What have Republicans done for minorities?

The following was said by a commenter in the post below:

"As a Republican, I feel the only way we're going to build an honest and permanent majority in this great nation is by reaching out to all people. First on our list should be addressing problems created by racism, inequality in education and distrust in our nation which are long overdue. If we can take this on, we can destroy the Left's last remaining bastion of strength.

If it sounds like I have some experience here, it's because while I am white, my wife is black. It's difficult to extol the virtues of our chosen party to her family, to say the least. When I'm asked "What have Republicans done for minorities in the United States?" I have no good answers. In fact, I come up pretty empty handed."

Well I can answer that question for you. And it is this. The question is the wrong question. Because the government isn't there to help any particular group based on skin color. I mean, think about it. Isn't that an insult to the black community to ask what a party can do for them as if whites don't need to have that question asked?

If a question is to be asked it also isn't "What have the Democrats done for you?" If anything, it should be "What have the Democrats DONE to you?

I grew up in the middle of the civil rights movement in Mississppi. I graduated from a formerly all black high school. I saw first hand the growth of the welfare state that practically destroyed the black family. The root of poverty in this country, black or white, is clearly children born into families with no father present. Nothing will change if that doesn't change. And there isn't a damn thing the government can do about THAT.

The Democrats had good intentions in the 60's. They did not forsee the vicious cycle of poverty that would become generational because of welfare. They did not see that handing out checks to unwed mothers would discourage marriage and make the man unecessary. But that is what happened and that is the root cause of the problems in the inner city.

As Bill Cosby pointed out, the problems that need to be addressed in the black community are ones that must be addressed by they themselves. But just to make it clear. No President has given more money to education for the inner city than Bush has. His "No Child Left Behind Act" was directly targeting the poor communities exactly where he felt the government could do the best, in education. He increased funding for the head start program, another educational program targeted for the poor. And heaven knows he could not have done more for the victims of Katrina.

While I understand Bush's desire for better education for the poor, he too makes the mistake in thinking that money is the answer. We have been throwing money into education for decades and have seen little improvement. It is clear that children who have stable loving homes get a good education. Not because the school is new looking or the books are not old. But because parents are home to make them study, examples are set, rules are in place, and disipline is taught.

Looking for the government to solve the problems of minorities is exactly where the problems started in the first place and it is high time black Democrats realized this.

Next time a relative asks you that question tell them that the Republicans have done for the black community the same as they have done for the white community and the rest of ethnic groups. We don't see people as groups, we just see them as people. And for all of us Republicans have fought the heavy burden of being overtaxed. They fight against beaucracy and red tape for the small business. They fight for the right to life of all unborn children. They fight against social engineering that the Democrats wish to have (gay marriage). They fight against overregulation that strangles entrepreneurialship. For the most part Republicans fight for the exact thing that the black community needs the most...economic freedom. They provide tax incentives for business. It was the Republican's idea to provide "empowerment zones" for poor communites in order for people to own their own home instead of relying on the government. They fought for years for welfare reform in order to get people to work instead of relying on the government.

The bottom line is that the only government programs that truly promote change in the poor communites are the ones that provide economic freedoms, not the social programs that just provide a bandaid to a wound that must be addressed by the community themselves.

I don't want you to think that I don't feel that racism plays into the distrust that the black community feels. I know racism exists. But it is difficult to be bothered by a racist when one's life is full of opportunity and success, both personal and professionally. I feel the distrust is based on propaganda promoted by Democrats in order to keep blacks away from the Republican party. And it has worked. Laws are on the books against discrimination. That is what the government CAN do. The rest is simply up to us.