How Rand Paul’s libertarian streak ran afoul of history
Some of you may remember the famous Jesse Helms ad of 1990 in his race against Democrat Harvey Gantt, a black man. It featured a pair of white hands angrily crumpling up a letter, while the announcer explained that the man had just been informed that he didn’t get a job because a less qualified minority did. (The ad was written and produced by Alex Castellanos, now a regular on CNN).
Until this week, when I ran across the political flyer to the right from the 1964 campaign, I didn’t fully appreciate the rich political heritage behind the Helms ad, or why it drew such a strong reaction. In ‘64, in the wake of the signing of the Civil Rights Act by President Johnson, Barry Goldwater and his advisers had decided that their best chance was to play to white Southern resentment by pitting white against black on economic terms. (To be fair, it was an age-old tactic that southern Democrats had been using at the state and local levels for decades to keep themselves in power.)
The text of the flyer is a little blurry, so let me make it clear:
EMPLOYEES
READ THIS:
Did you know that Lyndon Johnson’s Civil Rights Bill can get you fired from your job and give it to a person of another race? No matter what ability you have to do your job … or how much seniority you have on your job … you can lose your job because of Johnson’s Civil Rights Bill. This is your last chance. Vote to put an end to racial favoritism…vote to protect your job…your family…your home.
EMPLOYERS
READ THIS:
This is your last chance to save your freedom to run your own business as you choose!
As I’ve tried to make clear, I believed Senate candidate Rand Paul when he insisted that his (now-retracted) opposition to the Civil Rights Act was based on strict libertarian principles rather than racism. On a purely intellectual level, you can make a valid if unconvincing argument to that effect. But the strong similarity between that position and the clear appeal to racism in the flyer helps explain why the public reacted so strongly to Paul’s argument, however based in principle it might be. Paul was naive to expect any other reaction.
The flyer is also an artifact of a transition point in U.S. politics. In 1960, in a race that was decided by a razor-thin margin nationwide, Democrat John F. Kennedy defeated Republican Richard M. Nixon in Georgia by the overwhelming margin of 62.5 percent to 37.4 percent. Even Kennedy’s Catholicism couldn’t threaten the South’s strong ties to the Democratic Party. (And yes, Catholicism was still an issue back then in the South. My Virginia-born grandmother, I’m told, was not very happy to be introduced to my father’s Catholic bride-to-be.)
Four years later, after LBJ’s signing of the Civil Rights Act and Goldwater’s embrace of the tactics exemplified by the flyer, everything changed and Georgia voted Republican for the first time ever. Again, it wasn’t even close, with Goldwater pulling 54.1 percent to LBJ’s 45.9 percent. The only other states that Goldwater carried that year — in addition to his native Arizona — were South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, none of which had voted Republican since Reconstruction.
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365 comments Add your comment
Dave R.
May 27th, 2010
6:59 pm
AmVet, please prove that Scout lied.
Please prove that he he knew what he said was wrong WHEN HE SAID IT.
Otherwise, as I wrote before, please can the “lie” crap.
Scout
May 27th, 2010
6:59 pm
AmVet:
LOL !
Teller of Tall Tails:
LOL ! It will be worse than that …………..
Dave R.
May 27th, 2010
6:59 pm
First on the third!
Scout
May 27th, 2010
7:00 pm
Dave R.:
Thanks but let it go. We may not even have an elevator going to the top floor here.
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
7:00 pm
Dave R…
Okay, you get credit even if you did cheat…you looked it up…now, what does that mean in the discussion of minority civil rights….
Jay…
We made our decision to come back home after two events, I was attacked on the street for being a “g-dd*med Jew” (my magen david must have been the giveaway) shortly after Unmentionable was denied a promotion by a manager who had earlier told him “to go back to the reservation.” This is not to condemn the Northwest. It was, overall, a wonderful place full of great people and we have many fond memories which we choose to dwell on, but, in the final analysis…it was not that different from where we were from and, lessons learned, it was back home to where the rhythms suited our souls…
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 27th, 2010
7:04 pm
Curious Observer
And don’t forget “Little People’s Day”. Nobody else in my lifetime has had anything like that. And he is the only Governor in my lifetime, that left office with a smaller net worth than when he went in. I can remember 3 or 4 who made out like bandits.
