Stranger "Marriage"

[RINO Tom]

As we all know, Blacks (who could vote, that is) voted pretty loyally Republican from the time following the Civil War until the voting bloc largely abandoned the GOP for FDR and the Democrats during FDR's first re-election bid, and they have largely remained loyal Democrats ever since.  Neither marriage was even close to perfect, but which one do you think was stranger?

- Blacks who voted Republican following the Civil War obviously had a very compelling reason to; they were supporting the Party of Lincoln and the party that was more associated with the Union.  Many felt they owed their ancestors' freedom to the Republican Party, and the Republican Party definitely felt entitled to their votes (a reason, I'd argue, why they eventually lost it).  However, I think it's pretty hard to argue that Black voters weren't largely voting against their economic interests by voting people like McKinley, Harding, Coolidge, etc. into the Presidency.

- Blacks also had a pretty good reason to switch over to the Democrats post-Great Depression.  Democrats largely abandoned their anti-civil rights past, and the New Deal programs of FDR undoubtedly helped Black Americans.  Combined with some Republican overtures to racial animosity in America's suburbs during the '60s and '70s, it's really no secret why Republicans haven't been able to win them back either.  However, especially when looking at elections in the '40s, '50s and '60s, one cannot simply ignore Democrats' rather unfortunate racial history, and it's undeniable that Blacks who voted in Northern Democrats to Congress were helping a party that continually put Southern Democrats (the staunchest opponents of civil rights legislation) into influential leadership positions keep control of Washington.

Which do you think was a more awkward marriage?