# Now Hillary plays the KKK card
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Created:** [August 26, 2016, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983 "2016-08-26T02:07:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/61 "2016-08-26T15:45:06Z")
When the leaders of the overt racist groups say they support a particular politician, that doesn’t mean anything. They’re just trolls. Do not feed them.
What the politician himself says, though, is absolutely meaningful. Nail him to the wall for that.
---
### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/62 "2016-08-26T15:53:20Z")
> [@Pantastic](#):
>
> As someone who really doesn’t like Hillary for a wide variety of reasons, I have to say that I really like this speech. It’s highly factual, hits on a real, serious issue, and is well-delivered. I’m not really sure what Urbanredneck is objecting to about it, it’s about actual substantive things that Trump has done, said, and who he ties himself to. I think it’s also smart because I don’t think she’s going to attract a lot of supporters through talking about how great she is, but pointing out that this time the greater of two evils is really, really evil can discourage republicans from voting and encourage independents or third party voters to vote for her against Trump.
He’s actually objecting to the ad. Link: [http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/clinton-ad-kkk-trump-227404](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/clinton-ad-kkk-trump-227404)
He has remained silent, I believe, on the speech.
---
### Author:  [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/63 "2016-08-26T16:00:13Z")
> [@JohnT](#):
>
> He has remained silent, I believe, on the speech.
Nah, he was Tweeting about it. [Edit: I thought you meant Trump, but you meant the OP… oops]
> [@](#):
>
> Just watched recap of #CrookedHillary’s speech. Very short and lies. She is the only one fear-mongering!
> [@](#):
>
> Hillary Clinton’s short speech is pandering to the worst instincts in our society. She should be ashamed of herself!
> [@](#):
>
> Hillary Clinton is using race-baiting to try to get African-American voters- but they know she is all talk and NO ACTION!
> [@](#):
>
> HRC is using the oldest play in the Dem playbook- when their policies fail, they are left w/this one tired argument!
> [@](#):
>
> Hillary Clinton only knows how to make a speech when it is a hit on me. No policy, and always very short (stamina). Media gives her a pass!
---
### Author:  [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/64 "2016-08-26T16:07:26Z")
> [@Voyager](#):
>
> Maybe because Byrd did repent, unlike the other Southern racist Democrats, and didn’t become a Republican after 1964, again unlike the other Southern racist Democrats.
Yes, I think that is it for the most part. They attack him because
1. He is a Democrat, and they attack all Democrats on principal
2. He is one of the few Dixiecrats to stay in the Democratic party, and so he is the poster child for the “Democrats are more racist than Republicans” alternative history they are trying to spread… By pointing to his pat views and current Democratic status they can pretend the southern strategy didn’t exist, repeat the out of context statistic that more Republicans than Democrats voted for the Civil Rights bill and declare themselves the “party of Lincoln” while ignoring the obvious racist undertones of their policies for the last 50 years.
---
### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/65 "2016-08-26T16:19:43Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#):
>
> Trump specifically is also the leading voice of the most widespread racist attack on President Obama – birtherism, which he never retracted or apologized for. That alone would be enough for accusations like this.
Now hold on a damn minute, there; as I understand it, Trump’s last word on the matter was that he’d sent private detectives to Hawaii, and what they’d found was absolutely incredible, and he’s going to reveal it when the time is right. So who am I to judge him until then? Could be any day now, really; don’t know why he didn’t release the stuff a year ago, or two, or three, or four – has it been five years already? – but it’d just be _wrong_ to retract if he in fact has shocking information at his fingertips.
---
### Author:  [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/66 "2016-08-26T16:26:30Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#):
>
> I would really like to thank you for pointing this out - might have missed it otherwise.
>
> I thought she did a masterful job pointing out the bleeding obvious - Trump is stoking racial hatreds among some nasty folks in order to get elected. The lunatics have taken over the Republicans. Everyone knows it. She has just said it out loud.
>
> I particularly liked this part of her speech:
>
> > [@](#):
> >
> > “This is not conservatism as we have known it. This is not Republicanism as we have known it,”
> > “We have our disagreements. We need good debates. Need to do it in respectful way. Not finger- pointing. Every day, more Americans are standing up and saying “enough is enough” – including a lot of Republicans,” Clinton said. “I’m honored to have their support. And I promise you this: With your help, I will be a president for Democrats, Republicans and Independents. For those who vote for me and those who don’t. For all Americans.”
To be honest, while she definitely gets Trump and his politics right, i think that she lets the Republicans as a whole off far too easily. I understand that there’s a pragmatic calculation involved here—she trying to both marginalize Trump and possibly grab some non-crazy, moderate Republicans in the process—but in her speech, she went out of her way to let Republican leaders off the hook for supporting Trump, and also for doing so much to help create the toxic, racially-prejudiced atmosphere in which he and his most committed supporters thrive.