Lester was a multi-dimensional man. Like the rest of us, he had his good points and he had his flaws. He came from very humble beginnings and he never forgot it.
And in his later life, Hosea Williams was one of his staunchest defenders. That might seem strange but it’s true.
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
7:06 pm
Hillbilly @ 6:47
You said what I was trying to say, and as always, much better. Thanks.
Scout
May 27th, 2010
7:07 pm
…………… and don’t forget the percentage of the black vote George Wallace received his last time in office.
…………… and don’t forget Senator Byrd “wore the robes” !!!
getalife
May 27th, 2010
7:08 pm
This is my rep:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/27/louisiana-dem-gets-emotional-over-oil-spills-impact/?fbid=IEeO5PQxAPx
He is a good man.
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
7:09 pm
Hillbilly
And who is my hero? Hosea! Had many a great conversation with him…a man not afraid to think and speak for himself…would that we had more like him…
Scout–
Sssh! We’re not supposed to mention the blood genocide of the pesky noble savage from 1865 and the connection thereto…
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
7:11 pm
Lester Maddox and Hosea Williams…one of the reasons I called it a cheap shot…these issues are far, far more complex…and the Indians? Well, bottom line, Richard Nixon was the greatest defender of the Red man who ever sat in the oval office, and John McCain’s record on Indian issues is spotless and a true Fierce Advocate…
Dave R.
May 27th, 2010
7:11 pm
josef, the thing about me and civil rights is that as a believer of the U.S. Constitution, I believe that all men (and women, even though it doesn’t explicitly say so), are truly created equal.
And should be treated as such.
Jay
May 27th, 2010
7:11 pm
I don’t believe Scout lied, by Dave’s definition. I think he eagerly believed and repeated something that was ludicrous on its face solely because it dovetailed with what he wanted to believe.
Any officer who refused to shake the commander in chief’s hand would have called into question his willingness to obey civilian leadership, and probably would have been stripped of his commission.
Scout
May 27th, 2010
7:13 pm
josef:
Slavery was horrible. Genocide is even worse.
As the noted General Sheridan once said (and his photo hangs in many government installations today), “the only good Indian is a dead Indian”.
AmVet, Amvet, AmVet …………. now I did read that somewhere but I could be telling a big lie !
Edgar Welty
May 27th, 2010
7:13 pm
In my view, Rand Paul is clearly an idealist. But does he, as a potential senator, have the ability to write law? To write law, one needs to know what will promote liberty and justice. Rand Paul believes in the ideal of liberty in private business decisions. But he has only recently realized that, in the 1960s South, private owners of restrooms, restaurants, entertainment venues and transport needed be required to open these facilities to blacks. Most “Public Accommodations” were, and according to Paul’s Libertarian ideals, ought to be privately owned. So should these facilites become publicly owned before blacks could use them? Was the “Free Market” going to combat racism in the near term? I think not. At that time, the force of law, was needed to secure blacks the right to move about freely and the justice of equal treatment. Rand Paul, as a potential senator, needs to think more clearly about the need for legal solutions in real imperfect societies, whether in the 1960s South or 2010 America.
Victims
May 27th, 2010
7:13 pm
“My gored ox trumps your gored ox.”
“Nhun-unh, my ox was gored first, I have dates to prove it.”
“Well, I have gored oxen, so that means I have more than you.”
“I have three gored oxen, and that beats a pair.”
Dave R.
May 27th, 2010
7:15 pm
Jay? Your 7:11? Mark the calendar.
We agree on something!
jconservative
May 27th, 2010
7:16 pm
Nice column Jay and nice discussion by your readers. I am a white son of the south, born in 1942 and lived through the civil rights era in the south and mid-atlantic. We still have a long way to go.
