"Southern white Democrats started the KKK!!!"

do I seriously need to explain the party switch to you or can I just whack you upside the head with a high school history book for the all the good it would do?

#partyswitch #history #kukluxklan #democrats #republicans

For me, THIS is the kicker of this thread.

It's got it all the elements entwined - #SouthernStrategy, the Phillips quote, Chisholm, and the landslide for a dude like Nixon!

I could have posted just this one single toot as evidence of the #PartySwitch!

But getting here was half the fun, and the journey was as important as the destination, showing clearly how pervasive #WhiteSupremacy has been throughout #AmericanHistory and #politcs.

The entire scope should erase all good faith doubt.

14/23 #RichardMNixon, the Republican California senator (though born in NY) who had been vice-president under #DwightDEisenhower, ran for president back in 1960, losing to #JFK.

He lost the 1964 nomination to #BarryGoldwater (noted as a significant conservative shift for the Republican party).

Nixon ran again in 1968 and (finally) won — but just barely; to strengthen his administration, he needed an angle, coming up with his #SouthernStrategy.

Nixon strategically powered the #PartySwitch

@Spicewalla Remarkable!

A cartoon like this, back in '64, shows clearly that #LBJ wasn' t the only one able to see the #WhiteSupremacists were hopping onto the #Republican elephant.

It boggles my mind when people actually attempt to argue with a straight face that the #PartySwitch didn't happened.

23/23 So, yeah, be it resolved, the #PartySwitch absolutely did happen and, like so much in #AmericanHistory and #politics, #WhiteSupremacy is all up in it.

Next week, exploring how the Irish became white will be eye-opening for many (and should be shorter, too!)

But, first (as always) —thoughts?

22/23 In previous threads we noted the intersectionality of all of this - #racism, #misogyny, #homophobia, #transphobia, #ablism, #ChristianNationalism, #fascism...

What's going on with Republican lawmakers these days (new Jim Crow laws in Mississippi, sex laws in Florida, etc., etc...) is more understandable through clarity on the #PartySwitch.

Those "racist Democrats" deserted their party, and now essentially occupy a Republican Party that is utterly no longer the #PartyofLincoln.

19/23 In Alabama, at the Neshoba County Fair, (near where three Civil Rights activists were murdered in 1964, go figure) Reagan announced, in true conservative #dogwhistle fashion, "I am for states' rights."

Wink wink.

#JimmyCarter didn't stand a chance — another Republican 2x loser landed another landslide win thanks to another rallying cry to a base of #WhiteSupremacists.

The #PartySwitch was complete.

14/23 #RichardMNixon, the Republican California senator (though born in NY) who had been vice-president under #DwightDEisenhower, ran for president back in 1960, losing to #JFK.

He lost the 1964 nomination to #BarryGoldwater (noted as a significant conservative shift for the Republican party).

Nixon ran again in 1968 and (finally) won — but just barely; to strengthen his administration, he needed an angle, coming up with his #SouthernStrategy.

Nixon strategically powered the #PartySwitch

13/23 #JohnFKennedy, a northern Democrat like FDR, put a southerner (another Texan, #LyndonBJohnson), on his ticket, like FDR, in 1960.

#JFK was assassinated in the south (Dallas). #LBJ assumed presidency.

While Black folks were embracing - that is to say, switching towards - this new, progressive, Democratic Party, Johnson lamented that signing the Civil Rights Act 1964 meant the Democrats would "lose the South for a generation."

OBVIOUSLY, he saw the #PartySwitch happening.

1/23 Why explore the #PartySwitch?

#WhiteSupremacists like to deny it happened. Some just don't know any better but, from those who do, this is a flag - are they hiding something?

All our threads in this discussion thus far (which I've saved on Medium pending a better way to do this, see https://medium.com/@DuaneAubin) have provided broader context towards enhancing clarity for so much of #AmericanHistory and the current state of affairs, and this topic is no different in that regard.

Let's rock!

2/2 I'm going to try this method - each post a reply to the previous post - on my next thread, an attempt to clarify the reality of the #partyswitch

I've seen too much conservative rhetoric denying it, which indicates this slice of truth is antagonistic to their agenda (but, of course it is!).

And, up from what we've covered thus far, it'll connect to the broader themes quite clearly!

At any rate, method-wise, each approach has its strengths and weaknesses, so feedback is welcomed!

@BernieWonIowa @bigjay

A) Yep, and they hurt everyone. This isn't just about Black people.

B) Very keen of you to say "conservatives" and not "Republicans" since there are conservatives in today's Democrat party. My thread next week will try to simplify the #PartySwitch for those still unclear about the broader perspective that can explain some of the complexities of our western politics.

@samweingamgee 1/ Yep, looks like it!

Like so many of these crimes against humanity, they are swept under the carpet because, as we've seen, #WhiteSupremacy hides the truth because truth does not support white supremacy.

Interestingly, another commenter shared with me a link to another Philly massacre, back in 1918. For a "northern state", Pennsylvania has more than its fair share of shameful history. My thread on the #PartySwitch next week will explore this a little more!

@jaysonmassey

Reminds me of the excellent movie Suburbicon which is also set in Pennsylvania.

And, Pennsylvania - a "northern" state! Can't wait to get into the #PartySwitch next week and put this in context!

21/21 My next thread next week will be on the #PartySwitch which is, apparently, confusing enough that I'd like to try to contribute towards helping clarify it, so that its implications for today's landscape can be seen within that larger context.

After that, my last thread in this conversation about being white vs. being a white supremacist will be How the Irish became white.

But for right now (of course), thoughts?!

7/21 Election Riot of 1874, Eufala, AL, also known as the Coup of 1874, "while driving away more than 1,000 unarmed black people at the polls. In attacking the #PollingPlace in Spring Hill, the League effectively hijacked the #elections."

Clinton Riot of 1875: "Whites had been attacking Black and White Republicans [and, don't let that trip you up, my next thread is on the #PartySwitch, so stick a pin for now...] in every #election cycle."

"...in EVERY ELECTION CYCLE."

Oy.

Thanks for all the feedback, y'all. The massacres post got the most engagement, compelling some follow-up to explore more of the context and connection to #Jan6th, #WhiteSupremacy, #ChristianNationalism, and #fascism today:

1. What the #CivilWar was about
2. Key themes across the Massacres
3. How the Irish Became White
4. The #PartySwitch

I'll also try formatting with the reply approach, each post in a thread a reply to the first, so that the whole thread can be read more easily.

Upcoming 2023 #partyswitch Psyop redux