Echoes of Southern demagogues
Published November 18, 2015
by Thomas Mills, Politics NC, November 17, 2015.
The terrorist attacks in Paris have shown how divided we are as a country. Yesterday, President Obama said in a speech that sending in ground troops to defeat Daesh is not the answer. He also said that the United States would not turn its back on Syrian refugees.
Democrats applauded. Republicans pounced. Throughout the day, GOP governors announced that they would not accept Syrian refugees into their states. Conservative pundits blasted Obama for being weak and hinted that he bears some of the blame for the Paris attacks.
Republicans sense an emotion that they can harness and ride to victory in 2016: Fear. It worked in the wake of 9/11. George Bush may have won in 2004 anyway, but his ads portraying John Kerry as weak sealed the deal for a lot of scared Americans.
Governor Pat McCrory joined the crowd by saying North Carolina doesn’t want any Syrian refugees. Lieutenant Governor Dan Forrest tweeted his support. The party that likes to wear its Christianity on its sleeve turned its back on the teachings of Christ for political gain.
For anybody familiar with the racial politics of the South, the language of the GOP is just too familiar. Make the refugees scary and make rejecting them protecting our way of life. Like the old Southern demagogues who warned us of black men lusting after white women, the Republican politicians warn us of terrorists hiding among the families fleeing terror and war.
And like the old demagogues, they justify their fear by making the refugees inferior. The racist politicians used to portray all African-Americans as having less intellect and lower morals. As one Republican operative said on twitter, “They should be barred because of ideology. They have a world view inconsistent w western civilization.” When pushed he said, “Without a conscience that values the sanctity of life, their world view is inconsistent w the tolerance of the West.” In classic double-speak, he uses lack of tolerance to justify his intolerance.
Politicizing the Paris attacks was inevitable. Republicans probably have a good political issue even if it runs counter to Christian and American values. Particularly in the South, we fear people who are different. The Mexicans and Latinos were bad enough. Now, we’re bringing in Syrians who dress differently and don’t even go to church.
My fear is that the GOP strategy will work.
November 19, 2015 at 6:36 pm
Charles Staley says:
1. Democrat and Republican governors. 2.http://www.newsweek.com/there-no-such-thing-race-283123
3. Governor McCrory did not refuse, he put a hold on more refugees until they can be vetted better.
4. The Democrats were the old Demagogues and not the Republicans.
5. Congress voted with enough bilateral support for a veto override. This is not a Democrat versus Republican issue. To look at it as such is simplistic.
