Good column, Mike. But where, as a social scientist, is your data? Dependent, independent variables. You certainly cannot pass that off as liberal. Control variables. Not a liberal idea. Your anecdotes are compelling. But the first thing you learned in graduate school is anecdotes are not systematic. Remember the medical research examples. C'mon. You know know better than that!

I'll never forgive Ollie for selling out Reagan. Check the trial ... check the Supreme Court case.

Loving v. Virginia ... read the cases that are cited in the full opinion ... and report back.

Hey, Dennis. Good points there. Nice writing. But ... now ... explain to us ... How in southern US history, whites refused to worship with blacks. Explain to us how and why the Bible was used to justify slavery ... I love the Bible ... I do detest how the Bible has been used to justify superiority, denigrate those who are less wealthy and powerful, and justify the powerful and their un-biblical ways of preserving power.

No depth. No historical context. Uses generic terms .. politicians. Still uses the 47% (ask Mitt) without context. C'mon dude. We expect better. You are not Buckley. Quit tryin'. Buckley made people think. Demanded knowledge. You are rather superficial.

Wrong Heretic. Very wrong.

The White Caucus is called the Federal Government. From 1789 forward .

Answer me this as well. How many black Republicans serve in the U.S. House of Representatives? How many are Democrats? Did all the blacks in the U.S. House of Representatives sell their "souls" (in your words) for "baubles?" How many ... go look it up. How about in the state legislatures of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina? How many are there? Did they sell their souls?

Explain to me Bick4 ... why the Republicans in the election of 1876 caved? Explain to me how Reconstruction ended? Explain to me why Republicans controlled the apparatus of the national government and did nothing about lynching, Jim Crow, poll taxes, literacy tests, church bombings and burnings. They controlled the freaking national government and walked away from the Party of Lincoln. Never lifted a finger from the end of Reconstruction until when .... well you answer ... Including ... no votes from the Republican candidate for president in 1964 on the Civil Rights Act; no votes for all southern Republicans on the same act.

Mr. Hawkins, In an effort to be dramatic, you misuse and cheapen the term, "racism." "Racism" means a belief in the superiority -- genetic -- of one race over another. And then building a "regimen" of policy to enforce that. It involves the elite of states, cities and towns -- White Citizens Councils, for example -- enforcing a punitive and violent reaction to anyone who questioned the "proposition of racial inferiority." That is racism my friend. I'll not defend the quotes you mention. Many are stupid, ignorant, and uninformed ... for whatever motive. Call it prejudice, insensitivity, bias, stupidity. I'll join you in that. But you cheapen the meaning of racism as you can see from the response left in your wake.