Difference between revisions of "Southern Strategy"

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The '''Southern strategy''' was [[Richard Nixon]]'s campaign strategy to win the Southern United States for the [[Republican Party]] during the 1968 and 1972 elections.
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The '''southern strategy''' was [[Richard Nixon]]'s campaign strategy to win the deep south for the [[Republican Party]] during the 1968 and 1972 elections.
  
 
==1964 - the inspiration==
 
==1964 - the inspiration==
In 1964, [[Barry Goldwater]] accomplished a task that, until then, had been seen as physically impossible -- he won five states in the Deep South for the Republican Party, which had been seen for the past hundred years as the party of [[Abraham Lincoln]] and [[American Civil War|the defeat]] of [[Confederate States of America|the Confederacy]]. He was able to do this because of his voting record against [[civil rights]] legislation, versus the incumbent, [[Lyndon Johnson]] who was in favor of civil rights.  The South had, until that point, been a solidly [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] voting bloc, often called the "Solid South".  Nixon, taking note of this, campaigned on subtle [[racism|race]] and [[states rights]] themes in 1968 and 1972 in an attempt to keep the Deep South in the Republican column.
+
In 1964, [[Barry Goldwater]] won five states in the deep south due to his voting record against [[civil rights]] legislation, versus the incumbent, [[Lyndon Johnson]] who was in favor of civil rights.  The deep south had until that point been a solidly [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] voting bloc.  Nixon, taking note of this, campaigned on subtle [[racism|race]] and [[states rights]] themes in 1968 and 1972 in an attempt to keep the deep south in the Republican column.
  
 
==1968 - failure and success==
 
==1968 - failure and success==
In 1968, this strategy failed to win over the South, although Nixon did win the election.  The reason was [[Alabama]]'s Democratic governor, [[George Wallace]], running on a third party ticket -- the American Independent Party.  Wallace won most of the South in 1968, then returned to the Democratic Party and sought the Democratic nomination unsuccessfully in 1972 and 1976, while the [[American Independent Party]] (AIP) became an increasingly fringy hangout for [[John Birch Society|John Birchers]] and washed-up segregationists in subsequent presidential elections.  The organized [[conservative]] movement was split during that time as to their electoral strategy. One faction wanted to build the American Independent Party, while the other sought to take over the Republican Party.  The latter eventually won out.  In 1972 the American Independent Party nominated Bircher John G. Schmitz of [[California]], who did poorly and carried no states at all, with his highest vote percentage of 9.3% in [[Idaho]], then split into two factions (southern segregationists in the American Independent Party, Birchers in the American Party) for the 1976 and 1980 elections and faded off into history.  The American Independent Party is now only active in California, and gave [[Alan Keyes]] their ballot line in 2008.
+
In 1968, this strategy failed to win over the south, although Nixon did win the election.  The reason was [[Alabama]]'s Democratic governor, [[George Wallace]], running on a third party ticket - the American Independent Party.  Wallace won most of the south in 1968, then returned to the Democratic Party and sought the Democratic nomination unsuccessfully in 1972 and 1976, while the [[American Independent Party]] (AIP) became an increasingly fringy hangout for [[John Birch Society|John Birchers]] and washed-up segregationists in subsequent presidential elections.  The organized [[conservative]] movement was split during that time as to their electoral strategy. One faction wanted to build the American Independent Party, while the other sought to take over the Republican Party.  The latter eventually won out.  In 1972 the American Independent Party nominated Bircher John G. Schmitz of [[California]], who did poorly and carried no states at all, with his highest vote percentage of 9.3% in [[Idaho]], then split into two factions (southern segregationists in the American Independent Party, Birchers in the American Party) for the 1976 and 1980 elections and faded off into history.  The American Independent Party is now only active in California, and gave [[Alan Keyes]] their ballot line in 2008.
  