She went out of her way to contrast Trump, on the one hand, with Republican leaders like Paul Ryan and Ted Cruz on the other, despite the fact that Ryan, for example, has continued to support Trump (even if sometimes warily) through all of the candidate’s vile pronouncements. I understand that there are millions of Republican voters in the country who are horrified by Trump’s ascendancy, but they and their party have to take a lot of the blame for it.
The undertone of Hillary’s speech was, “Maybe we can get rid of Trump, push the alt-right assholes back into their caves, and get on with business as usual.” But Trump and his alt-right supporters are, in considerable measure, a product of “business as usual” in the Republican Party, from the Southern Strategy of the sixties, seventies, and eighties, through the culture wars of the nineties and early 21st century, and the more recent battles over immigration, terrorism, and Islam.
---
### Author:  [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/67 "2016-08-26T16:32:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> When the leaders of the overt racist groups say they support a particular politician, that doesn’t mean anything. They’re just trolls. Do not feed them.
>
> What the politician himself says, though, is absolutely meaningful. Nail him to the wall for that.
However, somehow Democratic candidates are constantly expected are constantly expected to disavow support from their less savory allies.
It seems reasonable to expect Trump to specifically say that he doesn’t want the support of the KKK or the alt-right folks, unless, of course, he really does.
---
### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/68 "2016-08-26T16:34:43Z")
Hillary Clinton is married to the man who has brought us [triangulation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangulation_(politics)) as a political strategy. She’s framing the debate not to “destroy” anybody, but to make her positions more inclusive of the “non-Trump Republicans” thoughts and feelings, giving the Democratic party opportunity to peel off many of them.
She does NOT need to say “If you’re a Republican, you’re a racist.”
---
### Author:  [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/69 "2016-08-26T16:35:37Z")
> [@mhendo](#):
>
> To be honest, while she definitely gets Trump and his politics right, i think that she lets the Republicans as a whole off far too easily. I understand that there’s a pragmatic calculation involved here—she trying to both marginalize Trump and possibly grab some non-crazy, moderate Republicans in the process—but in her speech, she went out of her way to let Republican leaders off the hook for supporting Trump, and also for doing so much to help create the toxic, racially-prejudiced atmosphere in which he and his most committed supporters thrive.
>
> She went out of her way to contrast Trump, on the one hand, with Republican leaders like Paul Ryan and Ted Cruz on the other, despite the fact that Ryan, for example, has continued to support Trump (even if sometimes warily) through all of the candidate’s vile pronouncements. I understand that there are millions of Republican voters in the country who are horrified by Trump’s ascendancy, but they and their party have to take a lot of the blame for it.
>
> The undertone of Hillary’s speech was, “Maybe we can get rid of Trump, push the alt-right assholes back into their caves, and get on with business as usual.” But Trump and his alt-right supporters are, in considerable measure, a product of “business as usual” in the Republican Party, from the Southern Strategy of the sixties, seventies, and eighties, through the culture wars of the nineties and early 21st century, and the more recent battles over immigration, terrorism, and Islam.
Or, she is setting an Obama level trap. She laid out all the ways Trump is a racist and not a suitable candidate, and offered an out to the Republicans - repudidate Trump and racism, like Dole, Bush, and McCain - or admit yours is the party of racists.
---
### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/70 "2016-08-26T16:50:56Z")
> [@Folacin](#):
>
> Or, she is setting an Obama level trap. She laid out all the ways Trump is a racist and not a suitable candidate, and offered an out to the Republicans - repudidate Trump and racism, like Dole, Bush, and McCain - or admit yours is the party of racists.
Exactly. If I am a life-long Republican, and Hilary comes out and says “you Republicans are all racists, and that’s why you nominated Trump”, I will say “Hell no, lady, you’re so very wrong, and I will never vote for you”
If I If I am a life-long Republican, and Hilary comes out and says “Your party has a proud history, and you’re better than this dim-wit who somehow managed to hijack your good name and good party.” I will say “You have a point there - this idiot does not represent what I believe is best for the country”
It may only be 5% of Republicans who would think along the lines I have supposed… but that’s enough.
---
### Author:  [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/71 "2016-08-26T16:53:42Z")
> [@Folacin](#):
>
> Or, she is setting an Obama level trap. She laid out all the ways Trump is a racist and not a suitable candidate, and offered an out to the Republicans - repudidate Trump and racism, like Dole, Bush, and McCain - or admit yours is the party of racists.
I think she may also be setting the table for her campaign surrogates to actually call out others (and the party as a whole) by name. She’s drawing the dots for others to connect.
---
### Author:  [@Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambrosio_Spinola)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/72 "2016-08-26T17:26:28Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#):
>
> If I If I am a life-long Republican, and Hilary comes out and says “Your party has a proud history, and you’re better than this dim-wit who somehow managed to hijack your good name and good party.” I will say “You have a point there - this idiot does not represent what I believe is best for the country”
>
> It may only be 5% of Republicans who would think along the lines I have supposed… but that’s enough.
