Joan Walsh: The GOP's southern strategy lives on

[babylonsister]

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/republican_party/index.html?story=/opinion/walsh/politics/2010/04/11/gop_southern_strategy_lives_on

The GOP's southern strategy lives on
Some Republicans seem to want to re-fight the Civil War -- and the civil rights movement, too
By Joan Walsh

snip//

Louisiana Sen. David Vitter declared he'd "rather vote for a TV personality than a community organizer" – a big cheer for Sarah Palin! – while Palin rehashed her dumb TelePrompter and "hopey-changey" jokes. A Palin fan explained part of her appeal to Madden: "This is a Christian country, it's not a Muslim country," she said. And Georgia's favorite Catholic philanderer, Newt Gingrich, mocked Obama in a particularly classy way, insisting "What we need is a president, not an athlete," adding "Shooting three point shots may be clever, but it doesn’t put anybody to work." I'm sure race had nothing to do with Gingrich reducing our first black president to one of the most common stereotypes of black men – not only a basketball player, but a show-boating, three-point-shot taking baller who won't even practice his free throws.

Given the shrill, over the top nastiness of the GOP's party weekend, it bothered me Sunday morning to see CNN's Candy Crowley doing a gauzy, soft-focus profile of the SRLC meeting, complete with an admiring sit-down with Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. Crowley asked Barbour if he saw anything wrong with McDonnell declaring Confederate History Month. And – wait for it, Crowley landed an incredible scoop – the Mississippi governor said...no! Crowley also asked Barbour about the anger loose in America today, but she won today's False Equivalence award by equating the anger on the left and the right. Note to Crowley and all of her Erick Erickson-hiring CNN masters: Nasty slogans about Bush don't equal death threats to Sen. Patty Murray, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and now-retiring anti-abortion Democrat Bart Stupak. And irate liberal Democrats threatening to primary Blue Dog Dems aren't the moral or political equivalent of right-wingers spitting on black congressmen and calling them "nigger," or calling Barney Frank a "fag."

Of course, Haley Barbour decried the anger on both sides – but of course, he also linked it to "Americans" being "frightened" of their government. First of all, "Americans" elected Barack Obama president. But more important, this is becoming a regular GOP thing: Claiming that Republicans wouldn't misbehave except for, golly, they're so darn scared of the Obama administration. (Rep. Mike Pence did it the weekend of the healthcare reform vote, when the spitting and slurring of Democrats by tea partiers reached fever-pitch). I don't know what's scarier about Obama than, say, Bill Clinton, do you?

I've said it before: It's a shame how our cautious, centrist Ivy League president, who was raised by his white family, who never fails to seek conciliation rather than confrontation, somehow turned out to be a scary black man. I didn't see that one coming.

[my2sense]

1. +1

[niceypoo]

2. Very well put

"It's a shame how our cautious, centrist Ivy League president, who was raised by his white family, who never fails to seek conciliation rather than confrontation, somehow turned out to be a scary black man. I didn't see that one coming."

Perfect point.

[boobooday]

3. Shameless, racist, idiotic

and unoriginal. That's the GOP of today.

So tired. So last century.

[CTyankee]

4. I love Joan Walsh! She is so good. I love to watch her on Tweety cuz he

obviously respects her and it's always a good exchange (which I can't say about SOME of his exchanges).

I have the feeling that I could sit down and talk with her and we'd agree on so much...she's a great liberal, IMO...

[EffieBlack]

5. She nailed it!

[JoePhilly]

6. They've been painting him as an "angry black man" since the primaries.

References to Rev. Wright ... calling Obama a "Chicago thug" ... claiming he "hates the white culture" ... so on.

It's intentional, and the goal is to upset the racists in the GOP's base.

[KingFlorez]

7. That's because they have nothing else

The GOP can't gain support from the mainstream, so they pander to the fringe. This strategy might sustain them for the next few cycles, but come next decade, it's not going to work.