 
==1972 - success and sadness==
 
==1972 - success and sadness==
With the AIP nomination of Schmitz, any hope conservatives had of the AIP as a viable electoral vehicle in the south faded, and Nixon played his Southern strategy well in 1972, sweeping all the Southern states and most of the rest of the country.  Among the bones Nixon threw out to the South was his nomination of two anti-civil rights judges to the Supreme Court, George Harrold Carswell and Clement Haynesworth. (Neither of them won confirmation by the Senate; Carswell was later busted in a public restroom soliciting an undercover policeman for [[sex]]. The more things [[Larry Craig|change]]...)  Since that time, the [[racism|conservative movement]]'s strategy has been to use the Republican Party as their electoral vehicle.
+
With the AIP nomination of Schmitz, any hope conservatives had of the AIP as a viable electoral vehicle in the south faded, and Nixon played his southern strategy well in 1972, sweeping all the southern states and most of the rest of the country.  Among the bones Nixon threw out to the deep south was his nomination of two anti-civil rights judges to the Supreme Court, George Harrold Carswell and Clement Haynesworth (neither of whom won confirmation by the Senate; Carswell was later busted in a public restroom soliciting an undercover policeman for [[sex]]. The more things [[Larry Craig|change]]...)  Since that time, the [[racism|conservative movement]]'s strategy has been to use the Republican Party as their electoral vehicle.
  
 
==1976 - scandals will have their way==
 
==1976 - scandals will have their way==
Nixon, of course, was [[pwn]]ed in 1974 by [[Chuck Colson]] and G. Gordon Liddy and turned the reins over to [[Gerald Ford]].  The Democratic nomination of [[Jimmy Carter]] of [[Georgia]] in 1976, running as the anti-Watergate candidate, temporarily halted the Southern strategy, as Carter won every southern state except for [[Virginia]].  As the 1968 and 1976 elections showed, the South was still reluctant to move into the Republican column, especially if a Southerner were on the ticket.  However, the conservative movement had gotten fully behind [[Ronald Reagan]], who gave incumbent [[Gerald Ford]] a strong challenge for the nomination, and the Southern strategy was resurrected during the late 1970s in a more organized form involving the rise of the [[religious right]] and groups like the [[Moral Majority]], all intended to change the political landscape in the south for good.  Part of this strategy also involved wooing ultraconservative Southern Democratic senators to switch parties, and many of them did.
+
Nixon, of course, was [[pwn]]ed in 1974 by [[Chuck Colson]] and G. Gordon Liddy and turned the reins over to [[Gerald Ford]].  The Democratic nomination of [[Jimmy Carter]] of [[Georgia]] in 1976, running as the anti-Watergate candidate, temporarily halted the southern strategy, as Carter won every southern state except for [[Virginia]].  As the 1968 and 1976 elections showed, the south was still reluctant to move into the Republican column, especially if a southerner were on the ticket.  However, the conservative movement had gotten fully behind [[Ronald Reagan]], who gave incumbent [[Gerald Ford]] a strong challenge for the nomination, and the southern strategy was resurrected during the late 1970s in a more organized form involving the rise of the [[religious right]] and groups like the [[Moral Majority]], all intended to change the political landscape in the south for good.  Part of this strategy also involved wooing ultraconservative southern Democratic senators to switch parties, and many of them did.
  
 
==1980==
 
==1980==
In 1980, Reagan launched his campaign in Philadelphia, [[Mississippi]], a highly symbolic move showing the Southern strategy was alive and well (that was the town infamous for the murder of three civil rights workers in 1964).  Reagan won with a combination of the Southern strategy and figuring out how to get the working poor angry at the welfare poor, and vote Republican.
+
In 1980, Reagan launched his campaign in Philadelphia, [[Mississippi]], a highly symbolic move showing the southern strategy was alive and well (that was the town infamous for the murder of three civil rights workers in 1964).  Reagan won with a combination of the southern strategy and figuring out how to get the working poor angry at the welfare poor, and vote Republican.
  
 
==1984==
 
==1984==
Reagan didn't need the Southern strategy, since Mondale only won his home state, [[Minnesota]].
+
Reagan didn't need the southern strategy, since Mondale only won his home state, [[Minnesota]].
  
 
No one noticed that [[Nineteen Eighty-Four|the book]] had, sadly, come true.  The manipulation of words mattered more than "[[reality]]".
 
No one noticed that [[Nineteen Eighty-Four|the book]] had, sadly, come true.  The manipulation of words mattered more than "[[reality]]".
  
 
==And so on...==
 
==And so on...==
While the Southern United States has been viewed as a solid Republican voting bloc since 1980, recent elections have shown a number of cracks starting to show in this strategy: [[Bill Clinton]] won much of the South (although mostly in the border states rather than the Deep South) in 1992 and 1996, and [[Barack Obama]] carried [[North Carolina]], [[Virginia]] and [[Florida]] in 2008. Due to Sun Belt migration patterns, some political observers are predicting a split in the South as a unified political bloc, with the eastern Atlantic states (most notably the ones Obama carried in 2008) becoming liberal and Democratic-leaning and the Deep South remaining a conservative stronghold.
+
While the deep south has been viewed as a solid Republican voting bloc since 1980, recent elections have shown a number of cracks starting to show in this strategy: [[Bill Clinton]] won much of the south (although mostly in the border states rather than the deep south) in 1992 and 1996, and [[Barack Obama]] carried [[North Carolina]], [[Virginia]] and [[Florida]] in 2008.
  
