How Jackie Robinson Took on Barry Goldwater

[@FightForFreedom1776]

In the 1964 civil rights act, Republicans in the house voted 138 for and 34 against; Democrats voted 152 for and 96 against. In the Senate, the Republicans voted 27 for and 6 against; the Democrats voted 46 for and 21 against. Clearly, from these numbers, there was no apparent anti-Civil Rights movement in the GOP as Roland Martin, and others, suggest. As a matter of fact, as one of the six voting against the 1964 Civil rights act, Senator Goldwater, on principle, disagreed with the idea of Federal government intervention regarding this matter. “His stance was based on his view that the act was an intrusion of the federal government into the affairs of states and, second, that the Act interfered with the rights of private persons to do business, or not, with whomever they chose.”[3] More specifically, Goldwater had problems with title II and Title VII of the 1964 bill. He felt that constitutionally the federal government had no legal right to interfere in who people hired, fired; or to whom they sold their products, goods, and services. He felt that “power” laid in the various states, and with the people. He was a strong advocate of the tenth amendment. Goldwater’s constitutional stance did not mean he agreed with the segregation and racial discrimination practiced in the South. To the contrary, he fought against these kinds of racial divides in his own state of Arizona. He supported the integration of the Arizona National Guard and Phoenix public schools.[4] Goldwater was, also, a member of the NAACP and the Urban League.[5]

[@FightForFreedom1776]

The Life Analyst you’ve gotta be pretty naive to believe how one man voted on a bill costs the entire party the vote of an entire ethnic group. That’s not even an over simplification, it’s just flat out wrong.

[@griffroundtree8225]

The Life Analyst The effect your stating (the gop lost support from the black population) is true, the cause is wrong. It was not on Goldwater or any republican for the lost of the black vote, but the political genius of LBJ to actively seek out extremist solutions to social problems like poverty and race (ex: Title VII and war on poverty) and then paint every body who disagreed with this power grab by the federal government as racist and siding with segregationist.

[@griffroundtree8225]

The Life Analyst No Goldwater had very real concerns about the Civil Rights amendment that in many ways you can see today. Mlk did have some ties to communist groups and they’re were very real concerns of him being a communist sympathizer since he did accept funding from communist organizations to fund his protest (it’s why the fbi tapped his phones) and Goldwater was not the only one who had these concerns about king. And also king supported LBJ because like many of his close associates like Jesse Jackson, were left leaning politically and thought they could do more change inside the Democratic Party. Opposing the civil rights amendment is racist only if you were doing it for racist motivations. Such as Robert Byrd (D-WV) a former klan member who many prominent Democrats to this day call the “conscious of the senate” Goldwater was not in any shape or form a segregationist. And trying to frame Goldwater as some racist is not fair to him and fair to the actual racist who filibustered the bill for 47 days. And also to the point on the war on poverty Democrats actively campaigned against republicans who opposed the plan as “racist”. And LBJ said referring to the war on drugs “we’re going to have these damn n*****s voting for us for generations”. But good debating man, honestly enjoying the educated discussion

[@griffroundtree8225]

The Life Analyst and also referring to title 7, I’m not saying anything is wrong with it but at the time very radical, to tell people who they can and cannot do business with and associate with was seen as the federal government taking to much power and we’re legitimate concerns to the at the time minority conservative wing of the GOP.

[@griffroundtree8225]

The Life Analyst Okay first things first, pat Buchanan has no influence in republican politics till Reagan, and maybe your right about the LBJ quote it has been stated from people close in administration that he probably didn’t say it but wouldn’t put it past him. But the quotes that he did for sure say are not much better like when LBJ famously called the Civil rights amendment “the N*** bill” and when speaking on his appointment of Thurgood Marshall said “I want the whole word to know his a N***” so let’s not act like LBJ pushed the Civil rights bill because he was some civil rights fighter, he did it to secure a large voting block for democrats, very smartly. And it does matter why Goldwater opposed it, because people like you will come back 60 years later and call him a racists. And don’t Miss represent my point, first off the federal government coming in and telling citizens how to conduct their lives was seen as a infringement of personal liberty and had no precedent in the history of America, that’s why they had to use the commerce clause to even get the damn thing passed because it was most likely unconstitutional, but I am glad that they did. But I have to benefit of hindsight that Goldwater and other non racist proponents of the civil rights amendment didn’t have. History is harsh on those who are on the wrong side of it.

[@JK-gu3tl]

Robinson was an accomplished man but he was clueless when it came to politics.

[@larpsim]

But he had a method to his madness. Unfortunately, it didn't play out the way he wanted. He could visualize in advance and control things in baseball but not politics.

[@maxwell2231]

@@larpsim your point is...

[@AidanK-rv8ks]

Great ball player but a Whiny Rabble rouser