Ronald Reagan and Dick Nixon Racist convo

[joshuabgood]

And now Ronald Reagan. Generally I have always been a fan of his in many ways...sad to see this.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ronald- ... ebYLLuho5Y

[ohio jones]

Nixon seems to have induced the worst in people. Another example is the antisemitic remarks from Billy Graham.

[RZehr]

Maybe. I don’t see it as a reflection on Nixon though. These men are men, not boys, and are fully capable of being true.

[Szdfan]

Article on how Jimmy Carter’s attempt to brand Reagan’s 1980 campaign as racist, backfired on him.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/201 ... arter.html

The Democratic president was referencing a speech Reagan had made to a nearly all-white crowd of 15,000 at Mississippi’s Neshoba County Fair. “I believe in states’ rights,” Reagan had said on Aug. 3, 1980, explaining that he intended to “restore to the states and local communities those functions that properly belong there.” Reagan’s appearance at the fair was part of a strategy, articulated by a Republican official in a 1979 letter, to send the eventual nominee to venues that might draw “George Wallace–inclined voters,” who had begun supporting Republicans as segregationist politicians left the Democratic Party. The Neshoba County Fair, the New York Times reported in 1980, was known for playing host to candidates who delivered “bitter racist diatribes.” It was also located just a few miles away from where civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner were murdered in 1964.

As Naftali writes, “These new tapes are a stark reminder of the racism that often lay behind the public rhetoric of American presidents.” In Reagan’s “states’ rights” speech and in his fixation on Linda Taylor—a “woman in Chicago” who stole loads of welfare money—such racism wasn’t very far below the surface. As a practical matter, though, it was important that these were coded appeals and not overt ones—that Reagan didn’t specify which states’ rights he was referring to and didn’t mention Taylor’s race or call her the “welfare queen” in his stump speech. (He did say “welfare queen” at least twice when he wasn’t on the campaign trail.) That lack of clarity enabled Reagan to take umbrage when Carter talked about “the stirrings of hate,” and to claim that calling out racism was more hurtful and divisive than playing footsie with racists.

[barnhart]

Article on how Jimmy Carter’s attempt to brand Reagan’s 1980 campaign as racist, backfired on him.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/201 ... arter.html

The Democratic president was referencing a speech Reagan had made to a nearly all-white crowd of 15,000 at Mississippi’s Neshoba County Fair. “I believe in states’ rights,” Reagan had said on Aug. 3, 1980, explaining that he intended to “restore to the states and local communities those functions that properly belong there.” Reagan’s appearance at the fair was part of a strategy, articulated by a Republican official in a 1979 letter, to send the eventual nominee to venues that might draw “George Wallace–inclined voters,” who had begun supporting Republicans as segregationist politicians left the Democratic Party. The Neshoba County Fair, the New York Times reported in 1980, was known for playing host to candidates who delivered “bitter racist diatribes.” It was also located just a few miles away from where civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner were murdered in 1964.

This was the first presidential campaign I remember. This went totally over my head, and I suppose over the heads of the majority of white southerners, we just don't have the life experience to make this connection. I was long an adult before I noticed the careful alignment of venue and messaging to capture a voting block.

[barnhart]

Article on how Jimmy Carter’s attempt to brand Reagan’s 1980 campaign as racist, backfired on him.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/201 ... arter.html

... In Reagan’s “states’ rights” speech and in his fixation on Linda Taylor—a “woman in Chicago” who stole loads of welfare money—such racism wasn’t very far below the surface. As a practical matter, though, it was important that these were coded appeals and not overt ones—that Reagan didn’t specify which states’ rights he was referring to and didn’t mention Taylor’s race or call her the “welfare queen” in his stump speech. (He did say “welfare queen” at least twice when he wasn’t on the campaign trail.) That lack of clarity enabled Reagan to take umbrage when Carter talked about “the stirrings of hate,” and to claim that calling out racism was more hurtful and divisive than playing footsie with racists.