 
[[Category:Racism]]
 
[[Category:Racism]]
 
[[Category:Politics]]
 
[[Category:Politics]]
 
[[Category:Conservative deceit]]
 
[[Category:Conservative deceit]]

Revision as of 08:39, 4 October 2010

The southern strategy was Richard Nixon's campaign strategy to win the deep south for the Republican Party during the 1968 and 1972 elections.

1964 - the inspiration

In 1964, Barry Goldwater won five states in the deep south due to his voting record against civil rights legislation, versus the incumbent, Lyndon Johnson who was in favor of civil rights. The deep south had until that point been a solidly Democratic voting bloc. Nixon, taking note of this, campaigned on subtle race and states rights themes in 1968 and 1972 in an attempt to keep the deep south in the Republican column.

1968 - failure and success

In 1968, this strategy failed to win over the south, although Nixon did win the election. The reason was Alabama's Democratic governor, George Wallace, running on a third party ticket - the American Independent Party. Wallace won most of the south in 1968, then returned to the Democratic Party and sought the Democratic nomination unsuccessfully in 1972 and 1976, while the American Independent Party (AIP) became an increasingly fringy hangout for John Birchers and washed-up segregationists in subsequent presidential elections. The organized conservative movement was split during that time as to their electoral strategy. One faction wanted to build the American Independent Party, while the other sought to take over the Republican Party. The latter eventually won out. In 1972 the American Independent Party nominated Bircher John G. Schmitz of California, who did poorly and carried no states at all, with his highest vote percentage of 9.3% in Idaho, then split into two factions (southern segregationists in the American Independent Party, Birchers in the American Party) for the 1976 and 1980 elections and faded off into history. The American Independent Party is now only active in California, and gave Alan Keyes their ballot line in 2008.

1972 - success and sadness

With the AIP nomination of Schmitz, any hope conservatives had of the AIP as a viable electoral vehicle in the south faded, and Nixon played his southern strategy well in 1972, sweeping all the southern states and most of the rest of the country. Among the bones Nixon threw out to the deep south was his nomination of two anti-civil rights judges to the Supreme Court, George Harrold Carswell and Clement Haynesworth (neither of whom won confirmation by the Senate; Carswell was later busted in a public restroom soliciting an undercover policeman for sex. The more things change...) Since that time, the conservative movement's strategy has been to use the Republican Party as their electoral vehicle.

1976 - scandals will have their way

Nixon, of course, was pwned in 1974 by Chuck Colson and G. Gordon Liddy and turned the reins over to Gerald Ford. The Democratic nomination of Jimmy Carter of Georgia in 1976, running as the anti-Watergate candidate, temporarily halted the southern strategy, as Carter won every southern state except for Virginia. As the 1968 and 1976 elections showed, the south was still reluctant to move into the Republican column, especially if a southerner were on the ticket. However, the conservative movement had gotten fully behind Ronald Reagan, who gave incumbent Gerald Ford a strong challenge for the nomination, and the southern strategy was resurrected during the late 1970s in a more organized form involving the rise of the religious right and groups like the Moral Majority, all intended to change the political landscape in the south for good. Part of this strategy also involved wooing ultraconservative southern Democratic senators to switch parties, and many of them did.

1980

In 1980, Reagan launched his campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi, a highly symbolic move showing the southern strategy was alive and well (that was the town infamous for the murder of three civil rights workers in 1964). Reagan won with a combination of the southern strategy and figuring out how to get the working poor angry at the welfare poor, and vote Republican.

1984

Reagan didn't need the southern strategy, since Mondale only won his home state, Minnesota.

No one noticed that the book had, sadly, come true. The manipulation of words mattered more than "reality".

And so on...

While the deep south has been viewed as a solid Republican voting bloc since 1980, recent elections have shown a number of cracks starting to show in this strategy: Bill Clinton won much of the south (although mostly in the border states rather than the deep south) in 1992 and 1996, and Barack Obama carried North Carolina, Virginia and Florida in 2008.