> Matt Taibbi has some great stuff in the chapter in Spanking
> the Donkey on his career as a Rep volunteer in Florida. They
> had one poor guy they'd always wheel out when they needed
> evidence of black support. He kept telling the Florida
> Republicans that they could make some hay by selling the
> moral message to black churches, but they'd never listen. In
> other words, they're so racist they'd sacrifice black votes
> to maintain their racial purity
I remember this chapter well, and also remember thinking that Taibbi got much closer to the psychology of the Republican voter with that one anecdote than Thomas Frank did with his entire book. Frank's book downplayed the role of race, arguing that it was just one factor among many in the backlash. It's not. White supremacy is the lodestone of the post-Goldwater Republican Party. Look at how the Republican base ultimately wouldn't vote for Bobby Jindal in Louisiana -- and Jindal was Indian, not black. It was only what, 15 years ago that David Duke got 60% of the white vote in Louisiana? This is actually one of the reasons I doubt that Lynn Swann is much of a threat to Ed Rendell. Much of the rabid Republican base here (see, for example, grassrootspa.com) is upset about the fact that the Republican establishment forced Swann's nomination through; they say it's because they don't like vapid celebrity candidates, but we all know the real reason.
- - - - - - - - - - John Lacny http://www.johnlacny.com
Tell no lies, claim no easy victories