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GOP and George Wallace

Marshall Frady, in his excellent biography of George Wallace, pointed out in 1967 the Alabama governor represented “a general shattering of the American society, a disintegration into fragments.” Certainly the recent election in Alabama placed these divisions on full display. Despite Roy Moore’s personal and moral deficiencies the tribal instincts of some of Alabama’s white voters were evident.

Certainly the atmosphere was different with Steve Bannon, of Goldman-Sachs fame, acting out the role of a populist tribune. Democrats rallied in the posh suburb of Mountain Brook, a toney address of people who almost always voted Republican. For observers from another era the positions of both parties, especially around social class, appeared to be reversed. Doug Jones lived in the land of what Jim Folsom, a progressive Alabama governor, called the “got rocks folks” or “the big mules” of Birmingham. Bannon appealed to the wire-grass region that supported Folsom, Wallace and the populists.

Indeed Bannon crooned old Wallace standards, such as saying that Moore had more integrity in his little finger than Mitt Romney’s whole family. His invocation of regional pride recalled Wallace’s “stand up for Alabama” campaigns. He also evoked class, claiming that the GOP wanted a tax cut, but in the end they would dump President Donald Trump as soon as their pockets were thoroughly lined, an observation which is quite shrewd and reflects the cynicism of the Republican party. Even a blind pig comes up with an acorn from time to time and Bannon certainly was perceptive.

Trump, whose style resembles Wallace’s, prefers tweeting, rallies and conflicts to governing. Bannon’s approach, although unquestionably brutal, nevertheless is far more flexible. It is the New York crowd that pushes the corporate tax cut which so heavily favors the rich. Steve Mnuchin is its most prominent salesman. Politically it makes little sense; the economy is already stimulated. The only other explanation is to get Trump credit for a boom he did not create. It resembles the Democratic tax cut of 1964 that triggered a mega-boom which led to mega-inflation in 1970.

But Democrats also endanger their identity by becoming Gerald Ford Republicans. Their moral arguments mobilize many voters but do not fully convert them into loyal members of the party. Class-based politics is vague, leaving union members baffled and Leftist’s confused. Mountain Brook, Montauk, Bel Air and Fairfax County are former strongholds of the upper-class GOP. Identity and gender politics are excellent wedges but add very little for the message. Trump goads them by making Democrats angry and reactive.

This was Wallace’s style and Bannon’s. Lacking any real message they created a hot brew of resentment and reaction. The formula is us versus them, which promises to change the American party system in ways not seen since the 1850s. It is dangerous to conflate action with political message. But it alrequires the Democrats to rediscover their economic message. The other side needs to be met with substance and not symbolism.

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