# TN senate RNC Ford add - rascist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 25, 2006, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829 "2006-10-25T10:57:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/101 "2006-10-26T11:45:44Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] some of use immediatly were struck by the racist overtones, and some others of us didn’t see them at all! What is so difficult to accept about that? [/QUOTE] Well, a nod’s as good as a wink to a blind bat. Actually, nothing’s difficult to accept about that at all. One man’s gross naivete is another man’s healthy skepticism. That’s why subtle appeals to racism are so reliable - it’s fairly easy to distance yourself from them. In fact, I’m sure it will be a fairly rare race in which a candidate comes out and says, “Don’t let this darkie get elected! Get off your asses and vote.” Perhaps this is another reason why Republicans have been so successful - they’ve mastered the use of the code word, and Democrats, beset with healthy skepticism, just let each individual instance pass without comment. “Aw, gee, Wally. Does anybody really fear that their women want to have sex with black men? I dunno, Wally, I’m skeptical.” On a tangent, I hope that the Democrats are able to move past their tendency to just cry foul and whine about how unfair these kind of ads are. I don’t want to hear the word “unfair” come out of one more Democrat’s mouth. You get sucker-punched by some punk, you don’t appeal to his good nature to regret how unfair his behavior was. You knock some squares loose. Democrats haven’t been bringing a knife to a gun fight. They’ve been bringing a copy of the Queensberry rules to a gun fight. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/102 "2006-10-26T15:12:57Z")
Eleanor Clift says the campaign ad is racist, so it must be true. /s This is more of a debate on who controls the debate. That’s why talking heads are so nauseating. ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/103 "2006-10-26T16:02:55Z")
[QUOTE=Hentor the Barbarian] Yes, of course, because they could not legitimately avoid bringing up the issue of women wanting to have sex with him. It was imperative, so they were damned if they did and damned if they didn’t. You must of course be joking, right? This was a woosh, I hope. Otherwise you can explain to me why the only choice they had was what color the “call me wink wink” girl had to be. Hey, why not an Asian chick. Then they could have her go “No no, too beaucoup! Too beaucoup!” [/QUOTE] Okay, you did it. Now I’m going to have to watch “Full Metal Jacket” when I get home tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d07c76/32.png) [@Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Age_Quod_Agis)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/104 "2006-10-26T16:20:36Z")
[QUOTE=Hentor the Barbarian] Perhaps this is another reason why Republicans have been so successful - they’ve mastered the use of the code word, and Democrats, beset with healthy skepticism, just let each individual instance pass without comment. “Aw, gee, Wally. Does anybody really fear that their women want to have sex with black men? I dunno, Wally, I’m skeptical.” On a tangent, I hope that the Democrats are able to move past their tendency to just cry foul and whine about how unfair these kind of ads are. I don’t want to hear the word “unfair” come out of one more Democrat’s mouth. You get sucker-punched by some punk, you don’t appeal to his good nature to regret how unfair his behavior was. You knock some squares loose. Democrats haven’t been bringing a knife to a gun fight. They’ve been bringing a copy of the Queensberry rules to a gun fight. [/QUOTE] :rolleyes: Yep. Those poor Democrats are just too pure of heart to make racist appeals. They just aren’t as [mean and racist](http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20051101-104932-4054r.htm) as Republicans. Democrats are incapable of racism. > [@](#): > > Black Democratic leaders in Maryland say that racially tinged attacks against Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele in his bid for the U.S. Senate are fair because he is a conservative Republican. > > ``` > Such attacks against the first black man to win a statewide election in Maryland include pelting him with Oreo cookies during a campaign appearance, calling him an "Uncle Tom" and depicting him as a black-faced minstrel on a liberal Web log. > > Operatives for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) also obtained a copy of his credit report -- the only Republican candidate so targeted. > > But black Democrats say there is nothing wrong with "pointing out the obvious." > > "There is a difference between pointing out the obvious and calling someone names," said a campaign spokesman for Kweisi Mfume, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. > > State Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a black Baltimore Democrat, said she does not expect her party to pull any punches, including racial jabs at Mr. Steele, in the race to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes. > > "Party trumps race, especially on the national level," she said. "If you are bold enough to run, you have to take whatever the voters are going to give you. It's democracy, perhaps at its worse, but it is democracy." > > Delegate Salima Siler Marriott, a black Baltimore Democrat, said Mr. Steele invites comparisons to a slave who loves his