http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/wisconsin-republicans-to-vote-on-right-to-secede
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/kkk-leader-jewish-community-center-shooting-suspect
I have little doubt that the Wisconsin GOP will NOT vote to secede. It's Wisconsin. But it will get votes. But the narrative will be: Look! They DIDN'T vote to secede! They must be reasonable!
And then we have the specter of an actual Klansmen killing people. Again, it's not like ALL GOP members are Klansmen. And even if SOME GOP are Klansmen, it doesn't follow that the GOP is RACIST!
All of this flows into a discussion that Booman was having about a Jon Chait article.
Is the GOP motivated by racism in its opposition to Obama? Somewhat. All the references to the birth certificate and his Muslim identity are elements of the racial panic of a "disappearing America".
Yet at the same time would opposition to the President be any different if it was Hillary Clinton? No. And then we could (and probably will) focus on sexism within the GOP. And if the President was Joe Biden? They'd still oppose every single damned thing he did.
What has been so distressing about the GOP has not been the thinly veiled racism within elements of the party. When you assimilate the white South, that's just going to happen.
What I find distressing is that the GOP refuses to behave like a principled opposition party, but simply a band of institutional nihilists.
Now with extra racism!
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