Dog Whistles
October 30, 2014 - by
The term is new to me, but dog whistles are the oldest thing in Southern politics. This election, like all of them, comes down to race.
In 1950, it was “White People Wake Up…Do you want Negroes working beside you, your wife and daughters in your mills and factories?”
In 1984, it was “I oppose the Martin Luther King holiday. Where do you stand, Jim?”
Today it’s mailers linking Gary Pendleton’s opponent Kim Hanchette to a scary-looking photo of the Rev. William Barber. And Phil Matthews’ supporters criticizing Matt Calabria for supporting UNC’s Department of African and Afro-American Studies when he ran for UNC student body president in 2004.
Same old, same old.
Republicans, as always, will say it’s Democrats who are “playing the race card.” They’ll say it’s racist for Democrats to link Republicans like Thom Tillis to Stand Your Ground laws, President Obama’s impeachment and voter-suppression laws.
Where you come down on this divide pretty much defines where you stand in American politics.
Just like it has ever since the Civil War, it still comes down to race.
Dog Whistles
October 30, 2014/
The term is new to me, but dog whistles are the oldest thing in Southern politics. This election, like all of them, comes down to race.
In 1950, it was “White People Wake Up…Do you want Negroes working beside you, your wife and daughters in your mills and factories?”
In 1984, it was “I oppose the Martin Luther King holiday. Where do you stand, Jim?”
Today it’s mailers linking Gary Pendleton’s opponent Kim Hanchette to a scary-looking photo of the Rev. William Barber. And Phil Matthews’ supporters criticizing Matt Calabria for supporting UNC’s Department of African and Afro-American Studies when he ran for UNC student body president in 2004.
Same old, same old.
Republicans, as always, will say it’s Democrats who are “playing the race card.” They’ll say it’s racist for Democrats to link Republicans like Thom Tillis to Stand Your Ground laws, President Obama’s impeachment and voter-suppression laws.
Where you come down on this divide pretty much defines where you stand in American politics.
Just like it has ever since the Civil War, it still comes down to race.