cruel master or a cookie that is black on the outside and white inside because his conservative political philosophy is, in her view, anti-black. > > "Because he is a conservative, he is different than most public blacks, and he is different than most people in our community," she said. "His politics are not in the best interest of the masses of black people." > > During the 2002 campaign, Democratic supporters pelted Mr. Steele with Oreo cookies during a gubernatorial debate at Morgan State University in Baltimore. > > In 2001, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. called Mr. Steele an "Uncle Tom," when Mr. Steele headed the state Republican Party. Mr. Miller, Prince George's County Democrat, later apologized for the remark. > > "That's not racial. If they call him the "N' word, that's racial," Mrs. Marriott said. "Just because he's black, everything bad you say about him isn't racial." > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/105 "2006-10-26T17:12:24Z")
Checking in from the Tennessee 9th Congressional district, currently represented by Harold Ford, Jr. I grew up in rural East Tennessee, which is the geographical target of these ads. Hopefully I can add some context to this discussion. Anybody who says that racism is not a factor in comtemporary political life hasn’t been to Tennessee lately. In middle and east tennessee they call Memphis “The Captial of Mississippi.” Most of the black population of Tennessee is concentrated here. I didn’t see a black person in the flesh until a black family transferred to my school in 4th grade. I was back home in the east last month to help settle my grandmother’s estate and I ended up giving a nice-seeming older lady a ride into town as a favor. She told me one of her sons was a preacher and the other a cop. She knew my family, and asked where I lived. I told her I lived in Memphis. “They have a lot of niggers there, don’t they?” she said. In her mind, and in the mind of a whole freakin’ lot of Tennesseans, Memphis = niggers. The Ford family machine has been prominent in Memphis politics for a couple of generations, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. The 9th district seat is a “black seat”. Ford’s brother Jake is running as an “independant Democrat” against the very capable and well-qualified state senator Steve Cohen, and his main support is the Ford machine and black churches in Memphis who are appalled by the thought of a jew in the “black seat”. Jake Ford’s supporters have actually said that in so many words. So now the Ford who has occupied the “black seat” is getting uppity and running not just for the Senate, but for Bill Frist’s seat. “Why aren’t those Memphis niggers satisfied with the seat we let them have?” says the white guy from East Tennessee. The manufacturing plant where he has worked all his life has just shut down, if he tries to go to the doctor to have that pain in his side checked out he runs the risk of bankrupting his family for two generations, and his oldest kid is getting shipped out to Iraq. If he thinks about these issues, he’s going to vote democratic. So the idea behind this ad is to make him think of the Memphis niggers. Black men aren’t supposed to date white women. Memphis niggers aren’t supposed to hold national office besides the 9th district seat. Harold Ford, Jr. is a light-skinned black man who does the first and wants to do the second. This ad is cacluated to remind the east Tennessee white voters of that fact. That’s the “meta-message.” Furthermore, the ad is coordinated with a classic Rovian whisper campaign. The rumour is that Ford has a white fiancee that he is waiting until after the elections to “spring” on everybody. When I was home in September, there were Ford signs everywhere. I was shocked. He had a big rally in front of the courthhouse and thousands of people showed up. Ford is playing well with Bill Frist’s base, and that cannot be tolerated. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/106 "2006-10-26T17:18:23Z")
[QUOTE=Age Quod Agis] :rolleyes: Yep. Those poor Democrats are just too pure of heart to make racist appeals. They just aren’t as [mean and racist](http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20051101-104932-4054r.htm) as Republicans. Democrats are incapable of racism. [/QUOTE] Just so you know, the Oreo cookie story is complete bullshit. [http://mediamatters.org/items/200511210004](http://mediamatters.org/items/200511210004) But thanks for your attempted tu quoque. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/107 "2006-10-26T17:44:45Z")
Now, just a second there, **Hentor**! Perhaps you don’t realize it, but you are impugning the integrity of the _Washington Times_, that singular paragon of non-partisan, unbiased candor. We will be in a sorry state, indeed, if we cannot be expected to accept a source that has demonstrated such a rigorous…nay, _relentless_!..dedication to unvarnished truth. I am sure you will hasten to retract and withdraw any such suggestion of doubt regarding the _Washington Times_, which proudly maintains an unsullied reputation for, and dedication to, truthiness. ---
