Elbert Guillory
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Elbert Guillory (1944–) is a Republican former State Senator for Louisiana who has become increasingly popular among the right ever since he switched parties for a second time.
"Conversion"
On June 16, 2013, Guillory released a video that explained why he left the Democrats and joined the GOP.[1] He basically used all the old Republican clichés that have to do with the relationship between the black community and the historical Democratic Party, including the claim that welfare and even food stamps are used as a way to control the black community. He also goes over the history of the Republican Party, which conveniently skips over the Southern Strategy and Ronald Reagan's use of race-baiting that converted many of the old Dixiecrat voters over to the GOP.[2]
Most importantly, Guillory also skips over the fact he was a registered Republican until 2007. He switched parties right before running for the Louisiana House of Representatives in a Democrat-heavy district. He kept the title of being a Democrat when he ran for the state senate in another Democrat dominated district, where Republicans don't even bother running candidates. When he was elected he acted exactly like a Republican would, supporting Bobby Jindal and creationism in the classroom.[3] He was also opposed to gay marriage, "abortion on demand," and gun control. He didn't even like unions.[4][5] Despite him being registered as a Democrat in the first place appearing as if it was purely a political move, the GOP base now loves Guillory for being a black conservative who's "opened his eyes" and is willing to bash the Democratic Party.
His YouTube video, as of now, has over 500,000 views and over 10,000 "likes" and has enjoyed significant support from American wingnut pundits. In short, his seemingly fake conversion was a move of pure political genius. It's speculated he will run for the Senate in the future.
Woo
Beforehand, Guillory was a fairly obscure public figure. He is only notable for having supporting the Louisiana Science Education Act, which opens the way for creationism to be taught in the class room. His basis for doing this was that when a voodoo doctor correctly (as far as we know) diagnosed his condition, he realized that he should keep his mind open about science: “Yet if I closed my mind when I saw this man — in the dust, throwing some bones on the ground, semi-clothed — if I had closed him off and just said, ‘That’s not science. I’m not going to see this doctor,’ I would have shut off a very good experience for myself.”[6]
External links
References
- ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_YQ8560E1w
- ↑ http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/06/19/the_ultimate_black_republican_pseudohistory_conversion_speech.html
- ↑ http://votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/75837/elbert-guillory#.UcPKuHHn_IU
- ↑ http://wonkette.com/518338/conservative-exchanges-democratic-skin-suit-for-republican-democrats-everywhere-yawn-go-back-to-gay-marrying-aborted-communist-babies
- ↑ http://www.humanevents.com/2013/05/31/elbert-guillory-frederick-douglass-republican/
- ↑ http://wonkette.com/515184/louisiana-senate-pretty-much-hates-real-science-but-pretty-much-fine-with-voodoo