This is also why it’s a super effective trap. Rather than casting a super wide net, Clinton simply points out that (1) Trump is being supported by a bunch of super-sketchy dudes; and (2) Trump has been saying a bunch of crazy shit. I think that point (2) is basically indisputable, even by Trump fans who would dispute they are sketchy dudes. However, current Republican orthodoxy doesn’t allow Republicans to publicly agree with Clinton (or Obama) about anything, which means that they can’t agree with her attack. On the other hand, they can’t very well dispute point (2) either - Trump really has been saying crazy shit.
Cue the semi-embarrassed silence. A devastating attack speech like that would normally be met with Trump’s party rallying to his defense; here, they’re not.
---
### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/73 "2016-08-26T18:00:23Z")
> [@Ambrosio\_Spinola](#):
>
> Cue the semi-embarrassed silence. A devastating attack speech like that would normally be met with Trump’s party rallying to his defense; here, they’re not.
Has there been ANY defense of Trump from party officials in the past day? (Not just pathetic Trump mouthpieces) I have heard… crickets.
---
### Author:  [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/74 "2016-08-26T18:24:38Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#):
>
> Has there been ANY defense of Trump from party officials in the past day? (Not just pathetic Trump mouthpieces) I have heard… crickets.
The most I can find is [this](http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2016/08/26/steele-clinton-attacks-cross-line/) from Michael Steele (who has held no public or party office since 2011).
---
### Author:  [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/75 "2016-08-26T18:55:49Z")
> [@JohnT](#):
>
> She does NOT need to say “If you’re a Republican, you’re a racist.”
Yeah, thanks, but that’s not what i suggested.
I made quite clear my belief that millions of Republicans reject Trump and his bigotry. My argument was that she shouldn’t have let the party as a whole, and especially its leadership and its elected representatives, off so lightly.
I would have preferred a clearer statement of the actual truth: that Trump has prospered because, even while they might oppose a lot of his ideas, many Republican politicians have been willing to overlook his bigotry and offer him support because they see it as a lesser evil than letting Clinton win the election. And also, i think, that Republican obstructionism on so many basic, reasonable things that the Obama administration has tried to do (up to and including the very proper nomination of an eminently qualified Supreme Court candidate) has created an atmosphere whereby mere loud-mouthed, unthinking opposition is seen as a reasonable substitute for political dialog.
---
### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/76 "2016-08-26T18:57:50Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#):
>
> The most I can find is [this](http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2016/08/26/steele-clinton-attacks-cross-line/) from Michael Steele (who has held no public or party office since 2011).
And his “defense” is nonsensical:
> [@](#):
>
> “Everybody seems to be reacting rather nuclearly about it. It seems like you can call a Republican a bigot, people say that makes sense. But the minute you lob the charge back at the Democrats, everybody goes, ‘oh my God, how dare you’?
No, Mr. Steele. When you lob the charge back at the Democrats, everyone goes "Oh my God, you’re just obviously engaging in projection, and by the way, the word “bigot” does not mean “I don’t like your policies”. Get a freaking dictionary.
And by the way, Mr. Steele. “Out of bounds”? So that means that it’s OK for Trump to call Clinton a “bigot” in the national press, but she is supposed to do what? Just accept it? Good God, what an igoramous. No wonder others are not trying this pathetic argument.
---
### Author:  [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/77 "2016-08-26T19:00:11Z")
I think that most of the people who post here would find the use of violence as a means of forwarding a political ideology antithetical to democracy. Much, if indeed most, of the “alt-right” not only don’t find it so, they actively embrace it, either by action or acquiescence.
Trump’s “second amendment people” line was directly in that wheelhouse.
---
### Author:  [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/78 "2016-08-26T19:01:30Z")
> [@](#):
>
> …Everybody seems to be reacting rather nuclearly about it…
“Nuclearly” is not a word. Goddess willing, it never will be.
---
### Author:  [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/79 "2016-08-26T19:04:18Z")
> [@elucidator](#):
>
> “Nuclearly” is not a word. Goddess willing, it never will be.
You, of course, are correct. It’s pronounced “Nu-cu-lar-ly.”
---
### Author:  [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983/80 "2016-08-26T19:07:37Z")
> [@mhendo](#):
>
> I made quite clear my belief that millions of Republicans reject Trump and his bigotry. My argument was that she shouldn’t have let the party as a whole, and especially its leadership and its elected representatives, off so lightly.
She doesn’t want to wrap repub members of Congress into it, it hands them a ready made excuse to use after the election. Not that laying off will really make that much difference.
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983.md?page=3)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-hillary-plays-the-kkk-card/763983.md?page=5)