What Paul said was politically amateurish as he now knows. Politically one must remove oneself from the intellecual point and speak to the human point. Which is what he did in his “re-statement” of his position.
Scout
May 27th, 2010
7:17 pm
Jay:
I’m not sure about that but I would like to know the answer. Saluting yes and being respectful in conversation and demeanor but a handshake or “pat on the back” I think may be outside the bounds. I will do some research but maybe we have an expert on here who would opine.
BTW: I have the entire graduation video I will be reviewing this weekend. I just know you hope I don’t find a couple ………………
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
7:18 pm
getalife
Again, thanks for the report from the ground. Here is a man who speaks for and from his constituency…what can you say…?
getalife
May 27th, 2010
7:19 pm
Our friends on the right are clinging to a failed ideology and scared to death of being the minority because of the way they discriminated against minorities.
They should pray that the new majority does not treat them like they treated others.
Stop discriminating and you might be treated better when you are the minority because that is the future.
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 27th, 2010
7:20 pm
Josef @ 7:11
I never met Hosea, I knew Lester only in passing but knew some of his family very well. (And some of them didn’t do right by him but I suppose that’s none of my business.) I always thought they had a lot in common, though. They both came from very humble beginnings and succeeded through hard work and perserverance. I always felt that both were looked down on by their respective “establishments”. Neither really had anything in common with the well-to-do, silk stocking crowds.
I don’t know if they always knew that but I think by the time they reached late life, they realized it.
Curious Observer
May 27th, 2010
7:21 pm
And he is the only Governor in my lifetime, that left office with a smaller net worth than when he went in. I can remember 3 or 4 who made out like bandits.
My apologies for Lester’s memory for not mentioning that. He sold real estate almost to the day he died. He left office without the panoply of security details, magnificent estates, and luxury cars. He ate his lunch at drugstore lunch counters.
Dave R.
May 27th, 2010
7:22 pm
getalife, stop taking my money and you might be treated better as well . . .
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
7:22 pm
Dave R..
Here goes on the CDIB. American Indians are the only minority in the United States required “to prove” their status to be considered. No CDIB card, no shekels, no redress, no minority status…CDIB card? Go back to the reservation you pesky savage, quotas are filled…
getalife
May 27th, 2010
7:23 pm
josef.
He helped my family out and continues to help so I know he is a good man.
Trying to convince some cons that he would be much better than vitter.
Tensions are high down here.
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 27th, 2010
7:24 pm
Curious Observer
And if I’m not mistaken, his number was always in the book after he left office. I know if you called him, he would talk to you. Hell, my Congressman won’t even do that.
getalife
May 27th, 2010
7:25 pm
Dave R.
Tell it to the bankers.
Dave R.
May 27th, 2010
7:25 pm
See, josef, this is why I get so much information from you. Since I don’t even “see” minorities, I have no clue about some of the issues involved.
I see humans. Only humans.
I know, a rare and wonderful minority myself!
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
7:27 pm
Hillbilly…
Hosea and I first touched base on matters of the old Atlanta School Board…found we spoke the same language and from there the conversations were free and fun…discretion being what it is, let’s just say he and I had the same opinion of Andy Young…
getalife
May 27th, 2010
7:28 pm
Dave R.
Are you against DADT or immigration?
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
7:30 pm
Dave R
You and Unmentionable would get along just fine…he can talk for months about somebody and then, when you meet them, they’ll turn out to be quite the opposite label than you thought…he says of folks who want to know what he wants to be called “an Indian or a Native American”: “I prefer to be called a man…”
I wish I could be that way, but I don’t have it in my make-up…
Teller of Tall Tails
May 27th, 2010
7:32 pm
When I drove a Nissan, I saw all the Nissans and when I drove a Honda, I saw all the Hondas and …
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
7:38 pm
getalife
Vitter? Now ain’t that one a mess? Louisiana can do better…I mean this IS the land of Huey P and Edwin Edwards… Okay, the point is?
