In a Colorado House of Representatives Judiciary Committee meeting yesterday, Colorado House Democrat Susan Lontine told the committee, “I just think it’s really important that we talk about the history of the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party was a major force in fighting to keep slavery intact in the south. That is true.”
When she made the comments, the Colorado Democrat was in a hearing on HB22-1206 – Republican Representative Dave Williams’ bill to combat critical race theory.
Rep. Lontine opened her remarks by saying, “Thank you, Mr. Chair, I really hesitate to bring this up, but I just can’t help myself. I grew up in the south, maybe y’all can tell by the way I talk. I’ve been here in Colorado since 1996 and I’m old enough to remember, I registered to vote for the first time when I was eighteen and that was in 1981. So, back in 1981, when you registered to vote in the south, most people registered to vote as a Democrat.”
The reason most people registered as Democrats, Lontine explained, “had everything to do with the history of the Republican Party’s role in the Civil War and Reconstruction and, the Democratic Party’s role in, at the time, perpetuating slavery.”
The Republican Party during the Civil War was led by President Abraham Lincoln.
In fact, he was the first Republican President and the U.S. President who led the Union to victory in the war.
The full audio of Lontine’s statement is embedded above and linked here for listeners to make their own judgements.