Proof that Republicans know exactly how racist they are

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Republicans co-opting Martin Luther King Jr. quotes while pushing policy and supporting legislation directly in opposition to the wishes of civil rights leaders is just one example of the party trying to rewrite history.

In fact, there are so many examples of revisionist history happening these days, especially among conservatives, that historian and Princeton University professor Kevin M. Kruse felt the need to publish a book alongside other historians and join this episode of The New Abnormal Politics. podcast, to set the record straight.

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He talks about his book Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, which is a compilation of chapters written by historians who smash those myths, and shares evidence that contrary to Republican denials, the party engages actively in the Southern Strategy. , which is, as New Abnormal co-host Andy Levy explains, the idea that as the Democratic Party moved away from the party of slavery and segregation, the GOP somehow kind consciously moved to fill that void and become the champion of the White Southerners.

From speaking in racially coded language to antagonizing white voters with fear and taking staunchly pro-police stances, they absolutely follow the knowingly racist playbook of the conservative past, Kruse says.

It is not a theory of wishful thinking that we have imposed in the past. People were talking about it in documents back then, in interviews back then, in books, talking about it, Kruse says. [Richard] Nixon talks about it in his memoirs. Harry Dent, his advisor, talks about it in his memoirs. Lee Atwater gives an interview where he talks about the old coded racism of the Nixon-era Southern Strategy. This has long been conventional wisdom. The heads of the Republican National Committee have apologized for this. The thought of people suddenly saying, oh, that never happened. This is all just a myth, it was just a little crazy and frustrating.

It also explains Nixon’s role in cementing this strategy for the GOP and also why we are still taught basic historical lies, including one that Andy is particularly invested in: George Washington never lies.

Also in this episode: TNA co-host Danielle Moodie interviews Jim Freeman, civil rights attorney and author of the book, Rich Thanks to Racism: How the Ultra-Wealthy Profit from Racial Injustice, to talk about the movement Defund the Police and the role police unions play in preventing this from happening.

Listen to The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.

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