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In reply to the discussion: A History of Liberal White Racism [View all]AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)190. *Sigh*. You just don't get it.
Bilbo did those things.
Out of a strong desire to keep a good public image; Bilbo was a slick operator, and skilled at manipulating and deceiving the public; he knew how to play people, just like Ronald Reagan 60 years later. And in that era, he had to.
The majority of the electorate in Mississippi in the 1920s was not progressive on racial issues. I also doubt that Bilbo's bigotry was unknown to most voters.....Still, if you have some evidence that he hoodwinked the public about his bigotry,
Didn't say or imply either. Come on now, What I said was, many more moderate voters(hint) probably did not know the extent(that is NOT the same as saying it was totally unknown, mind you!), or simply overlooked it because they didn't care. I do realize I may have worded a few things poorly, but it doesn't really change the truth of what I've pointed out.....nor does it excuse you from missing the point, either.
In 1927, Bilbo mounted the first of many political comebacks when he ran for a second term as governor. During the campaign the incumbent governor, Dennis Murphree, called out the National Guard to prevent the lynching of a black man. Bilbo used the incident to his advantage, hinting that he would have acted differently had he been in office. This racebaiting tactic helped Bilbo become the first Mississippian to serve two terms as governor since 1890.
And see? That right there proves what he was really all about. His real base was the reactionary far-right all along, his (common) pandering to the middle notwithstanding.
Whatever reasons you may have for believing that Bilbo was a genuine liberal, whether it was out of a knee-jerk defense of the authors of the article of the OP, or some rather poor misguided (if perhaps well-meaning) understanding of history, or both.....well, you are definitely dead wrong, sad to say. Posturing and pandering does not liberalism make. Because if Ted Bilbo is a progressive, then according to that very same Coatesian logic, our current President must be a corporatist neo-con because he gave in to Wall Street on a few things, and that he's allowed for the occasional tax cuts, etc. But Barack Obama is not a conservative. And Ted Bilbo was not a progressive.....
And in fact, I hate to say this, but this whole theory of theirs frankly smacks of conservative "blackwashing", if you know what I mean: after all, many a conservative pundit for years, and years, has bloviated about how progressives and ALL Democrats were, and are the real racists(when in fact, genuine progressives have always been more liberal than the public at large, including on race, and only Southern Dixiecrats had an overall problem with hardcore racism), etc.
And, especially being a student of actual history, it bothers me that a few on the left are actually buying into this bullshit just because it was promoted by a (African-American) journalist with liberal credentials. And frankly, I suspect that people wouldn't be nearly as accepting of this if it'd come from Matt Drudge or whoever runs the Breitbart site now.....
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I'm sorry to say this, but, truthfully, Juror #1 got it right more than anyone else.
AverageJoe90
Jun 2014
#154
I wonder that too since the British did offer freedom to Blacks who fought on their side.
bravenak
Jun 2014
#10
Oh, yes, some Brits did.....but not really out of altruism(not in most cases), mind you.
AverageJoe90
Jun 2014
#77
That's a benefit - but honestly - if i get it on my Kindle I'm likely to read it
el_bryanto
Jun 2014
#96
Do you see it as part of 'The Family' as some of the same players are there?
freshwest
Jun 2014
#218
Yes, I've used the same technique. Embrace their reality, befriend their heroes and despise their
freshwest
Jun 2014
#221
so this is how the right wing accuses some black people from those days of being commies
JI7
Jun 2014
#33
But wait, we're all told that Obama is a traitor, and FDR was a saint!
ConservativeDemocrat
Jun 2014
#34
They also kidnapped and sterilized poor whites, a source of old white anti-government hatred.
freshwest
Jun 2014
#220
I think we need to look at it from today's standard so that we don't slip back.
bravenak
Jun 2014
#54
Thanks for the link. In contrast, LBJ was willing to push for the Civil Rights Act
alp227
Jun 2014
#70
the reason there is less support for Govt programs is because it's seen as benefiting Blacks and
JI7
Jun 2014
#176
The "Democratic Party" used to mean Majority Rule, as in the White Majority....
Spitfire of ATJ
Jun 2014
#56
Yeah......I'm sorry, but Katznelson pretty much falls short on this. Coates too.
AverageJoe90
Jun 2014
#76
That's basically what Katznelson and Coates implied.....even if not intentionally, perhaps.
AverageJoe90
Jun 2014
#85
"You sound very young, very idealistic." I used to be idealistic myself, yes, I will be honest.
AverageJoe90
Jun 2014
#159
That's funny. I can cite quite a few specifics about why I know it exists.
Baitball Blogger
Jun 2014
#194
Most studies on "American" history don't even begin to tell the whole story...
countryjake
Jun 2014
#145
Yes, it was indeed sickeningly sweet, but recognizing the need for Black Studies...
countryjake
Jun 2014
#156
Not sure if I want to go thru the trouble of spending hours & hours digging.....
AverageJoe90
Jun 2014
#171
Then it shouldn't be difficult to answer my earlier question: what are some of his right-wing
fishwax
Jun 2014
#185
The eugenics movement is not acceptable by anyone today and not acceptable
Harmony Blue
Jun 2014
#123
There IS racism in White Liberal America. Many people of color have experienced this
Liberal_Stalwart71
Jun 2014
#121
I think I read it. I haven't been on DU for awhile, but I do remember.
Liberal_Stalwart71
Jun 2014
#127
If i do i will make sure to do a GBCW for you and let you know where i go or get your facebooks.
bravenak
Jun 2014
#184
Yeh. Thomas Jefferson, founder of the Democratic Party, was a racist who owned slaves.
Zorra
Jun 2014
#142