[harun]

21. Their core ideology is abhorrent so they have to pander to loonies

of many denominations. They cannot simply state their beliefs and get a majority. Beliefs such as white privilege, rich privilege, xenophobia, racism, fascism, oppression of the poor, etc. These are non-starters. So they have to make coalitions with single issue whack-jobs to survive.

It is amazing that in this age a political party is actually going backwards instead of progressing. Without the 24x7 media support they would likely get 3%-5% electoral support. Being as their politics goes to advance the agenda of only 3%-5% of the populace.

If Dem's wanted to really go after them on this they could and it could put a quick end to it. Make them vote on a number of resolutions in the House stating slavery is wrong, Confederate History Month is wrong, Hate speech from the tea party is wrong, etc. etc. It is a horrible waste of time but the Repub's made Dem's do this sh*t all the time when in power.

[terrell9584]

8. Both Ronnie Musgrove and Don Siegelman

Celebrated Confederate Heritage Month within their states.


This is not as big a political issue as people make it and honestly, what happens when these issues come up is that you drive off poor white voters who would otherwise be on our side. Ronnie Musgrove was dumped the way in which he was almost entirely because he even suggested having a vote on changing our state flag. (He tried to play both sides of the issue and ended up getting burned).


Consider that the sole reason Hodges ever got elected in South Carolina was that the GOP governor at the time suggesting removing the rebel flag from the state house. That and video poker money got them their first Dem governor in 16 years in what was truly the only Republican state in the South at the time. He then suggests removing the flag from the capital. That single thing gets Sanford elected.


Of course, if you're not from the South you really can't get it. You can't understand the history and you can't understand why it is the way it is.

[TankLV]

20. Let me be the first to say this to you: YOU'RE A FUCKING RACIST TROLL!

So you don't see the racism in the "confederate" crap? NO SURPRISE!!!

NOTE: THE CIVIL WAR WAS ABOUT SLAVERY. PERIOD. THE FUCKING TRAITOROUS SOUTHERN SENATORS, PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT SAID SO MANY TIMES!!! Until we beat your sorry traitorous asses, then they conveniently tried to forget those words IN PUBLIC!!!

[political_Dem]

9. Excellently Made. The essay hits the nail on the head.

It's no secret what the RNC is doing. They are using these dog whistles to diffuse the effect of the 2008 elections. They will do what they have to do to put wedge issues into the American consciousness because that's how they win. The RNC is a party devoid of a platform, so that have to roll in the gutter in order to make sure their candidates get back into positions of power.

Like what Lee Atwater did with the entire Willie Horton thing, the RNC is trying to use race and the economy as a way to rip the country apart. Is it any wonder that they are standing by while the Teabaggers get violent and openly assault sitting members of Congress?

It is all par for the course.

I only wish that the DNC could see this and try to take the RNC head on before we return back to the malaise that had taken over our country for eight long years under Bush's watch.

[Grand Taurean]

10. The GOP owns this one.

Obama is a centrist/soft on the establishment mush. There is nothing 'radical' :eyes: about him. Now why does this term radical always come up when talking about non right wingers, yet there is no such titling attached to the far right?

[Cha]

16. President Obama is actually an intelligent

pragmatist.

[wisteria]

11. Yeah, repeal the Civil Rights Amendment and Repeal the verdict on the Civil War.

Don'tcha know the South is always right.

[grantcart]

12. well we will see how well it works in the Northeast and the West

The Republican Party is committed to becoming a regional party.

[sonias]

13. Let's keep them a regional party

And pretty soon we'll be able to overcome their tiny brained party in the South too. They keep moving backward while the rest of us keep moving forward.

Let's just leave them behind!

[ccharles000]

14. k/r

[Cha]

15. neut and palin are so jealous of our President and

First Lady...you tell by the way they won't aknowledge the facts about President Obama..and resort to their stupid rhetoric.

This ignorant hate is going on now in 2010..think how amplified it will be in 2012.

[SpartanDem]

17. K&R

[craigmatic]

18. When did it ever die? Until a democrat wins Alabama in a presidential election the southern

strategy is always going to exist.

[TankLV]

19. Exactly what I've been screaming at the TV for MONTHS now...