The Last Race-Baiting Campaign...

[_Bob Loblaw]

Actually, when I look strictly at the campaigns, I think Romney's was better in this aspect than McCain's.

Totally agree. McCain's campaign operated on desperation, which explains Sarah Palin, among other things.

[_Res Ipsa]

And what do you imagine is the origin of the birther movement?

Apparently, it has its roots in this memo from Mark Penn of Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2008.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc ... 008/37952/

I think the whole thing is disgusting, but it's not a uniquely Republican issue. Apparently, it's fine for Democrats to say Obama lacks connection to American roots and values.

Nope, it's not okay. But it's a far cry from claiming he was born in Kenya and his birth certificate is fake.

[_EAllusion]

Yet the most irrational among us constitute the power base of the Republican party. A sure path to defeat, sure. But will that cause them to stop being who they are?

Suppose you are a wackjob who buys into the content of WND, CNS News, World Mag, Human Events, etc.

The smartest thing you could do to see your ideals realized is to never relinquish power on the party and just wait for the day that anti-incumbent sentiment sweeps you into power. It's inevitable.

[_Res Ipsa]

Yet the most irrational among us constitute the power base of the Republican party. A sure path to defeat, sure. But will that cause them to stop being who they are?

Suppose you are a wackjob who buys into the content of WND, CNS News, World Mag, Human Events, etc.

The smartest thing you could do to see your ideals realized is to never relinquish power on the party and just wait for the day that anti-incumbent sentiment sweeps you into power. It's inevitable.

As inevitable as a Romney victory was on Fox on Monday.

I wouldn't bank on inevitable.

[_Bob Loblaw]

Nope, it's not okay. But it's a far cry from claiming he was born in Kenya and his birth certificate is fake.

Which I think is lunacy and reflects the desperation of a lot of conservatives.

[_beastie]

Yeah, and Rick Santorum was really talking about "bla" people.

Atwater on the Southern Strategy

As a member of the Reagan administration in 1981, Atwater gave an anonymous interview to political scientist Alexander P. Lamis. Part of the interview was printed in Lamis's book The Two-Party South, then reprinted in Southern Politics in the 1990s with Atwater's name revealed. Bob Herbert reported on the interview in the October 6, 2005, edition of The New York Times. Atwater talked about the Republican Southern Strategy and Ronald Reagan's version of it:

Atwater: As to the whole Southern strategy that Harry S. Dent, Sr. and others put together in 1968, opposition to the Voting Rights Act would have been a central part of keeping the South. Now [the new Southern Strategy of Ronald Reagan] doesn't have to do that. All you have to do to keep the South is for Reagan to run in place on the issues he's campaigned on since 1964 and that's fiscal conservatism, balancing the budget, cut taxes, you know, the whole cluster.

Questioner: But the fact is, isn't it, that Reagan does get to the Wallace voter and to the racist side of the Wallace voter by doing away with legal services, by cutting down on food stamps?

Atwater: You start out in 1954 by saying, "Nigger, nigger, nigger." By 1968 you can't say "nigger" — that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states' rights and all that stuff. You're getting so abstract now [that] you're talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you're talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites. And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I'm not saying that. But I'm saying that if it is getting that abstract, and that coded, that we are doing away with the racial problem one way or the other. You follow me — because obviously sitting around saying, "We want to cut this," is much more abstract than even the busing thing, and a hell of a lot more abstract than "Nigger, nigger."[6][7]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Atwate ... n_Strategy

I've lived in the south my entire adult life. I live in a community with a significant African-american population, and a significant population with confederate flags flying. I know code words and dog whistles when I hear them.

I imagine someone who has not lived in a similar community wouldn't recognize them.

[_beastie]

by the way, Lawrence Wilkerson's reaction to Sununu claming Powell endorsed Obama solely due to race:

My party, unfortunately, is the bastion of those people -- not all of them, but most of them -- who are still basing their positions on race. Let me just be candid: My party is full of racists, and the real reason a considerable portion of my party wants President Obama out of the White House has nothing to do with the content of his character, nothing to do with his competence as commander-in-chief and president, and everything to do with the color of his skin, and that's despicable.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/2 ... 27721.html

[_bcspace]

in my opinion, Mitt and the republicans decided to make a wild gamble this election. They decided to try and win the election mainly through the power of the white vote

Your opinion doesn't match reality. There was no race baiting in the Republican campaign, just a resignation that there was nothing that could be done (which I disagree with). The Democrats on the other played the race card with voter ID (furthering erroneous racist notion that blacks aren't smart enough to get and use a photo ID) and played up the notion that blacks intrinsically, can't or shouldn't vote Republican.

[_beastie]

in my opinion, Mitt and the republicans decided to make a wild gamble this election. They decided to try and win the election mainly through the power of the white vote

Your opinion doesn't match reality. There was no race baiting in the Republican campaign, just a resignation that there was nothing that could be done (which I disagree with). The Democrats on the other played the race card with voter ID (furthering erroneous racist notion that blacks aren't smart enough to get and use a photo ID) and played up the notion that blacks intrinsically, can't or shouldn't vote Republican.

People like you are the reason republicans lost spectacularly.

[_Jason Bourne]

I don't know. Even mentioning immigration reform and entitlements was labeled racist. Making fun of the president's golf game was said to be racist. Even Tagg Romney's joke about punching was called racist.

I'd hate to think what would have happened had the campaign overtly traded on racial fear.

Yep.

Sorry beastie but I think the idea that this was a race baiting campaign is based on disingenuous spins like, well, you are doing now. Challenge the president, you are a racist.

Ok, I am really sick of this crap. Your guy one. Why not just celebrate.

A for the republican party, yes it needs changing. Time will tell. But race baiting? Hardly.