No apologies, no faux chagrin…
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 27th, 2010
7:40 pm
discretion being what it is, let’s just say he and I had the same opinion of Andy Young
That’s sort of what I was getting at in a round about way. Andrew wasn’t the name I had in mind, though. I had a couple of different ones but I’ll just keep mum.
getalife
May 27th, 2010
7:41 pm
josef,
After he was busted wearing diapers with a pros., he has been the gop no man.
A horrible man that dragged his wife out to the shame stage.
One of our worst corrupt senators.
Dave R.
May 27th, 2010
7:48 pm
getalife, I’m against DADT and against ILLEGAL immigration.
getalife
May 27th, 2010
7:54 pm
I know DaveR.
Those humans you discriminate against.
“I see humans. Only humans.”
Is bs.
Scout
May 27th, 2010
7:56 pm
Regarding my 7:17:
I have scoured Articles 88,89 & 90 of the USMJ but can find nothing specific to “handshaking”.
If anyone out there is aware of any case law, please advise.
P.S. One does not have to respect a superior officer ……… one only has to show respect for that officer via military protocol, obeyance of (legal) orders, etc., etc.
Saul Good
May 27th, 2010
7:59 pm
Off topic (slightly)…but then again Mrs. “I Quit” herself endorsed Rand…and then defended his remarks in her typical fashion: blaming the MSM (which she is now part of with her lucrative contract with Fox)… her best advice: “don’t answer any tough questions”… even when their easy ones to begin with.
I’m wondering why THIS isn’t being reported by the MSM (ya know…#1 rated FOX):
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/the-palin-brand/
FTA:
“In the midst of one of the most precipitous political crashes in the Mountain West, Sarah Palin made a mad dash into Boise on Friday, urging the election of a man who had plagiarized his campaign speech from Barack Obama, had been rebuked by the military for misusing the Marine uniform and had called the American territory of Puerto Rico a separate country….
…..And why not? Vaughn Ward, the Republican congressional candidate from Idaho, has the dubious character trifecta of the Palin brand: bone-headed, defiant and willfully ignorant. When told that Puerto Rico was not a country, he said, “I don’t care what you call it.”….
…..”Of late, whenever a candidate with the Palin blessing blows up, she blames it on the “lamestream media,” not personal responsibility. It’s a curious claim, coming from a person who said she studied journalism in college, but is appalled by real journalism.”….
Just as she blamed the “media” for Rand’s stupid comment. It was the MEDIAS fault…they MADE him say it by simply ASKING him a question… I hope one day someone asks him another tough one…like what newspapers he reads (”All of them…you betcha)!
Dave R.
May 27th, 2010
8:05 pm
“Is bs.”
getalife, just because you are not on the same intellectual plane as I am regarding TRUE civil rights, you have no basis whatsoever to determine if what I say it how I truly feel.
I will let the totality of my life’s actions speak for me.
Saul Good
May 27th, 2010
8:06 pm
Oops…forgot THIS part which shows how the MSM like FOX failed to mention how one of their Tea****** candidates got WOMPED even though he raised 6 times the money and Mrs “I Quit” showed up in person to rally for him:
“On Tuesday, this Palin protégé was routed in a huge upset, despite a big early lead in the polls, a 6-to-1 fundraising edge and that Friday fly-in by the former half-term governor, who has Idaho roots. ”
But I guess Rand’s WIN was something they wanted to report about as a HUGE success… they like to skip over reporting their many failures.
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
8:09 pm
Dave R
Okay, we’re agreed on DADT…now, serious question: you say you are against illegal immigraTION, how do you feel about illegal immigrANTS?
Hillbilly:
Would Maynard Jackson and Julian Bond (and maybe Obama) come to mind?
getalife
And she went out there…like Hillary and that “stand by your man” horsesh*t…I kinda like our local lady who, rather diplomatically, said “I’ll cut his d*mned balls off!”
