Only from the mind of a GOP

By Lee Russ

Monday, December 25, 2006 at 02:45 PM

The Republican party and its adherents maintain numerous web sites devoted to their brand of reality. Needless to say, some of the statements found on those sites are a little...interesting.

1. Undated posting on Republicans.org.(Which describes itself as follows: "Our mission is to publish your opinion and to make you the "Voice Of America". Republicans.org is the raw uncensored America. We are in no way connected to the Republican National Committee in anyway.")

President Bush, I am a 15 year-old from Arkansas. I believe you are one of the best presidents ever to reside in the White House. I thank you for your courage to stand by your beliefs and convictions no matter what the democrats or liberal news media try to do to you. I also thank you for bringing your Christian beliefs into your politics. We NEED a man of God like you in Washington. Keep a strong stand on the issues like abortion, cloning, and gay rights(marriages, etc.) You have SOOO much more support than the media tells America you do. I personally think that the war was just even if no WMDs are found---we liberated an entire country from an evil dictator that cared nothing about his people, only himself. God has truly blessed you and your family, as well as America by putting you in the White House. I am confident He will do it again in November. Thank you for all you have done. I pray for you almost every day, and I am confident you have almost every vote from the members of my church -- nearly 15,000. In the name of the Lord God Almighty who controls everything I say these words. Amen. A future Republican voter and Christian Evangelist or Pastor

2. The party of DeLay, Abramoff, Cunningham, Noe and Ney said what about corruption?

On the NC GOP web site, there's a page called democratic corruption.com, with a caption that "It's time to end the Democrats' reign of corruption."

3. African Americans in Texas Politics, from the Texas GOP site

Did You Know?

Currently, Texas is the only state to have 3 African Americans serving in statewide office--all are Republicans: Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, Supreme Court Justice Dale Wainwright, and Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams.

In the 12 years that Republicans have been the statewide majority (1994-2006), 8 minority Texans have held statewide office; yet in the 122 years that Democrats controlled the State (1872-1994), only 4 minority Texans held statewide office.

The Texas Republican Party was formed on July 4, 1867, in Houston by 150 African Americans and 20 Anglos.

2 of the first 3 statewide leaders of the Republican Party of Texas were African Americans.

The first 42 African Americans elected to the Texas Legislature were Republicans.

When the Republicans gained the Texas Legislature in 1869, they established a system of free public schools to educate all the children of the state--something Democrats had refused to do.

The first faith-based program was proposed in the 1870s by Republican African American Senator Matthew Gaines.

When Democrats recaptured Texas government in 1872, Democrat Governor Richard Coke's election was described as "the restoration of white supremacy."

President George W. Bush was the first president to appoint an African American as Secretary of State (Collin Powell). He also appointed African Americans as National Security Advisor (Condoleeza Rice), Secretary of Education (Rod Paige) and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Alphonso Jackson).

With new programs established by President Bush, African American home ownership is at an all-time high.

Of the 4 African Americans who have ever been U.S. Senators, 3 were Republicans.

The 13th Amendment abolishing slavery passed Congress with the support of 100% of Republican members but with only 23% of the Democrat members.

When the 14th and 15th Amendments extending civil rights and voting rights to African Americans passed, not even 1 Democrat in Congress voted for those amendments.

The first item seems of questionable accuracy to me, and most of the rest go waaaay back. Hmmm....wonder what a similar list would look like if the issue was Social Security, or the minimum wage, or 40-hour work weeks, or.....

4. The "Welcome to the Republican Party" statement on the site of the Florida Republican Party:

Good government is based upon the individual and that each person's ability, dignity, freedom, and responsibility must be honored and recognized.