A Black woman explained why she no longer identifies as a Democrat, saying her decision was driven by historical research and policy positions she said conflicted with her values.
She said her views changed after learning details about the Democratic Party’s past that she said were not taught to her earlier in life.
“Here are the five reasons why I’m no longer a Democrat. I had to write it down to remember all of the reasons why,” she said.
She said she was unaware of the party’s historical role in the founding of the Ku Klux Klan.
“When I was in high school, I didn’t know that it was the Democrats who founded the Klan. I did not know that,” she said.
She also cited the party’s opposition to constitutional amendments following the Civil War.
“I did not know that it was the Democrats who voted against the 13th Amendment, the amendment that freed the slaves,” she said.
“I did not know that it was the Democrats who voted against the 14th Amendment which made slaves citizens. I did not know that the Democrats voted against the 15th Amendment, which gave the slaves the right to vote, 13, 14, 15 amendments. Democrats were like, yeah, no, we’re not voting for that.”
She said her understanding shifted further when she reviewed congressional support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“I did not know that there was a larger percentage of Republicans who worked to push through the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 than there were Democrats,” she said.
She referenced Republican Sen. Everett Dirksen’s involvement. “I did not know that there was some white guy by the name of Everett Dickerson, a Republican who was awarded by the NAACP for helping to facilitate and push the civil rights bill of 1964 through. A white Republican did that,” she said.
She also pointed to Democratic opposition during the legislative process.
“I did not know that Al Gore’s dad participated in the largest filibuster to prevent the civil rights bill of 1964 from passing. Al Gore’s dad, he was a part of that,” she said.
In addition to historical issues, she criticized modern policy positions she associates with the Democratic Party.
“I did not know that the Democrats were more pro abortion and they were anti Vietnam, and they were anti war, they were pro abortion,” she said.
She said those positions stood out to her when recalling more recent political campaigns.
“Which kind of makes sense when you remember the night the 2004 Kamala Harris campaign, when they had the mobiles in the parking lot, the, you know, the abortion mobiles,” she said.
She also referenced the origins of Planned Parenthood as part of her reasoning. “And we also have to remember the woman who created Planned Parenthood,” she said.
She concluded by inviting discussion from those who remain Democrats. “So these are the reasons why I’m no longer a Democrat,” she said.
“You come in the comments and let me know why you are still a Democrat and why none of this affects you or concerns you.”
She challenged critics to verify her claims independently.
“And then you can also come in the comments and tell me that none of this is true, because you can Google all of it,” she said.
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