Saul Good
May 27th, 2010
8:10 pm
Dave… Homosexuals have been fighting in combat alongside heterosexuals since cavemen threw stones at one another. Giving homosexuals Equal Rights IS the “civil rights” fight of this current generation. Or do you NOT agree with the part of our Constitution that states: “All men are created equal”…. are they not men(and women)? Do they not deserve ALL the same “rights” as all other humans?
Nice that you “pick and choose” which civil rights other humans may or may not have.
getalife
May 27th, 2010
8:10 pm
Okay rand paul.
getalife
May 27th, 2010
8:13 pm
josef,
Ouch.
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
8:20 pm
getalife
My Little Princess had a bumper sticker that said “Lorena Bobbitt is my co-pilot!”
Saul
Dave is opposed to DADT…
Dave R.
May 27th, 2010
8:20 pm
Sorry, Saul, but that WAS reported days ago.
Nice try.
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 27th, 2010
8:22 pm
Josef @ 8:09
If you were playing darts you’d have a mighty high score.
And on the subject of political spouses, I really admired Gov. Sanford’s wife for kicking his ass to the curb. Handled it perfectly I thought. Only better thing she could have done would be, go to the press conference, stand there ’til he’s through yammering, and then go upside his head a time or two for all the world to see.
theyeshaveit
May 27th, 2010
8:25 pm
Scout said, “OFF TOPIC #1?
Obama dodging question today on Sestak job offer: ” I can assure the public that nothing improper took place.”
Scout, upon being asked to provide evidence regarding his fabrication that the cadets refused to shake Obama’s hand “You’ll have my post by Monday and if it’s not there it’s not there. Big deal.”
Dave R.
May 27th, 2010
8:26 pm
“you say you are against illegal immigraTION, how do you feel about illegal immigrANTS?”
josef, my preference is to send them back if they have broken any non-immigration-like laws, and put them at the back of the line for legalizing them if they haven’t broken any laws. But they have to learn English and they have one year from the time they get to their place in the line to pass their citizenship tests.
And don’t worry about Saul. His rabit nature means he doesn’t try to understand that which is not clear to him.
Dave R.
May 27th, 2010
8:30 pm
Sorry, that would be rabiD nature. . .
Dave R.
May 27th, 2010
8:33 pm
So, getalife, what’s your problem with seeing people other than just humans?
Personally, I think my beliefs make my life easier and less stressful than those of you who are handicapped with seeing “color” as “different”.
theyeshaveit
May 27th, 2010
8:33 pm
Scout said, …………… and don’t forget the percentage of the black vote George Wallace received his last time in office.
Here’s the telling statistics.
National voter demographics
NBC sample precincts 1968 election
% Humphrey % Nixon % Wallace
High income urban 29 63 5
Middle income urban 43 44 13
Low income urban 69 19 12
Rural (all income) 33 46 21
African-American
neighborhoods 94 5 1
Italian neighborhoods 51 39 10
Slavic neighborhoods 65 24 11
Jewish neighborhoods 81 17 2
Saul Good
May 27th, 2010
8:34 pm
My mistake Dave…sorry… (about DADT)… but I know it was reported, but nowhere as much as the Rand “win”…
WWJD
May 27th, 2010
8:36 pm
Scout thanks for confirming that you’re still an idiot.
kayaker 71
May 27th, 2010
8:37 pm
Bozo has his crank in a wringer and it was evident today. He didn’t raise his chin in the air with that arrogant stare at all of the unfortunate little people sitting before him. The soft peddling that he is given by the press corps is nauseating. The only one with balls was Major Garrett when he finally asked about the Sestak affair. Then Bozo shucked and jived (about all you can do with your crank in the wringer) and mouthed some ridiculous answer confirming that he was caught dead to rights by an action, if proven, could result in the firing of his COS or go even higher. That look on your face when you are lying is hard to miss. And today, it glowed like a red neon sign.
kayaker 71
May 27th, 2010
8:46 pm
One more happy event in Bozo land…. Rassmussen today. Only 26% of the American public strongly approve of Bozo and just 28% believe that the country is headed in the right direction. With those kind of numbers, why would you even pretend that you are being effective in running this country? Only a patent narcissist would believe that he is in the right line of work.
