Sinise's 'George Wallace' makes DVD debut

The Washington Times ^ | January 23, 2009 | Sonny Bunch

[Bunkasaurus]

what proportion do you suppose?

[fieldmarshaldj]

You’d have to look at their individual voting records. What we define as liberal vs. Conservative today was different then (since, after all, you didn’t have social issues such as abortion, gay marriage, etc.). Civil Rights was the premier social issue then, but there was a problem in even defining that, since a lot of non-Southern Conservatives were in favor (and even a few Southern ones, at least one Southern Republican Congressman from my state of TN was pro-Civil Rights). Goldwater opposed the CRA of ‘64, but not from a “reactionary” point of view, but from a Libertarian view that the acts went beyond the scope of the problem.

Another issue you could look at could be the viewpoint of whether the Southern Dems favored heavy or restrained government spending and largesse. Many Southern Dems were all over the map, they could be anti-Civil Rights (which some might call “Conservative”, although I personally have a problem with, since Conservatives tend to be on the side of freedom, and deliberate oppression of an entire race of people is anti-freedom), but were supporters of “big government.” A prime example of a big-time New Dealer in the South was Senator Theodore Bilbo of Mississippi. A huge proponent of FDR and gov’t spending, but rabidly anti-Black, and he was also a crook.

As for Wallace himself, he was just simply a rank opportunist. He started out a racial moderate, a Folsom Democrat (liberal, by those standards). When he lost to the AL Attorney General in the Democrat primary for Governor in ‘58 who painted him as a race liberal, Wallace then vowed never to let that happen again, so he turned into an anti-Black demogogue over it. Some called that “Conservative”, which again I’d have a problem characterizing as such, as this was really just feeling around for whatever issue would get him elected, and race-baiting was popular at the time. Of course, by 1982 when he won his last race for Governor, he was already back to pandering in the opposite direction, proclaiming himself pro-Black. His same-named son, who held statewide office in recent years in AL, was also accused of opportunism, and he ran as a Democrat before switching to the GOP because it was ostensibly easier for him to continue to hold office as one.

[Bunkasaurus]

I believe Goldwater used his position in the Arizona ANG to integrate it.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts, j.