The right in this country is dominated by and unified by Christianity.
I somewhat disagree with that, though "the right" is a vague enough term that it works, I guess. Personally, I'd say the Republican party is dominated by money, but they have to do something to broaden their base. Advertising your primary role as serving the interests of the rich has some problems.
So, you get the updated Nixon "Southern strategy", where you play off people's fears on race and religion to get them behind you. Historically, I'd say the roots go way back before Nixon to the antebellum South, where most southern white people didn't own slaves or benefit very much from the peculiar institution, but were willing to fight and die for it nevertheless. Of course, officially they weren't fighting for "slavery", it was "states' rights" or Southern honor or something. . Ashcroft sort of brings all the threads together, I think.
Cheers, Dan. |
