Race and the Republican Party

8 Things About The Conscience of a Liberal #6
What I Learned from Paul Krugman's The Conscience of a Liberal

I'd say that the politics of white backlash, which have been integral to the success of movement conservatism, are losing effectiveness for two reasons: America is becoming less white, and many (but not all) whites are becoming less racist.

It is an undeniable truth that the economic policies advocated by progressives do more for the quality of life for more Americans than those advocated by movement conservatives. Despite this, so many people still support conservative economics and conservative politicians. Why would they support those who clearly don't have their best interests at heart? Easy. Race.

The exploitation of racial fear, paranoia, hatred, whatever you want to call it is a cornerstone of modern conservative politics. They use it to defeat progressive policy initiatives and they use it to get elected.

In the late 1940s, President Truman was poised to being national health insurance to the country. Much like today, the majority of the public was in favor of the initiative. Yet, it fell to defeat. Why? The AMA played a large role, but conservatives successfully stoked the fears of white southerners. Why was that so easy to do? Well, because hospitals would become integrated under Truman's proposal. Conservatives learned that even though a policy might have extra impact in the white south, where there was much poverty, people would still oppose any measure they thought would help the black population. Pathetic, but there it is.

In 1964, Goldwater became the first Republican to do well in the south in a national election. His adamant opposition to the Civil Rights Act and his strong support of states rights ingratiated him to many southerners who were ready to forgive him for belonging to the party of Lincoln. In 1968 Richard Nixon would play on the same fears in his famed "Southern Strategy" that carried him to the White House. Still, it wasn't until 1980 and Ronald Reagan (who even went as far to announce his candidacy in Philadelphia, Mississippi where three civil rights workers were killed in he 60s) that the south truly became Republican territory. Numerous southern Democrats over the next decade and a half would jump parties. Subtle racism had allowed the Republicans to take national office.

How important was the south to the Republican party? Well, considering that the Democrats actually made gains in all other areas of the country during this time, it is safe to say that without the south the Republicans would not have controlled anything. It worked for years and years and years, but times change.

The United States is becoming an increasingly diverse country. The Latino population is rising damn near exponentially. The much smaller Asian population is also growing. This poses a dilemma for the Republican Party. They need to appeal to these demographics if they want to be in power, but appeals to this demographic will turn off the now traditional, white southern Republican. It also doesn't help the Republicans that Americans are less racist every year. They are less fearful. As people open their minds and hearts, they become a lot harder to exploit.

I think the lesson here is that the exploitation of ignorance can only work short term. In the long run, those blessed cornerstones of liberal though: equality and justice will always prevail.