Politics
Can white supremacists stage a comeback in the GOP?
OPINION – David Duke’s presidential hopes can serve as a warning sign: that the threat, though unlikely, is still very much alive…
America appears to have a recurring case of white supremacists, with viral-like symptoms.
The mid-term elections of 2010 spawned an increased number of politically active white rights organizations, including the KKK and neo-Nazi groups — all aimed at gaining small, but significant, footholds in electoral politics. The trend continues as we head into the presidential campaign of 2012 — with the infamous David Duke, a former KKK Grand Wizard and Republican Louisiana State Representative who lost his 1991 bid for the governorship with nearly 40 percent of the overall vote, now announcing exploratory plans to run for president.
Duke’s record shows a consistent losing streak, and there is very little chance he’d survive any primary, let alone serve as a serious contender for the Republican nomination — but his boldness reflects an arrogant resurgence of white supremacist ideology and fervor — which the American political landscape has not experienced, or tolerated, in decades.
The dialogue often promoted by white nationalists, as Duke describes himself, is largely focused on being anti-federal government, anti-immigration, pro-Christian “family values”, anti-gay and strict Constitutionalism. When seen through this lens, the similarities between these values and the newly emerged Tea Party Caucus and rhetoric, are too obvious to be ignored.
The only difference perhaps is that Duke and his ilk are vocal about their desire to see a system of voluntary segregation and white separatism. But what the American public learned in the past two years as the birthers dominated the airwaves with visceral attacks against the nation’s first African-American president — with suggestions that he was unfit to hold office — is that the underlying issue is still race, and old dogs have simply found new tricks to get their message across.
The KKK has attempted to rebrand itself as a civil rights organization, much like the NAACP, but acting on behalf of whites. Although the suggestion seems ludicrous to most, the sentiments find willing ears and minds — and should be taken seriously. The broader question becomes: what does this resurgence mean for the future of the Republican Party and the Tea Party movement in particular? And will a more vocal far-right fringe force the GOP back to the center?
Eve Conant, a Newsweek staff reporter, explored these questions for The Daily Beast in her piece “White Supremacists Stampede“. Conant interviewed members of various white nationalist organizations to understand their political and electoral strategies. What she found was a surprisingly effective network, with deep roots and strong connections.
