"Birtherism" as the new repub Southern Strategy

[pampango]

http://www.frumforum.com/the-gop-finds-its-birther-voice

So why the embrace of a crackpot theory—that the President was not in fact born on American soil, in Hawaii, as otherwise proven—by influential public leaders and potential Presidential candidates? Why this obsession with the president’s birth certificate rather than his policies at a time the U.S. is fighting three wars and a despondent economy?

Perhaps given the recession-driven economic and social dislocation of recent years, given the disruptions and uncertainties caused by a decade of war, it’s not surprising those who believe themselves marginalized have embraced a one-size-fits-all rationalization for their woes. And it’s reminiscent of those coded Republican “Southern Strategy” appeals of an earlier generation. Whether it’s Birtherism now or Bircherism during the Cold War, fevered conspiracy theorizing can find passionate – if limited — audiences during times of national stress and trauma. But Republican presidential hopefuls should be offering compelling solutions to those same problems — dreaming dreams of victory which fire the imaginations and win the votes of the many, not indulging the paranoid fantasies and prejudices of the few.

“What’s interesting about our country, if you study history, is that there are some ‘isms’ that occasionally pop up,” he said. “One is isolationism and its evil twin protectionism and its evil triplet nativism. So if you study the ’20s, for example, there was an American-first policy that said, ‘Who cares what happens in Europe’?’ And there was an immigration policy that I think during this period argued we had too many Jews and too many Italians, therefore we should have no immigrants. And my point is that we’ve been through this kind of period of isolationism, protectionism and nativism.

He’s not alone in thinking so. But those best placed to accelerate such a process, those capable of demonstrating contemporary conservatism is not a racially-exclusive ideology or a culturally intolerant one, remain entirely more fixated on nativism’s short-term political utility. They seem to have spared nary a thought for any long-term harm it will do to either the country or their own cause in ‘12.

[baldguy]

1. Rebranding racism.

New, attractive & colorful label. Same old shit inside.

[CTyankee]

2. That, and collective madness...

[fascisthunter]

3. wow... lot's of stupid fools who fall for this shit