Herman Cain is catching flack for having suggested that many black men and women have been "brainwashed."  His comment was in an answer to a question posed on CNN as to why blacks overwhelmingly vote for Democrats.  Cain said they refused to open their minds.  

I have listened to this story multiple times and when asked why it might be so that blacks voted Democrat at a rate of 90%, 88% and 95% for Gore, Kerry, and Obama respectively no one seems to offer a solid reason as to why this might be so.  I have a theory.

Republicans emphasize the individual.  Republicans, particularly conservative Republicans, believe in the tenets of the US Constitution, a document intended to limit the power of the federal government and reserve all rights not provided the federal government to the people and to the states.  Within each state, citizens have the right to determine in more local environments how much liberty they are willing to sacrifice to the state or local government and which powers they wish to preserve for themselves.  At the heart of this, is the individual.

Too many blacks gain their identity from their membership in their racial group.  I believe this is understandable.  During our nation's first 80 years black men and women, at least those who lived in the South, were slaves.  Then for the next 100 years, Jim Crow America segregated and belittled blacks.  We can say things are better now and I think it undeniable that this is true.  Nevertheless, with a history of 180 years of discrimination I believe the average black feels more of an identity with his race than with themselves as individuals.  During those 180 years, they could not have survived as individuals.

The civil rights movement is only 50 years old.  This means that two or even three generations of black men and women have come to maturity with no direct experience dealing with segregation.  Still, the history is there and the younger generations are unforgiving.  Worse, they imprint segregationist attitudes on all whites.  Then worse still, they apply credit to the wrong party for having ended Jim Crow and ended segregation. 

Why is this?  Individuals are the focus of Republican positions.  When Republicans speak of prosperity or needed laws they do not argue from the perspective of the groups that will benefit because they do not care about lines that divide.  Republicans promote positions that extend individual liberty.

Democrats propose and promote laws and policies directed toward groups.  They speak of equality to benefit persons who belong to favored Groups.  Programs like the War on Poverty, Affirmative Action, Healthcare, Medicaid, Education, etc. are designed toward meeting the needs of blacks and many blacks see their racial group as gaining an advantage from these programs.  Yet, which of these programs has truly benefited black men and women?  To gain welfare for his family, the black father had to leave the home.  Without the presence of a male role model or parental authority in the home, illegitimate birth rates of black women have gone from 20 to 72% between 1965 and 2007. 

Were it not for Republicans, the 1964 Civil Rights Bill would never have passed.  Mostly Democrats, for example, Senator Gore from Tennessee, Senator Byrd from West Virginia, Senator Fulbright from Arkansas were vehemently opposed to the Civil Rights Bill.  Six years earlier, President Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, enforced Brown v. Board of Education and integrated Arkansas schools.  Blacks should praise Eisenhower.  His willingness to exercise authority and send troops to Little Rock took a special courage, one normally found only in a first step.  Still, Democrats promote targeted benefits to pay for free housing, pay for schooling, pay for meals, and other amenities targeted toward blacks and other favored groups.  What many blacks do not realize is that by accepting payments from the government, the government has become their keeper.  Many blacks are now dependent on the government and of course, they vote Democrat in great numbers.  It would be telling if the black vote were to be analyzed as going Republican or Democrat based upon the incomes, the education, the professions, and the ages of those in their samples.  I believe that when blacks become more educated and independent of the government they begin to understand the benefits of individualism and these are the black men and women we see at Tea Party rallies and these are the black men and women we see voting Republican.