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
8:50 pm
Look, Scout may not be top of my list of best friends in the whole wide world list right now (he knows why!
) but he did back down and from somebody who’s had to do it hereabouts, it’s not an easy thing to do…so back off on that one, please.
eyes
I think he was referring to Wallace’s last gubernatorial bid in which he won, I think it was, 95% of the black vote…
Dave R
@ 8:26
We still seem to be on the same page together…but I’m not that strict on learning English…we don’t have a national language for a good reason…having learned languages other than my native English, I know how hard that can be…any immigrant knows that English is the language of access and of the constitional framework and, while they may not ever truly master it themselves, they do insist that their children do…
WestPointGrad1975
May 27th, 2010
8:51 pm
Scout, West Point grads did in fact shake President Obama’s hand. Link provided. army.mil/-news/2009/12/02/31214-president-visits-west-point
Mick
May 27th, 2010
8:52 pm
Scout – if you had the opportunity to meet the president, you would not extend a handshake?
Ape Times
May 27th, 2010
8:52 pm
It is so refreshing to see Bozo finally getting some attention. After he embarrassed Ronnie in that contest to see who could get the banana out of the jar, it has been hard. And when Ronnie found out that Bozo was getting top billing AND top pay in those movies, well! Let’s just say, things were a little touchy for a while around Ronnie’s house.
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
8:57 pm
Mick
Afforded the opportunity to meet this president as just a citizen, I would NOT shake his hand. Were I to meet him as, say, a representative of the teaching profession, I would.
WestPointGrad1975
May 27th, 2010
9:00 pm
As a West Point grad I can guarantee that if their Commander in Chief extends his hand it will be shaken by a Cadet, followed by a smart salute. To not do so would be extremely unprofessional and insubordinate. You really showed your ignorance on that one Scout.
Art
May 27th, 2010
9:02 pm
Thanks WP. Obviously Scout never served his country or he wouldn’t have opened his mouth and inserted his foot like that. He’s definately on the lower end of the Bell Curve.
@@
May 27th, 2010
9:02 pm
Before my time, jay, but in a previous article, a lot of you said you liked Goldwater. I thought another Goldwater was what we needed.
Man, this gets confusing.
Liberal Pariah
May 27th, 2010
9:03 pm
Saul, who knew Obama has the Palin brand down better than she does….’bone headed, defiant and willfully ignorant’…unfortunately that describes the most powerful man in the world. Thanks for the clarity.
Rational Person
May 27th, 2010
9:05 pm
Jesse Helms was an awful racist. We are well rid of him.
And that’s speaking as someone who has been told to his face that he couldn’t apply for a job because he was white and male.
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
9:05 pm
WestPoint
Exactly. That’s why I got so p*ssed when that California Cow didn’t want to be addressed as “ma’am.” Sssh…there is such a thing as protocol, even for the badly mannered…
Sarah Palin
May 27th, 2010
9:06 pm
I can see Russia from Little Diomede Island even though I’ve never been to Diomede. And by the way…
DRILL BABY DRILL!!!!!!!
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
9:07 pm
Rational
No fan of Jesse myself but he did hire James Meredith…
kayaker 71
May 27th, 2010
9:08 pm
“Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice”. Has a nice right to it.
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
9:08 pm
Sarah–
Are you sure you’ve never been to Little Diomede? I’ve wondered that since this whole thing started…
kayaker 71
May 27th, 2010
9:09 pm
That’s “ring” to it.
theyeshaveit
May 27th, 2010
9:11 pm
Kind of off the topic, but did you know about this?
