LightNews LightNews
escapese54.bsky.social
@escapese54.bsky.social
11 followers 10 following 1 posts
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted
sethcotlar.bsky.social
In a 3-way primary race for Arkansas GOP Lt. Gov in 1990, an avowed Nazi got 46% of the vote. This article from The Nation noted with some alarm that the national GOP had yet to take a public stand in regard to the coming runoff election.
Crime of Silence n the May 30 primary in Arkansas the Republican National Committee had a choice of two candidates for lieutenant governor: a successful businessman who had been a University of Arkansas football star, and a former member of the American Nazi Party. It doesn't seem all that tough. Still, the committee could not make up its mind. By the way, the former gridiron notable, Kenneth (Muskie) Harris, is black. His opponent, Ralph Forbes, is an avowed segregationist and was once an aide to David Duke, the former Klansman now earning a paycheck in the Louisiana Legislature. Harris garnered 36 percent of the G.O.P. vote; Forbes was the choice of 46 percent. Because Forbes fell short of a majority, he and Harris were forced into a runoff on June 12. You might expect a national political party that claims to want to reach out to black voters, that tried to derail Duke's political ascent, and that is chaired by soul man Lee Atwater to denounce Forbes. After all, the G.O.P. recently dropped its hands-off-during-primaries policy in order to influence nominations. But Forbes's near victory was greeted by official silence at Republican headquarters in Washington. The sometime party of Lincoln offered the vacuous argument that it had to wait and see what the state party and its gubernatorial nominee, Sheffield Nelson, decided to do. Several days after the primary, party headquarters still declined to comment. Could the race for governor have anything to do with the party's wobbly moral compass? Democrat Bill Clinton, the incumbent, squeaked through his primary with only 54 percent of the vote, and Republicans have him in their sights. Imagine the debate that must have gone on at party head-quarters: Well, a black on the ticket could take votes from Clinton. Yes, but a disavowal of Forbes could alienate some white voters. If ever there was a clear case for the national committee to meddle in local party business, this is it. But the G.O.P. is unable to decide what to do about racists in its ranks. Recall its weak response in 1988 to revelations that some members of a Bush campaign committee were anti-Semites. Just last week Republican leaders in Washington split on whether to criticize a candidate in the California primary who ran an anti-Arab campaign against a fellow Republican. How real is the commitment of the Republicans- and their leader, George Bush-to attracting ethnic minorities and combating racism when they can't make even the easy calls?
November 13, 2024 at 12:17 AM