Lee Atwater’s Infamous 1981 Interview on the Southern Strategy

[pipewrench]

http://www.thenation.com/article/170841/exclusive-lee-atwaters-infamous-1981-interview-southern-strategy

"It has become, for liberals and leftists enraged by the way Republicans never suffer the consequences for turning electoral politics into a cesspool, a kind of smoking gun. The late, legendarily brutal campaign consultant Lee Atwater explains how Republicans can win the vote of racists without sounding racist themselves"

note the audio: the talk on coded racism is very interesting.

[The Magistrate]

1. Excellent Find, Sir

Most crimes are solved because somebody cannot keep from telling someone just exactly what he did....

[aaaaaa5a]

2. This strategy is the #1 reason why we have red states and blue states. nt

[JRLeft]

3. Using racism to win elections.

[craigmatic]

4. Call that nonsense what it is- flat out laziness. They took the easy way out.

It's so simple to appeal to race and fear but it's hard to appeal to people to be better than that and think beyond just today. In the UK they largely rejected this kind of thing because they wanted to uplift the country and their conservatives didn't want to win that way. It'll win you elections for the moment but long term it's a party killer and sooner or later the republicans will learn this fact.

[NYC Liberal]

6. It's worked for them for 40 years and made a lot of people very rich and powerful.

It's worked for a long time, but the whole thing is finally starting to come crashing down.

I think part of it is the influence of the Internet (and specifically social media like Twitter and Facebook) on campaigns. Every stupid race-baiting comment made by any Republican anywhere is almost immediately seen by millions of people very quickly. Before, if some unknown Republican running in a tiny little district had made a comment, they'd just have to deal with the local media. Now, the entire country is on top of it.

[pipewrench]

7. totally agree

What is really interesting is that in the audio the race bating for votes has changed to one where keywords for poor are used to bring together a blue collar / Elite pushback. Now every time I here moocher or lazy it will remind me of the word 'Ni&&er'. The more things change , the more they stay the same.

[NYC Liberal]

10. The real strategy of the race baiting is to keep people divided.

Those in power are outnumbered and they wouldn't want anyone to catch on that poor white folks have more in common with poor black folks than they do with rich white men.

[NICO9000]

5. I was ecstatic when this prick kicked off a such a young age

A horrible POS who helped pioneer the nonsense we still deal with each election cycle. People tried to say he did some deathbed repentance, but FUCK HIM! I'm glad he's dead.

[WestCoastLib]

9. It's not just an "as if"...

It is as if Lee Atwater and present day Republicans are those wealthy Colonial landowners reincarnated. They divide and conquer by any means possible. Even by pitting so-called races against each other so they can maintain dominance. Anything just to stay on top.

It's not just "like that". It is that.

Now, I'm no historian on this subject matter, but I would bet an awful lot of of money that if you did the research you would be able to clearly trace the money through family and business lines directly from the current Republican wealthy to those landowners.

And obviously the republican base is still those same poor southern whites and their descendants. People that, if they were capable of thinking for themselves would have more in common with minorities than with the wealthy they support. Gullible, and used, to the end.

[RBInMaine]

11. That Rat Bastard died quite young of a very painful brain tumor. POETIC JUSTICE !

[moobu2]

12. But he lives on in Karl Rove. nt

[RBInMaine]

13. Yup, but old Karl has a LOT of multi-millionaires pretty damn pissed at him right now. FUCK HIM !