You can purchase an autographed copy of Anything But Straight by sending a $35 check or money order to:
-------------------------
Wayne Besen
PO Box 25491
Brooklyn, NY 11202
It would be wrong to say that the majority of Republicans are racist. But, it is fair to say that racists have comfortably nested in the GOP for quite some time. Since President Richard Nixon employed his infamous "Southern Strategy," bigots, xenophobes and homophobes have been sought after Republican constituencies.
Beginning in the late 1960's and extending through the present day, the GOP reframed its racism, branding itself "conservative." A word that once stood for small government came to stand for small minds that voted in large numbers. This new political deformity hid its hatred behind calls for "states rights" and "personal responsibility." (To be fair, in the early days, many Democrats were also segregationists)
Notorious Republican dirty tricks artist, the late Lee Atwater, explained the party's tactics.
"You start out in 1954 by saying, "Nigger, nigger, nigger," said Atwater. "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."
In a stunning repudiation of its recent history, the Republican Party elected Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele, who is African American, as its chairman. He defeated a repugnant, nose-holding cluster of clowns, including Katon Dawson, head of the South Carolina GOP, who had recently quit his membership in an all-white country club, and Chip Saltsman, the Tennessee party leader who handed out a Christmas CD that featured the song, "Barack the Magic Negro."
Sure, it took more than five hours and six ballots for Steele to win. The outcome shows, however, that many GOP leaders understand that the party must change or face continued failure at the ballot box. Of course, Steele's ascension does raise serious questions: Will white supremacists continue to support a party that is led by a black man? If they do exit the party, will a new, reformed GOP be able to attract enough new voters to replace them?
To answer the first question, former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke sent out a press release headlined, "To Hell with the Republican Party," and said that, "GOP traitors appoint Obama Junior as Chairman of the Republican Party."
Steele tried to answer the second question by saying, "We're going to bring this party to every corner, every boardroom, every neighborhood, every community."
Every community? Does this mean we should expect to see official GOP booths at Gay Pride?
The Stonewall Democrats don't seem to think so. The group stressed that as Lt. Governor, "Steele made himself a public advocate for the Alliance for Marriage, a radical anti-marriage group which initiated efforts to pass a federal constitutional amendment to bar same-sex couples the freedom to marry." In 2005, Steele also "headlined a "'Defend Marriage Rally.'"
While this is not encouraging, it is clear that in its selection of Steele, the GOP was not simply looking to replace racism with homophobia by selecting the most anti-gay black candidate they could find. If that were the case, they could have chosen former Ohio Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell, who once compared gay people to "arsonists and kleptomaniacs."
So, it is clear that the GOP chose to embark upon a strategy to win back mainstream voters and Independents, rather than simply pander to the Bible thumping base.
The big question the mainstream media is afraid to ask is: Will Steele's election sour the Party's relationship with the Religious Right?
While most social conservatives are not racist, it would be naive to deny a connection exists. Indeed, a map of GOP strongholds is essentially a map of the old confederacy - which happens to be called "The Bible Belt."
In 2001, the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins addressed the Council of Conservative Citizens, which was formed as the successor organization to the White Citizens Council. The Nation magazine claimed that in 1996, Perkins paid David Duke $82,000 for use of his mailing list.
The most powerful man on the right is Rush Limbaugh, widely known for his racial insensitivity. And, let's not forget the former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, who stepped down from his leadership position after he was broadly criticized for toasting, a little too enthusiastically, the career of segregationist Strom Thurmond.
To rebuild the GOP, Steele will have to choose between the inclusive Big Tent and the intolerant Big Steeple. The religious right won't accept a party that supports even modest rights for gay people, while moderate and younger voters will never trust a party that is anti-gay. The sooner Steele realizes that to get Republicans elected, social conservatives must be ejected from the party - the quicker he will be able to save the GOP.
22 Comments:
To be very cynical, I don't think the GOP is really interested in having a black person lead their party at all. This is mere window dressing. I think its more to do about Steele being used and manipulated to attract black Obama supporters. They did the same when McCain chose Palin to give the impression that even republicans can have a woman on the ticket as if moderate female voters or Hillary supporters would have voted for Palin anyway. This is so transparent. I hope it backfires on them.
posted by Anonymous, at
2/03/2009 12:43 PM
To be very cynical, I don't think the GOP is really interested in having a black person lead their party at all. This is mere window dressing.
I agree....but the symbolism is still strong and is meaningful. Just imagine if in 15 years a gay person runs the RNC. It may only be symbolic, but it still matters.
posted by Wayne Besen, at
2/03/2009 1:50 PM
Wayne, check out this one from PageOneq, interesting indeed.
http://pageoneq.com/news/2009/Steele_GOP_should_reach_out_to_supporters_of_gay_rights_a_0202.html
posted by Anonymous, at
2/03/2009 3:24 PM
Actually, I would have to disagree with you on one point. The overwhelming majority of social conservatives are viciously racist. People forget that one of the motives behind the anti-choice movement always has been to force white women to have more white babies.
Some Christian Right leaders, like Adolph Hitler and Pat Buchanan, have openly stated this. Most others don't because of our society's weird double standard. Racism is still largely acceptable as long as the racist doesn't openly express it.
posted by libhom, at
2/03/2009 10:36 PM
Well, I for one am very happy with the nomination of Michael Steele for chairman of the GOP. He will bring together diversity and hopefully change the party for the good. This is progress guys. I don't understand the cynicism. Michael is a good man...
posted by TrevorHere, at
2/20/2009 1:37 PM
When the Wow Gold wolf finally found the Buy Wow Goldhole in the chimney he crawled wow gold cheap down and KERSPLASH right into that kettle of water and that was cheapest wow gold the end of his troubles with the big bad wolf.
當我們有一發明或創作，為了保護其正當權益，向智慧財產局提出專利申請，經過審查認為符合專利法之規定，而授與專利權，給予物品專利權人在一定期間享有專有排除他人未經其同意而製造、販賣、為販賣之要約、使用或為上述目的而進口該物品之權。 通常情況，專利申請案件係採屬地主義，專利申請人雖已向外國申請，倘欲在我國受到專利保護，仍應向我國提出專利申請。申請人並應注意主張優先權期限，如逾主張優先權法定期限，又因外國申請案已公開或核准公告後才向我國專利申請，將喪失專利的新穎性。
posted by 商標註冊/專利申請達人, at
8/17/2009 12:23 AM