Fox News Erases Applause for Obama from West Point Cadets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rphLuGOUeJA&feature=related
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
9:14 pm
eyes
@ 9:11
Doesn’t surprize me one bit…all the media do this as part of the spin…it’s a tool of the trade…
Bruno
May 27th, 2010
9:15 pm
Where’s Jay tonight?? After Obama caused the market to tank yesterday, it took all of my genius to rescue it and head it back in the right direction today. I think a column dedicated to Bruno is in order.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta-F4NAVURs
For Jay ^^^^^^^
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
9:21 pm
Bruno
I don’t where he is, but he cost me money today. I bet he’d thread on the drop in unemployment in Atlanta and he didn’t…
Legend of Len Barker
May 27th, 2010
9:24 pm
Scout asks, “Do you think there is more pure racism/bigotry/segregation today in the North or in the South ?”
I’ve never lived in the north, so I can’t provide an answer.
The northern experience for blacks was not part of my argument, not is it necessarily pertinent. The South was pretty bad for blacks from the 1700s through the 1960s, period. Does that mean the North was perfect? Absolutely not. But their flaws and their occasional lynching and their problems busing and integrating (and stereotypes of black culture into comedy) does not mitigate to any extent that the threat of violence and severe limitations were a constant in the South until the federal government finally got serious about protecting civil rights for black citizens.
Bruno
May 27th, 2010
9:26 pm
“I don’t where he is, but he cost me money today. I bet he’d thread on the drop in unemployment in Atlanta and he didn’t…”
If you’re accepting wagers, I’d like to make a standing bet that the topic du jour will be a slam piece involving a conservative with an inflammatory photo thrown in for good measure.
Bruno
May 27th, 2010
9:28 pm
One more from the Ohio Players, featured in the movie “Boogie Nights”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUvHgpbNbbU&feature=related
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 27th, 2010
9:32 pm
WestPointGrad1975
You would know better than me but I would think for any cadet to refuse to shake any Commander in Chief’s hand would be to commit career suicide.
@@
A little background on the ‘60 & ‘64 elections from a Georgia perspective. I was very small in 1960 but I do remember people watching the Nixon-Kennedy debate. The only thing I really remember is that Grandma said she was voting for Kennedy because he was a Democrat. If she ever voted for a Republican, I don’t know it. Her reason? “I remember Hoover Days.”
In ‘64 I was a little more aware. My grandma again voted for the Democrat. My Granny never discussed politics that I remember and my Grandpa thought all politicians were “crooked SOB’s” (reckon where I got it?). I don’t really know but I figure he voted for Johnson. If he did, that didn’t stop him from cussing him after he was elected. I can’t actually remember but one or two politicians he didn’t cuss, including a couple of local ones to their face. I remember several other relatives supporting Johnson because they thought “Goldwater is going to get us in war”. My other Grandpa died before I was born, so I suppose he didn’t vote, although around here he might have. Maybe I should check that sometime. Anyway, that’s how it was in a small part of Georgia back then.
Scout
May 27th, 2010
9:35 pm
josef:
Thank you for helping “theyeshaveit” with his reading comprehesion. Notice I said black vote when he was last “in office.” Since he was never President that would mean when he was governor and as you say it was 95%.
Now, Mr. theyeshaveit ……… do you have any more comments or do you want to “retract” your chart on this subject ?
Paulo977
May 27th, 2010
9:36 pm
Flyers uncannily like Sister’s Sarah’s rants against Obama’s death panels and socialism
Del
May 27th, 2010
9:37 pm
Okay now we have the usual bunch of juvenile left wing posters (some who change their handles because they lack the guts to man up) attacking someone who posts comments contrary to their stupid P.C. positions. What a bunch of wastes. josef is the only one who stands up and calls these fools down.
Scout
May 27th, 2010
9:40 pm
Mick:
If the President came to my house I would address him as Mr. President, “probably” shake his hand and and converse with him with the respect due of the office he holds. If still with my prior agency I would protect his life (as President) with my own as I did for all from Ford through George W. Bush.
That said I reserve the right to engage verbally in sharp, strong, political satire much as Luckovich does in cartoon form. And I reserve the right to engage in direct accusations if I feel he has violated his oath of office.
BTW: This “Senategate” thing is really starting to grow legs. If a Republican were in office the MSM would be all over it. Will see what kind of integrity they really have as the weeks go by.
