our nation. Michelle Bachman a Wisconsin Synod Lutheran, Rev. Mike Huckabee an ordained Southern Baptist Minister, Donald Trump (depends on the day of the week) Sarah Palin, John Boehner a Roman Catholic, Eric Cantor Jewish, Dinesh D’Souza President of The Kings College in New York City and now of all people although not surprising Franklin Graham.

As we know all too well, being religious does not mean being moral. I must admit that it doesn’t surprise me that we have not heard mainline denominations respond to the virulent form of politics nor do I expect them to do so given the makeup of many of our denominations. I was pleasantly surprised to hear from the head of the Southern Baptist who denounced this form of politics. Given their history when it comes to African Americans it was a welcome statement.

Someone once reminded me that many white people voted for the president and in fact 43% of the white population did indeed do so. I had to remind him however that there exists in this nation a huge segment of the white population that has not and will never vote for a person of color. This does not mean that the 57% who voted against him did so out of racist tendencies but we must not overlook the racial divide that exists in this country. I had to remind him that this president has received more death threats than every other president put together. African Americans have made the call but the 43% of white Americans who voted for this president must take a bold stand not simply out of support for a candidate but out of a love for this nation.

Sadly you will never appeal to this segment of America based on reason and rational thinking. Unless there is a huge political cost for the Republican Party this line of immoral politicking will continue.

We cannot allow people to say “yes I find these things abhorrent but I like the policies they have.” Selling out the social fabric of this nation for 30 pieces of silver cannot be tolerated.

From Peter King, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal, Donald Trump, the leadership of the Republican Party has become a cesspool of racists and morally corrupt leaders who appeal to the worst of who we are as a nation.

To those who are registered republican voters you need to send a message to your leaders that there will be a cost to pay. To those who preach to republican constituencies not only must the gospel of the generic forgiveness of sins be preached but the sin of racism must be named.

Our nation is once again at a crossroads. We can go down the road of destruction which destroys a fragile social fabric or the road of construction where we build upon Dr. Kings “inescapable network of mutuality” The actions we take will have profound generational implications.