Monday, July 7, 2008

On race, Helms and Reagan

Andrew Sullivan points us to this quote from Jonathon Rauch,

The difference between Reagan and Helms is the difference between a conservatism of hope and a conservatism of resentment.


Oh, please.

I'm curious, was it hopeful when candidate Reagan went to Philadelphia, Mississippi and spoke of "state's rights?"

Was Reagan protege Lee Atwater representative of the hope that Rauch writes of?

Was it hopeful when Reagan opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act?

Was it hopeful when President Reagan backed Bob Jones University and their race based discrimination?

I'm not saying that all or even most Republicans are bigots. It's clear though that stain of racist politics touches many of the leaders of the GOP of the last 50 years. One cannot just gloss over that history by declaring that Reagan was for hope where Helms was for resentment. Reagan cynically exploited the resentment that Helms stoked for his (Reagan's) own political gain. Is it worse to be a racist in your heart and mind like Helms or to cynically exploit that racism for political expediency like Reagan? I'll leave that up to you to decide.

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