General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Wanna Know Who Made Racism ''Acceptable Again'' in the good ol' USA? [View all]YoungDemCA
(5,714 posts)There were lots of liberal organizations, labor unions, civil rights groups, etc. that were all holding FDR, Truman, JFK, LBJ, and other politicians feet to the fire. Hell, in the 30s and 40s, the Communist Party USA had a formidable presence, and could demand even more radical policies. Congress was controlled by Democrats back then (with one exception: 1947-1949), and even with the Southern Democrats' reactionary stances on race and labor, there were still a fair number of moderate Republicans who voted for the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act and some other progressive issues. Those days are long gone.
I agree that Reagan was a very negative long-term influence, but he didn't appear out of nowhere. He emerged from the support of a well-organized and well-funded coalition of right-wing business interests - especially embodied by the military-industrial complex in places like Southern California. He also had the support of most business interests nationwide, who had turned rightward in the 70s in the wake of labor agitation and other grassroots movements in the 60s and 70s.
Also, a lot of white middle-class Democrats voted for Reagan in 1980, and even more in 1984. How do you account for that? Racism, maybe; coupled with the GOP's use of "law and order" rhetoric and complaints about "welfare queens" and rising taxes and so-called 'stagflation." Plus, a lot people thought America was "losing" the Cold War by the late 70s, especially after Vietnam. Reagan exploited and capitalized on those sentiments.