Republicans like to say they stand for honor and responsibility. They want to take the moral high ground and believe their ideas and values are justified by God almighty. But do their actions reflect their words, or are Republicans simply making empty promises? When it came to Iraq, Republicans fabricated a story about weapons of mass destruction and used the lie as an excuse to start a war. When Cowboy george left office in 2008 he dumped all of the financial backlash tat failed war in the Middle East left behind, squarely into President Obama’s lap. While Republicans say they support fairness and equality, they relentlessly pursue a campaign to cut food stamps, social services, and education funding.
Blaming the Poor
Confusingly, a large portion of Republican voters are poor and undereducated white people. Why would poor, undereducated individuals vote for the party that relentlessly puts them at a disadvantage and strengthens the wealth of the upper class? Republicans routinely blame poor people for being poor.
Many suspect voter suppression plays a role in this odd situation. The GOP’s use of voter suppression is not new. In fact, it has been going on throughout Amercan history.
Republicans push to cut benefits and assistance for poor people while lowering taxes for the rich, they want to minimize the minimum wage, and make it easier for corporations to outsource their jobs. And yet the conservative base of America, be them wealthy, poor, undereducated, scheming or otherwise, still vote republican even though it is in their worst interest.
Republicans have no interest in raises the minimum wage, but college tuition has been steadily on the rise, as has the wage gap in America. The Republican Party utilizes a tactic referred to as the “Southern Strategy”, which is how they encourage poor, uneducated white people to support them.
The Southern Strategy
The i original goal was to gain voters in the south by invoking institutional racism. While racism has always been a problem, the Southern Strategy seeks to take advantage of it. This seems to be how they gained most of their poor, white voters. Even though they are placed at a disadvantage, white people still vote for the Publican Party because they feel they stand for a common cause. But the Republican Party simply exploits racism and fear to control southern states.
Racism is more common among poor, white communities than anywhere else in the country. Underprivileged people have a need to feel superior. It distracts them from the discomfort of being poor and undereducated. They use black people to fill this void. It is this racism, which is rooted in insecurity, that the Republican Party is taking advantage of.
Creating a Wedge
Wedge issues are political issues used to create anger and fear. Driving a wedge among southern communities enables the Republican party to maintain their influence over the southern states. Forced busing is an example of a wedge issue. When segregation originally became illegal, southern states still attempted to keep it.
The Federal court was then given the ability to implement racial balance in busing. In other words, buses were required to transport both white and black students. The Republican Party made this into a wedge issue by using vaguely racial terminology. They could not be openly racist, but they could use racial terminology to incite the anger and discontent among the racist communities in the south. They did this by referring to the court ruling as “forced busing.”
Final Thoughts
It is a misfortune that poor, white people still vote for their oppressors. But the strategy that is used as a mechanism of control is even worse. The Republican Party manipulates the south by targeting their insecurities and fears. Democrats have been trying to solve this issue, but they are faced with an uphill battle.