**Author:** ![Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d07c76/32.png) [@Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Age_Quod_Agis)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/108 "2006-10-26T18:19:02Z")
[QUOTE=Hentor the Barbarian] Just so you know, the Oreo cookie story is complete bullshit. [/quote] So your cite that the story is bullshit is to a _Mediamatters_ story saying that some people didn’t see the cookies thrown? Awesome. Can I cite to another story from the Weekly Standard supporting my claim? Regardless, even if that story is untrue (which I have yet to see an unbiased report on), you still haven’t addressed the numerous other instances of racist demagoguery by Democrats in that story. For example, calling Steele an Uncle Tom, referring to him as an Oreo cookie, and depicting him as a black-faced minstrel. But just in case that’s not enough, here’s a similar report on [Clarence Thomas](http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/news/2005_spr/thomas_brownnagin.htm): > [@](#): > > Thomas has been called “someone who looks black, but thinks white,” she said, and an “Uncle Tom” who “obeys” Justice Antonin Scalia. A recent article by a legal academic called Thomas even worse—he was a “Sambo” for cultivating good relations with whites for his own advantage and to the disadvantage of other blacks. > > “I think the rhetoric is inhumane…It’s dehumanizing to Thomas as well as to all of us,” Brown-Nagin said. “In my view, it’s well beyond what anyone needs to do to make their point.” Are those made-up? > [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > But thanks for your attempted tu quoque. It’s not a tu quoque. It’s a direct refutation of your statement that Democrats don’t engage in racist political attacks. You don’t have to be terribly open-minded to see that Democrats are guilty of playing to racist sentiments, too. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/109 "2006-10-26T18:32:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Thomas has been called “someone who looks black, but thinks white,” she said, and an “Uncle Tom” who “obeys” Justice Antonin Scalia. [QUOTE=Age Quod Agis] Are those made-up? [/QUOTE] They certainly aren’t attributed; how do we know it was Democrats who said that, or that it was even said by anyone? Until you can provide attribution, yes, I think they are made up. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/110 "2006-10-26T18:35:30Z")
Walden Pond and the Pacific Ocean are both bodies of water, as well. And of course you can post the \*Weakly Standard \* as a cite, its simply a matter of your personal tolerance for mockery and derision. As you cite the \*Washington Times \* without so much as a blush, I expect that tolerance is pretty high. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/111 "2006-10-26T18:50:37Z")
[QUOTE=Age Quod Agis] It’s not a tu quoque. It’s a direct refutation of your statement that Democrats don’t engage in racist political attacks. You don’t have to be terribly open-minded to see that Democrats are guilty of playing to racist sentiments, too. [/QUOTE] I’m fairly sure that I didn’t say that. But, having not said it, I probably would agree to the statement to the effect that modern day Democrats are vastly less likely to appeal to racist sentiments, whereas Republicans routinely do, and in fact built a whole electoral strategy around it. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/112 "2006-10-26T18:53:01Z")
Oh, and just to recap, your summary of the Oreo story is a bit misleading. Not only did nobody see cookies thrown, but those cleaning up found no cookies, those involved reported at the time nothing about cookies, and those claiming that cookies were thrown have changed their story over time. That bad boy is one debunked piece of bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/113 "2006-10-26T19:05:00Z")
[QUOTE=Age Quod Agis] So your cite that the story is bullshit is to a _Mediamatters_ story saying that some people didn’t see the cookies thrown? Awesome. Can I cite to another story from the Weekly Standard supporting my claim? [/QUOTE] Yeah, you can quote the Weekly Standard. But then if you continue to deny that there’s racial politics being played with the Playboy ad, some knucklehead might try to point out that Mr. Steele looked hungry for dessert and that’s why open-hearted liberals were trying to provide him with America’s favorite store-bought cookie. Both are equally plausible. I don’t know whether the Oreo thing happened or not, but if it did, that and any other form of racial insults to Steele are reprehensible. But I’ve seen the RNC ad, and I know that it is objectionable. I don’t know why you feel compelled to accuse Democrats of race baiting while defending an ad that the Republican Senate candidate himself condemned within hours of first seeing it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/114 "2006-10-26T19:14:20Z")
[QUOTE=Ravenman] I don’t know whether the Oreo thing happened or not, but if it did, that and any other form of racial insults to Steele are reprehensible. But I’ve seen the RNC ad, and I know that it is objectionable. I don’t know why you feel compelled to accuse Democrats of race baiting while defending an ad that the Republican Senate candidate himself condemned within hours of first seeing it. [/QUOTE] I think the Oreo incident doesn’t stand up to close scrutiny. Steele basically ended up claiming tha one (or two) oreos rolled on the floor in his general direction, but I don’t think others could collaborate that. As for the Republican guy condemning the Ford ad, did he condemn for being racist or did he condemn for it being in very poor taste? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/115 "2006-10-26T21:06:25Z")
