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As we discuss the GOP Southern Strategy, this 1959 radio interview Barry Goldwater did with the segregationist Citizens Council of Jackson MS might be of interest. cdm16631.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collec…
Here’s a link to the transcription, but it’s worth listening to. cdm16631.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/co…
When asked whether there was a general trend toward big government, Goldwater says absolutely yes...which is why States Rights is such an important issue these days. Indeed, States Rights is "the cornerstone, the keystone" of the constitutional republic, according to Goldwater.
Note the way Goldwater uses anti-government sentiment to yoke together Western anti-environmentalism and Southern racism. We just need to get "big government off our backs," whether "we" are white segregationists or white western ranchers.
The material on labor is a bit more in the weeds...but the basic message in 1959 (as it is today) is that "right to work" (i.e., anti-union) legislation is essential, and that union organizers (or progressive organizers of any sort) are "outside agitators."
Let's be clear about what these White Citizens Councils were. They were part of a system of terrorism designed to fight against the civil rights movement, black voting rights, and school desegregation. Goldwater happily sang their tune. kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/w…
Here's a thread unpacking the way racism was the essential fuel that drove the Goldwater-ite takeover of the GOP in 1964 (that set the stage for Reagan in 1980). Racism was a feature, not a bug.
When Goldwater gave that radio interview to the White Citizens Council of MS in 1959, the GOP was still divided on where it stood in regard to black civil rights. Goldwater was instrumental in pushing the party toward an embrace of Southern, states rights racists.
But don't take my word for it...listen to that radio interview at the top of this thread and judge for yourself why 5 years later, Goldwater would infuse new enthusiasm and excitement into the GOP, and win Southern states for his party for the first time since the Civil War.
And finally...a big shout out to the good folks at Mississippi State who have made the Citizens Council radio programs available to anyone with an internet connection. This is why history and archives matter.
And for those interested in reading more about the specific dynamics of race and conservatism in Mississippi in this era, this book by @CrespinoJoe is the place to start. indiebound.org/book/978069114…
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