Remember Phyllis Schlafly!
Nov. 10th, 2004 11:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
saavedra77(Previously posted on NNNop-ed:)
Most historians will tell you that the modern conservative movement began 40 years ago, after the 1964 presidential election, which Republicans lost by a landslide:
The 1964 Republican candidate, Barry Goldwater, was the party's most militantly conservative nominee in decades, promising to tear down the welfare state & out-bomb LBJ in Vietnam. In the end, though, this conservative champion lost by nearly 16 million votes, carrying only his native Arizona & a few states in the Deep South. LBJ's margin of victory--61% to Goldwater's 39%--was in fact the largest won by any presidential candidate since 1824.
And yet, as I said, that's where the modern conservative movement began: Dissed by the voters, Goldwater supporters--like antifeminist & arch-homophobe Phyllis Schlafly, & "traditional values" fighters like Paul Weyrich & Richard Viguerie--dug in for the long haul, a 4-decade effort to change the political facts on the ground & "take back" their country. They used then-new marketing techniques like direct mail & exploited popular issues like desgregation & the '70s tax revolt to build a popular base of support. They networked with like-minded elements in churches & business. And they laid the groundwork for the presidencies of Ronald Reagan & George W. Bush.
In the years since the "Reagan Revolution," the Republican party has become more & more closely identified with the conservative movement, and the 2004 election saw that party tightening its grip on practically all of the levers of government in the U.S. Surviving Goldwater supporters like Richard Viguerie appear to regard the 2004 results as their long-awaited revenge for 1964 & an opportunity to assert their conservative social agenda like never before. Clearly, last Tuesday's outcome dealt a severe body blow to Democrats and progressives.
But, let's put this in perspective: Democrat John Kerry lost by a margin of just 3 million votes --51% to 48%--less than 1/5 of the margin by which LBJ trounced Goldwater. In '64, the American people effectively told Goldwaterites that they were out of touch with the mainstream; but, as we so often hear, the American people of 2004 remain sharply--even bitterly--divided. So I'd say the right still has a fight on their hands before they can establish the puritanical garrison state that they seem to long for.
What I'm saying to progressives, in particular--especially those of you who poured out your soul into this election, who can't believe that this is really happening--is this:
Dig in. Take back your country.
(For those who want to read more about the Goldwaterites & the beginnings of movement conservatism, I'd recommend the early chapters of Sara Diamond's book Roads to Dominion: Right-Wing Movements & Political Power in the United States, as well as chapters 10 - 11 of Berlet & Lyons' Right-Wing Populism in America as good starting points.)
Most historians will tell you that the modern conservative movement began 40 years ago, after the 1964 presidential election, which Republicans lost by a landslide:
The 1964 Republican candidate, Barry Goldwater, was the party's most militantly conservative nominee in decades, promising to tear down the welfare state & out-bomb LBJ in Vietnam. In the end, though, this conservative champion lost by nearly 16 million votes, carrying only his native Arizona & a few states in the Deep South. LBJ's margin of victory--61% to Goldwater's 39%--was in fact the largest won by any presidential candidate since 1824.
And yet, as I said, that's where the modern conservative movement began: Dissed by the voters, Goldwater supporters--like antifeminist & arch-homophobe Phyllis Schlafly, & "traditional values" fighters like Paul Weyrich & Richard Viguerie--dug in for the long haul, a 4-decade effort to change the political facts on the ground & "take back" their country. They used then-new marketing techniques like direct mail & exploited popular issues like desgregation & the '70s tax revolt to build a popular base of support. They networked with like-minded elements in churches & business. And they laid the groundwork for the presidencies of Ronald Reagan & George W. Bush.
In the years since the "Reagan Revolution," the Republican party has become more & more closely identified with the conservative movement, and the 2004 election saw that party tightening its grip on practically all of the levers of government in the U.S. Surviving Goldwater supporters like Richard Viguerie appear to regard the 2004 results as their long-awaited revenge for 1964 & an opportunity to assert their conservative social agenda like never before. Clearly, last Tuesday's outcome dealt a severe body blow to Democrats and progressives.
But, let's put this in perspective: Democrat John Kerry lost by a margin of just 3 million votes --51% to 48%--less than 1/5 of the margin by which LBJ trounced Goldwater. In '64, the American people effectively told Goldwaterites that they were out of touch with the mainstream; but, as we so often hear, the American people of 2004 remain sharply--even bitterly--divided. So I'd say the right still has a fight on their hands before they can establish the puritanical garrison state that they seem to long for.
What I'm saying to progressives, in particular--especially those of you who poured out your soul into this election, who can't believe that this is really happening--is this:
Dig in. Take back your country.
(For those who want to read more about the Goldwaterites & the beginnings of movement conservatism, I'd recommend the early chapters of Sara Diamond's book Roads to Dominion: Right-Wing Movements & Political Power in the United States, as well as chapters 10 - 11 of Berlet & Lyons' Right-Wing Populism in America as good starting points.)