Nosey Neighbor
May 27th, 2010
9:40 pm
Poor Sarah had to put in a taller fence just to get out of the public eye. And all this time, I thought that all she had to do was shut up to accomplish that little goal.
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
9:41 pm
Scout asks, “Do you think there is more pure racism/bigotry/segregation today in the North or in the South ?”
I think the difference is that insofar as the black-white paradigm is concerned, which apparantly we still insist is the only one by which to discuss the issue, the South is probably “purer” since here there is no attempt to call it anything but and thus there is greater honesty. In the North, in my opinion, there is a denial at work which, less “pure,” is far more insidious and more difficult to counter. Personally, I prefer the Southern version since I don’t have to go second guessing. I am not speaking of the legal sanctification which, under pressure, can be done away with, but the social attitudes which cannot be legislated.
Nosey Neighbor
May 27th, 2010
9:44 pm
Did some anonymous blogger just call out an anonymous blogger for being anonymous.
godless heathen
May 27th, 2010
9:44 pm
Since the subject is race, I’ll share a statement I heard the other day, I had to just shake my head at the ignorance, but it did strike me as funny. A super on a construction job I was visiting had a heated argument with a black immigrant truck driver. After the driver left the super said, “I’m not prejudice. I just don’t like the m_____ f_____s.”
Del
May 27th, 2010
9:45 pm
josef,
There was nothing in the South that compared to the Boston riots, the Detroit riots, the L.A. riots or the Cleveland Ohio riots.
Scout
May 27th, 2010
9:46 pm
WestPointGrad1975 :
Sir: I don’t doubt the sincerity of your post. I am merely looking for the exact UCMJ article or case law that places a “handshake” in the same category as a “salute” or proper way of address, “yes, sir”.
As I said before, military personnel must show respect for a superior officer (salute, “yes sir”, following of lawful orders) but they do not have to actually respect the superior officer (a handshake).
If you can point me to a regulation that specifically addresses “handshakes” I would appreciate it and stand corrected.
Scout
India Company
3rd Battalion, 4th Marines
Vietnam – DMZ, 1967-68
Robin's Hood
May 27th, 2010
9:47 pm
Holy Cow, Batman! We’ve got shades of racism in some places and the pure stuff in others. How is it in the bat cave.
Scout
May 27th, 2010
9:48 pm
Del:
josef is the only liberal on here who has any guts and who is at least fair.
Scout
May 27th, 2010
9:50 pm
josef @ 9:41
Precisely ………………..
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
9:51 pm
On the potential scandal…Unmentionable is calling it “Walkonwatergate…”
Del–
Aw, shucks!
Hillbilly
My own Granny was a true Yellow Dog Democrat, called the GOP the “Party of Diocletian of the Potomac” and said, “I’m a woman. The Democrats gave me the right to vote, so why shouldn’t I vote for them.” Cast her last vote for Jimmy Carter.
@@
May 27th, 2010
9:52 pm
Hillbilly:
My Dad REALLY didn’t like Goldwater. I wasn’t around for the election you’re talking about, but, my Dad talked about him being crazy or something like that.
______________________________________________
O.K., I went back and read the Goldwater thread. With the exception of Shawny, the only people that had good things to say about Goldwater, were those on the left.
So let me get this straight…those on the left, like racists? Must have been his isolationist policies.
Weird! and confusing.
Bruno
May 27th, 2010
9:52 pm
“In the North, in my opinion, there is a denial at work which, less “pure,” is far more insidious and more difficult to counter.”
Pardon my French, but how in the hell did you come up with that boola-boola, jo??
And you, lacking 7 generations of Northern predecessors before you, simply can’t understand Northern ways…..
GUts-R-US
May 27th, 2010
9:56 pm
Scout would have the guts to look his CinC in the eyes and refuse to shake his extended hand, for some unknown but totally unrelated to his being only half white reason. Now that’s GUTS.
josef nix
May 27th, 2010
9:56 pm
Robin
Subtlety not being your strong suit…