Changes

The '''Southern strategy''' is a [[Democrat]] [[conspiracy theory]] that alleges [[Richard Nixon]] carried Southern states in the [[1968 presidential election]] in the wake of the [[bi-partisan]] [[1964 Civil Rights Act]]. In fact, [[the South]] was carried by Democrat [[renegade]] [[George C. Wallace]]. In 1972, the Democrats for the first time in 40 years did not have a Southern on the ticket, and Southerners overwhelming rejected two Northern [[liberal]]s at the top of their ticket. In 1976, 1992, 1996, 2008, and 2012 the South returned to the Democrat fold. After the end of [[Jim Crow]] laws in the mid 1960s, the South became increasingly Republican as it became less racist. The [[War on Poverty]] enticed Blacks onto the [[Democrat plantation]].

According to Conservapedia, the '''Southern strategy''' is a [[Democrat]] [[conspiracy theory]]. In reality, it is an academic term that refers to Republican political strategies aimed at growing their electoral strength in the South in the 1960s and 1970s by appealing to white racist sentiment.

In the movie ''[[Death of a Nation: Can We Save America a Second Time?]]'', [[Dinesh D'Souza]] points out that this alleged strategy was actually one of winning the support of the [[Sun Belt]] rather than the Deep South.<ref>D'Souza, Dinesh (August 23, 2018). [https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/402754-the-myth-of-nixons-southern-strategy The myth of Nixon’s ‘Southern Strategy’]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved August 23, 2018.</ref>

The RNC chairman apologized in 2005 on behalf of his party for Republicans historically ignoring the black vote and appealing to white racist sentiment.<ref name="Mehlman">{{cite news|last=Rondy|first=John|title=GOP ignored black vote, chairman says: RNC head apologizes at NAACP meeting|url=https://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/07/15/gop_ignored_black_vote_chairman_says/|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=July 15, 2005|agency=Reuters|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112220033/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/07/15/gop_ignored_black_vote_chairman_says/|archivedate=January 12, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="wapo-apology">{{cite news|work=[[The Washington Post]]|title=RNC Chief to Say It Was 'Wrong' to Exploit Racial Conflict for Votes|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/13/AR2005071302342.html|first=Mike|last=Allen|authorlink=Michael Allen (journalist)|date=July 14, 2005|accessdate=October 14, 2013}}</ref>

 

[[Liberals]], repeatedly unpopular in the South, have tried to attribute this alleged strategy to racial politics.  The reality is that liberals have always played the [[political card|racist card]] far more often than [[Republicans]] do. Examples of this racialization are the terms "[[Welfare state]]" and "[[Welfare queen]]", even though the original welfare queen [[Linda Taylor]] was a white woman.

 

The pairing of Northern liberals with Southern Democrats on a presidential ticket has long been the strategic cornerstone of the Democrats' appeal to the racist vote. The promise of government handouts is appealing to many racist Democrats, irrespective of what region of the country they reside.

{| class="wikitable"

{| class="wikitable"