Paul Krugman: Republicans and Race

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: Republicans and Race
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: November 19, 2007

Over the past few weeks there have been a number of commentaries about Ronald Reagan’s legacy, specifically about whether he exploited the white backlash against the civil rights movement. The controversy unfortunately obscures the larger point, which should be undeniable: the central role of this backlash in the rise of the modern conservative movement.

The centrality of race — and, in particular, of the switch of Southern whites from overwhelming support of Democrats to overwhelming support of Republicans — is obvious from voting data. For example, everyone knows that white men have turned away from the Democrats over God, guns, national security and so on. But what everyone knows isn’t true once you exclude the South from the picture. As the political scientist Larry Bartels points out, in the 1952 presidential election 40 percent of non-Southern white men voted Democratic; in 2004, that figure was virtually unchanged, at 39 percent.

More than 40 years have passed since the Voting Rights Act, which Reagan described in 1980 as “humiliating to the South.” Yet Southern white voting behavior remains distinctive. Democrats decisively won the popular vote in last year’s House elections, but Southern whites voted Republican by almost two to one.

The G.O.P.’s own leaders admit that the great Southern white shift was the result of a deliberate political strategy. “Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization.” So declared Ken Mehlman, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, speaking in 2005.

And Ronald Reagan was among the “some” who tried to benefit from racial polarization....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/19/opinion/19krugman.html?em&ex=1195621200&en=0c2b983aef85e6ab&ei=5087%0A

[Broke Dad]

1. Central tenet in his book too

Heard Krugman at the Englert Theater in Iowa City promoting his new book.

He said that Hillary was the least progressive Democrat in the race and the least likely to follow through on progressive reforms based on her Washington DC alliances.

[yellowcanine]

2. No kidding, Remember the "Cadillac driving welfare queen"?

Reagan flat ass made it up. Of course he never said anything about the woman's race. He didn't have to.

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-welfarequeen.htm

[DeepModem Mom]

3. Yes, indeed. Thanks for the link, yellowcanine. nt

[McCamy Taylor]

4. When I posted at DU that anti-immigration appealed to racism, I was nailed to a cross.

Same happened at DailyKos.

Maybe, being Krugman, he will fare better, especially since he tip toes around the issue and sort of implies that only white Southern Republicans are guilty.