In a new interview, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson explained why he decided to switch from the Democratic party to the Republican party late last year.
Johnson made his comments during an appearance on Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) “Verdict” podcast with co-host Ben Ferguson.
Johnson explained how he grew up poor and how he was raised in a family where religion was a large part of their lives. He said that his family was not political, but they did have a strong moral compass and believed in working hard and following the law.
“And so, I think I was always politically in a weird posture with the Democratic Party, because at its core — and I didn’t understand this at the very beginning — … you sort of inherit the Democratic Party as a cultural heirloom, when you’re African American in this country, it sort of gets handed to you, as part of who you are,” he said. “I had more phone calls with people distraught about this party switch than I ever would have gotten if I had told people that I was actually leaving the church. There’s no question about it. There’s no doubt about it. I will say that loudly and on the record. I had more panicked phone calls from people genuinely concerned about what I was doing and how I could do this than I would have gotten if I’d said I just don’t think I’m into this Jesus thing anymore.”
“At the Democratic Party’s core, as I was saying, is a belief that how things turn out for you in this country are largely determined by things that are outside of your control, the race you’re born, the neighborhood you’re born in, it just kind of excuses away your failures and excuses away your successes to something that’s out of your control,” Johnson later added. “If you’re successful and you’re white males, it’s because of course you were. And if you’re unsuccessful as an African American, it’s both the deck was stacked against you. And I just wasn’t a person who ever believed that. And that wasn’t how I was raised. And it’s not what I was taught. But it was the overarching political philosophy of my party.”
“The winning formula ends up being exactly what the conservative ideology would tell you,” he said. “It has to do with taking upon yourself the responsibility for yourself, and not believing that the Democratic party or any party is there to save you. And the Democratic Party wants you to believe you can’t get there without them.”
