The Ugly Side of the G.O.P. - New York Times

The Ugly Side of the G.O.P. - New York Times

Wow... Bob Herbert has taken off the gloves with a provocative and hard-hitting reaction to Republicans blocking the bill that would have given DC representation in Congress.

Herbert not only condemns today's Republicans in the Senate but also the decades-old "Southern strategy" Republicans have followed to secure the elections of Nixon, Reagan, and both Bush presidents. It's a powerful piece, but perhaps the most striking evidence of long-standing GOP bias is a quote from the late Republican strategist Lee Atwater:

“You start out in 1954 by saying, ‘Nigger, nigger, nigger,’ ” said Atwater. “By 1968, you can’t say ‘nigger’ — that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states’ rights, and all that stuff. You’re getting so abstract now [that] you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things, and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites.”

Wow. I shouldn't be so surprised or shocked, I imagine, but it is stunning to see Atwater admit this so explicitly. Add in Herbert's reminder that Reagan launched his 1980 campaign at the site of an infamous Civil Rights era slaying of three civil rights activists, proclaiming in slightly veiled language that he supported "states' rights." Reagan was essentially telling wite voters that he opposed the federal government's interventions to protect blacks against state-sponsored segregation and racism. The stuff we forget...

I wish we could find a way to have a more honest and open conversation/debate about race and poverty in this country. People like Jonathan Kozol and bob Herbert are trying. But until we do, the politics of avoidance will continue. Democrats who fail to confront the realities of life for African Americans trapped in the legacy of Jim Crow or the growing gap between rich and poor (blacks, white, Latinos, and all poor Americans) are as complicit as the Republicans - even if the Dems don't court white bigots. They do, however, have a track record of 40 years of broken promises to blacks and the poor.

Other than John Edwards, who has made a serious attempt to address these issues?