It's About Coalitions Not Purity, Part Eight
The 1976 Republican nominating process was a tough one, with incumbent President Gerald Ford challenged by former California Governor Ronald Reagan; but a little background first. The 1964 Republican contest had shown conservatives strengthening their hold on the Republican Party, as conservative Barry Goldwater won the nomination. What was left of the progressive wing of the Republican Party, most symbolized in those days by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, began to fade into what might be termed "moderates," which included Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Reagan, a former Democrat, became a prominent supporter of Goldwater in 1964 and the heir apparent leader of conservatives in the Republican Party after Goldwater's landslide loss to Democrat Lyndon Johnson. Nixon captured the presidency in 1968, as President Johnson and Democrats wrestled with discontent over the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, increasing inflation, and serious divisions within their own political party, as many southern Democrats took to supporting Alabama Governor George Wallace, an avowed segregationist,* who ran for the presidency in 1968 as an independent; thus siphoning off both popular votes and electoral votes from Democratic candidate, Hubert Humphrey. Nixon won a narrow half million vote plurality (43.4%) over Humphrey (42.7%), but Wallace received nearly ten million votes nationwide (13.5%), although the largest portion came in the traditionally Democratic South, where he carried five states.** Democrats were obviously in trouble, as a significant part of their coalition abandoned them for Wallace. The 1972 election saw a landslide reelection of Nixon, as Democratic Senator George McGovern carried only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, and losing the popular vote to Nixon 60.7% to 37.5%. This time, in a forerunner of what was to come later, the Solid South voted solidly Republican.
Republican momentum at assembling a dominant coalition was halted by events and a self-inflicted wound. Events had to do with the winding down of the Vietnam War, where American troops were being withdrawn in stages, and conflict in the Middle East, which brought an oil embargo by Arab nations against the United States for its support of Israel in a war begun in October 1973. The oil shortage created long lines at American gas stations and escalating inflation, which was already becoming a problem as a drag on the slowing economy. The self-inflicted wound was by Nixon and some of his aides. Burglars broke into the Democratic headquarters in Washington D.C, in the Watergate complex, but they were captured. The resulting investigation led Nixon and his closest aides to cover up information about the break in and about other activities initiated by his reelection staff and White House personnel. The whole ordeal came to be called "Watergate," and Nixon resigned in August 1974, with Vice President Gerald Ford becoming president.***
Since Nixon would not have been able to run again anyway, as he was term limited, Ronald Reagan, then governor of California, was clearly a force to be reckoned with, as he garnered support from conservatives nationwide. It is interesting that Reagan could run for the presidency, seeing that he warned of the imminent demise of freedom in the country if Medicare became law in the mid 1960s, but Medicare did become law, and freedom lasted to see Reagan run for president in 1976, to see him elected twice, and we're still free in 2012. You think he misjudged? Or exaggerated?
Next, the "Reagan coalition" and the ascendancy of the American political right.
* Wallace carried some of assassinated Louisianan Huey Long's populist ideas along too, as he supported more aid to elderly people on Social Security. As to the red hot issue of the Vietnam War, he preached to either go all out to win the war in a short period of time, or to get out of Vietnam. Wallace was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt by Arthur Bremer during the 1972 (not 1968) campaign and was confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life, which ended in 1998 at the age of 79. After his presidential campaigns, Wallace renounced his segregationist views.
** Nixon, as are all presidents, was actually elected by electoral votes: Nixon 301, Humphrey 191 and Wallace 46.
*** Ford had been appointed to replace Spiro Agnew, who resigned in 1973 over legal problems of his own involving tax evasion over brides he received while governor of Maryland.
WORD HISTORY:
South-The ultimate origins of this word are uncertain, but it likely goes back to Indo European "shuwen," which meant "sun, bright light." This gave Old Germanic "sunno" (sun), which then spawned "sunthaz," which meant "land or area of the sun, southward." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "suth," with the meaning "south," which later came to be "south." When I was a kid, there were people around who pronounced it "suth," which rhymed with "tooth," and this was likely close to the pronunciation in Anglo-Saxon times. Common in the other Germanic languages: German has "Süd(en)," Low German Saxon has "Süüd," Dutch has "zuid," West Frisian has "Sud(en)," Icelandic has "suthur," Swedish has "syd/söder," Danish has "syd," and Norwegian has "sør."
Republican momentum at assembling a dominant coalition was halted by events and a self-inflicted wound. Events had to do with the winding down of the Vietnam War, where American troops were being withdrawn in stages, and conflict in the Middle East, which brought an oil embargo by Arab nations against the United States for its support of Israel in a war begun in October 1973. The oil shortage created long lines at American gas stations and escalating inflation, which was already becoming a problem as a drag on the slowing economy. The self-inflicted wound was by Nixon and some of his aides. Burglars broke into the Democratic headquarters in Washington D.C, in the Watergate complex, but they were captured. The resulting investigation led Nixon and his closest aides to cover up information about the break in and about other activities initiated by his reelection staff and White House personnel. The whole ordeal came to be called "Watergate," and Nixon resigned in August 1974, with Vice President Gerald Ford becoming president.***
Since Nixon would not have been able to run again anyway, as he was term limited, Ronald Reagan, then governor of California, was clearly a force to be reckoned with, as he garnered support from conservatives nationwide. It is interesting that Reagan could run for the presidency, seeing that he warned of the imminent demise of freedom in the country if Medicare became law in the mid 1960s, but Medicare did become law, and freedom lasted to see Reagan run for president in 1976, to see him elected twice, and we're still free in 2012. You think he misjudged? Or exaggerated?
Next, the "Reagan coalition" and the ascendancy of the American political right.
* Wallace carried some of assassinated Louisianan Huey Long's populist ideas along too, as he supported more aid to elderly people on Social Security. As to the red hot issue of the Vietnam War, he preached to either go all out to win the war in a short period of time, or to get out of Vietnam. Wallace was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt by Arthur Bremer during the 1972 (not 1968) campaign and was confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life, which ended in 1998 at the age of 79. After his presidential campaigns, Wallace renounced his segregationist views.
** Nixon, as are all presidents, was actually elected by electoral votes: Nixon 301, Humphrey 191 and Wallace 46.
*** Ford had been appointed to replace Spiro Agnew, who resigned in 1973 over legal problems of his own involving tax evasion over brides he received while governor of Maryland.
WORD HISTORY:
South-The ultimate origins of this word are uncertain, but it likely goes back to Indo European "shuwen," which meant "sun, bright light." This gave Old Germanic "sunno" (sun), which then spawned "sunthaz," which meant "land or area of the sun, southward." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "suth," with the meaning "south," which later came to be "south." When I was a kid, there were people around who pronounced it "suth," which rhymed with "tooth," and this was likely close to the pronunciation in Anglo-Saxon times. Common in the other Germanic languages: German has "Süd(en)," Low German Saxon has "Süüd," Dutch has "zuid," West Frisian has "Sud(en)," Icelandic has "suthur," Swedish has "syd/söder," Danish has "syd," and Norwegian has "sør."
Labels: conservatism, English, etymology, George McGovern, George Wallace, Gerald Ford, Germanic languages, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Spiro Agnew, Watergate
posted by Randy at 1:47 PM
2 Comments:
Ive hear it pronounced "suth." U almost always have good stuff here. I was young, but I remember Wallace and when he was shot. Very divisive guy.
These conservatives always play 'Chicken Little' and say the sky is falling, but Medciare has survived and many people have lived because of it, just like with Obamacare.
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