[If race sells Republican candidates, imagine what they could do with sex oriented ads!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMxYwC7OrhY) I predict we have not hit bottom yet. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/116 "2006-10-26T21:27:02Z")
[Corker comments:](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/24/AR2006102401476.html) > [@](#): > > Does the race factor influence his campaign decisions? “I understand the point of your question,” Corker responded carefully in a recent interview. Then he shook his head and looked away. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/117 "2006-10-26T21:28:46Z")
He’s not going to actually ANSWER it, but he understands it… ---
**Author:** ![Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d07c76/32.png) [@Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Age_Quod_Agis)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/118 "2006-10-27T01:08:45Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] They certainly aren’t attributed; how do we know it was Democrats who said that, or that it was even said by anyone? Until you can provide attribution, yes, I think they are made up. [/QUOTE] This is your defense? You think maybe it was conservatives calling Thomas a Sambo and an oreo? Am I being whooshed? Who do you _think_ said that? :dubious: I doubt you actually think those statement came from conservatives – if you do, frankly, I don’t know what to say – but I’ll go ahead and provide a few sources: [Here](http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A23641-2002Jul30¬Found=true): > [@](#): > > Upstairs, Thomas and a childhood acquaintance were recalling youthful pastimes such as “pluffer,” shooting chinaberries at each other through a tube of cane. But the laughter was interrupted when Abigail Jordan, a retired educator and local activist, eyed Thomas. > > There was something in the portrait of Thomas and his friends, yukking it up, enjoying themselves, that compelled Jordan to move toward the group, close enough, as she would later say, “to be kissed” by Lester Johnson. She stood before the assembled, stared and then abruptly said: “I just wanted to see what a group of Uncle Toms look like.” Then she walked away. > > Apparently, just being in the company of Clarence Thomas is enough to damn you. > … > Emerge, a since-departed African American-oriented newsmagazine, twice parodied Thomas on its cover–once wearing an Aunt Jemima-style headscarf and another time as a lawn jockey. [And here](http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh042505.shtml) (from a liberal blog correcting an Ann Coulter column): > [@](#): > > Who actually called Thomas a “house Negro?” Royce Esters, little-known head of the Compton, California, NAACP, in 1991 (quoted in Emerge). … > > Who actually called Thomas “a colored lawn jockey for conservative white interests?” As we noted on Friday, the Manchester Union-Leader attributed that insult to the (unnamed) head of the Maryland NAACP in early 1997. So did Perry Morgan, in the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot. … > > Who actually called Thomas a “chicken-and-biscuit-eating Uncle Tom,” and a “handkerchief head?” Spike Lee, 1991, quoted in U.S. News & World Report. However, I believe this thread has proven my point. You’ll note how quick everyone (other than **Ravennman** ) was to condemn the racist attacks against black Republicans. Nope, much better to focus on one alleged attack, try to discredit that, and then ignore the multitude of other bad acts that have been pointed out. That way, you can continue to claim that Democrats are never racist. It’s not lying if you ignore the facts contradicting it. :dubious: I commend **Ravenman** for at least having the courage to condemn it when it happens. ---
**Author:** ![Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d07c76/32.png) [@Age\_Quod\_Agis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Age_Quod_Agis)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/119 "2006-10-27T01:11:38Z")
[QUOTE=Hentor the Barbarian] I’m fairly sure that I didn’t say that. [/quote] Then could you please explain what you meant by the language I quoted above? I honestly don’t see another explanation. > [@](#): > > But, having not said it, I probably would agree to the statement to the effect that modern day Democrats are vastly less likely to appeal to racist sentiments, whereas Republicans routinely do, and in fact built a whole electoral strategy around it. Just to be clear, _that_ is a tu quoque. And as long as we’re providing cites, can you please give me a cite for your contention that Republicans routinely appeal to racist sentiments, and that they built a whole electoral strategy around it? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829/120 "2006-10-27T01:33:42Z")
It would be fair to say that the Republicans have not made racism a major component of their electoral strategy _recently_, but certainly have in the past. The Southern Strategy of Richard Nixon, through Willy Horton and through the softer racism of anti-affirmative action ads, implying that blacks (or other unamed minoritys) exploit their race to elbow out white job applicants. There is far less of that lately. You are welcome to believe that is due to pristine civic virtue on the part of the Republicans, or you might believe, as I do, that its simply less effective. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tn-senate-rnc-ford-add-rascist/377829.md?page=7)