The idea of black folks abusing public assistance was a powerful blow in the rural south. If you wonder how American became "so divided", don't overlook this stepping stone along the way. This influenced me just by seeping into white culture. It wasn't until I was well an adult and became suspicious of the narrative that I looked into the actual numbers of who uses public assistance, and I was shamed at my ignorance.

[Josh]

Article on how Jimmy Carter’s attempt to brand Reagan’s 1980 campaign as racist, backfired on him.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/201 ... arter.html

... In Reagan’s “states’ rights” speech and in his fixation on Linda Taylor—a “woman in Chicago” who stole loads of welfare money—such racism wasn’t very far below the surface. As a practical matter, though, it was important that these were coded appeals and not overt ones—that Reagan didn’t specify which states’ rights he was referring to and didn’t mention Taylor’s race or call her the “welfare queen” in his stump speech. (He did say “welfare queen” at least twice when he wasn’t on the campaign trail.) That lack of clarity enabled Reagan to take umbrage when Carter talked about “the stirrings of hate,” and to claim that calling out racism was more hurtful and divisive than playing footsie with racists.

The idea of black folks abusing public assistance was a powerful blow in the rural south. If you wonder how American became "so divided", don't overlook this stepping stone along the way. This influenced me just by seeping into white culture. It wasn't until I was well an adult and became suspicious of the narrative that I looked into the actual numbers of who uses public assistance, and I was shamed at my ignorance.

So. What are the actual numbers?

[Judas Maccabeus]

Article on how Jimmy Carter’s attempt to brand Reagan’s 1980 campaign as racist, backfired on him.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/201 ... arter.html

The idea of black folks abusing public assistance was a powerful blow in the rural south. If you wonder how American became "so divided", don't overlook this stepping stone along the way. This influenced me just by seeping into white culture. It wasn't until I was well an adult and became suspicious of the narrative that I looked into the actual numbers of who uses public assistance, and I was shamed at my ignorance.

So. What are the actual numbers?

Did a quick look. Percentage of self identified blacks is stubbornly higher than whites and hispanics. "American Indians/Alaska natives" is higher still. Latest data I have is 2009, but this goes back years. I wish I had more data, and could norm it for income levels. My opening guess would be if you normed it for education level, the disparity would vanish.

J.M.

[barnhart]

The idea of black folks abusing public assistance was a powerful blow in the rural south. If you wonder how American became "so divided", don't overlook this stepping stone along the way. This influenced me just by seeping into white culture. It wasn't until I was well an adult and became suspicious of the narrative that I looked into the actual numbers of who uses public assistance, and I was shamed at my ignorance.

So. What are the actual numbers?

Did a quick look. Percentage of self identified blacks is stubbornly higher than whites and hispanics. "American Indians/Alaska natives" is higher still. Latest data I have is 2009, but this goes back years. I wish I had more data, and could norm it for income levels. My opening guess would be if you normed it for education level, the disparity would vanish.

J.M.

I think that is true on a percentage basis, but in raw numbers there are so many more poor white folks than black folks in this country that most of the help goes to white people. Its also helpful to realize most public assistance (depends a little which programs you include) goes to those who paid in, like Social Security, medicare and unemployment. This was not the narrative I grew up around.

[Judas Maccabeus]

So. What are the actual numbers?

Did a quick look. Percentage of self identified blacks is stubbornly higher than whites and hispanics. "American Indians/Alaska natives" is higher still. Latest data I have is 2009, but this goes back years. I wish I had more data, and could norm it for income levels. My opening guess would be if you normed it for education level, the disparity would vanish.

J.M.

I think that is true on a percentage basis, but in raw numbers there are so many more poor white folks than black folks in this country that most of the help goes to white people. Its also helpful to realize most public assistance (depends a little which programs you include) goes to those who paid in, like Social Security, medicare and unemployment. This was not the narrative I grew up around.

Yes, it is on a percentage basis. But it may not remain that way for long.