Thread by @ashtonpittman

Republicans in Virginia used a Lee Atwater-style Southern Strategy to drive white voters to the polls & it looks like it's paying off.

The Beltway Media has done Americans a huge disservice by ignoring the persistence of the Lost Cause & its descendants.google.com/amp/s/amp.theg…

This was predictable, though, especially during the last few months while serious people in the Beltway media (not all, though) treated the billionaire-backed astroturf "critical race theory" (aka actual American history) CRT panic as a legitimate debate.

This racial fear-mongering targeting white voters is longstanding tradition in Mississippi.

Many Mississippi Republicans have used these tactics in recent decades, like segregationist Democrats (aka Dixiecrats) did for 100 years before them.

1963:

The media plays a huge role in elevating demagoguery by presenting it as "two-sides" controversies rather than reporting it for what it is and forcing candidates to discuss actual issues (and emphasizing those actual issues over "controversies" based on lies).

And yes, Virginia also elected the first Black woman, Republican Winsome Sears, to serve as lieutenant governor tonight. That doesn't cancel out months of racial demagoguery.

Do y'all honestly think that no white Obama voters held racist beliefs?
google.com/amp/s/www.busi…

My "side" is egalitarian democracy. Lies, propaganda & demagoguery are poisonous to democracy.

If politicians don't like being called out for it, they should focus on people, real issues & solutions instead.

The media shouldn't lend good faith assumptions to bad faith actions.