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Tokyodreamer
SFN Regular
USA
1447 Posts |
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James
SFN Regular
USA
754 Posts |
 Posted - 08/21/2001 : 19:28:55 [Permalink]
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From above article:quote:
Another senior Republican incumbent, 98-year-old Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, has said he will not seek re-election next year.
Good-bye! Good-bye! Good-bye!
The way I see it, christians are godless too...they just don't know it yet. |
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Wendy
SFN Regular
USA
614 Posts |
Posted - 08/22/2001 : 16:50:24 [Permalink]
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Hey... maybe there is a God...
Wendy Jones |
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James
SFN Regular
USA
754 Posts |
Posted - 08/22/2001 : 17:48:07 [Permalink]
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You're joking, right? 
The way I see it, christians are godless too...they just don't know it yet. |
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ljbrs
SFN Regular
USA
842 Posts |
Posted - 08/22/2001 : 19:39:33 [Permalink]
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Strom Thurmond leaving the Senate is great news. However, he has lived too long, as it is. Then again, I always say that Jerks live with jerks 24 hours a day, 365-6 days per year. They cannot get away.
The problem is that the folks who elected him will be electing his successor, so everything will not be turning up roses...
ljbrs  
Perfection Is a State of Growth... |
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James
SFN Regular
USA
754 Posts |
Posted - 08/22/2001 : 20:06:16 [Permalink]
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Yeah, but the new guy will be just that, the new guy. Or I should say one of the new guys. We can only hope that this one is not as bad as Thurmond is/was.
The way I see it, christians are godless too...they just don't know it yet. |
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@tomic
Administrator
USA
4607 Posts |
Posted - 08/22/2001 : 21:20:36 [Permalink]
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Strom Thurmond was no longer fit to lead regardless of whether or not you like his flavor of politics. For that reason alone, all America should be happy to see him retiring.
@tomic
Gravity, not just a good idea...it's the law! |
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Greg
Skeptic Friend
USA
281 Posts |
Posted - 08/23/2001 : 10:46:59 [Permalink]
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A few historical notes while contemplating the retirement of the last of the “Dixiecrats”.
In the early 20th century, the Democratic party was overtly racist while the Republican party was ambivalent about race (they had moved on to bigger and better issues). President Woodrow Wilson, a southern Democrat, was particularly racist. He segregated the armed forces and put forth other policies that would limit freedom for blacks. At this time, the KKK gained the largest membership and greatest nationwide power that it ever had. This state of affairs continued through the next several (Republican) administrations due to their ambivalence.
Along came the depression and FDR whose wife was a noted champion of racial equality. It's quite likely that he and many in his administration felt similarly. One problem that faced him though was the fact that he was trying to pass his National Recovery Act and needed the support of his own party. Many of those members that he needed were racist (mostly southern) politicians who wanted nothing to do with racial equality or integration of the armed services. The outcome was less legislation for racial equality than FDR and certainly his wife would have wanted. But it was a start.
After the war, the Democratic party was starting to change. Minorities that saw FDR as a champion of the common man, flocked to the Democratic Party. They joined the northern union factory workers and southerners that made up the bulk of the party faithful. The problem is that the southern Democratic politician's race baiting tactics were now becoming undesirable on the national scene. With such things as Brown v. Board and the voting rights and civil rights acts, this behavior was viewed as downright obnoxious. It was time for northern Democrats (not the politicians though) to become ambivalent about race.
The 50's, 60's, and 70's were a time of division within the Democratic party. The party was dedicated to civil rights but the “Dixiecrats” (a pejorative term for the southern racist politicians) strongly opposed them. At this time, we see Strom Thurmond leading the efforts against Brown v. Board and George Wallace running for President as an independent (may as well have started the Racist party). During the 70's when economic problems were brewing and union laborers started seeing layoffs, these folks started becoming uneasy with the Democratic party's emphasis on civil rights. Minorities were okay as long as ‘we' didn't have to work with them, live with them, or send ‘our' children to school with them.
In the late 70's, Reagan and his ilk started wooing Evangelical Fundamentalist leaders to the heretofore purely fiscal & economically conservative Republican party. The Dixiecrats went along for the ride and finally broke with the party that had sustained them for 100 years. Under their new identity as Republicans, they continued spreading their hate but this time with the blessing of religious “leaders”. The Dixiecrat's socio-political philosophies are now starting to become part of the Republican party doctrine. The real question is – for how long and where will they go next?
I hope that this grossly unsatisfactory analysis shows that hate and intolerance go wherever they are needed and wherever they are welcomed. Hate shows no loyalty to anything but hate.
Good riddance Thurmond & Helms. We won't miss you, and hopefully you're legacy will die a quick death.
Greg.
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