George Wallace
George Wallace (1919 - 1998) was a pro-segregationist governor of Alabama. He gained national attention by "standing in the schoolhouse door" to stop the integration of Alabama schools (then he stepped aside). He ran unsuccessfully for president four times, three times seeking the Democratic party nomination, (1964, 1972, 1976), and once running as an independent (1968). He carried blue collar white southerners and rural white southerners in the United States presidential election, 1968, but his appeal to blue collar northern Democrats was blunted by labor unions who vehemently attacked him as a dangerous and reckless racist demagogue.
Later life
An assassination attempt in 1972 by Arthur Bremer left him partially disabled. In the late 1970s Wallace became a born-again Christian, renouncing his segregationist policies and apologizing for his past. After his change, he became popular within the African American community, a position of closeness that he would retain until his death.
Media Rehabilitation
In 1991, Wallace asked the question "The media has rehabilitated Johnson, why won't it rehabilitate me?",[1] in reference to how the Liberal Media overlook the past positions of Lyndon Johnson. After Wallace's passing, the media have indeed rehabilitated him, though likely not in the way he hoped they would. It is not uncommon for journalists and others to insinuate[2][3] or outright state[4][5][6][7] that Wallace was a republican, even though he was always a life-long democrat.[8]
Quotes
- "I don't support white supremacy, I'm the one who made them take 'white supremacy' off the roster that was the symbol of the Democratic Party in this state. I did nothing worse than Lyndon Johnson. He was for segregation when he thought he had to be. I was for segregation, and I was wrong. The media has rehabilitated Johnson, why won't it rehabilitate me?"[1]
Further reading
- Lesher, Stephan. George Wallace: American Populist. (1994). 587 pp.
- Time. "Wallace's Army: The Coalition Of Frustration," Time Oct 18, 1968
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Rehabilitation of George Wallace, Washington Post
- ↑ Salon Photo Implies That George Wallace Was a Republican
- ↑ New York Times Sunday Front Page Likens Trump to Fellow 'Demagogues' McCarthy, Wallace, Pat Buchanan
- ↑ Politico Mag Implies George Wallace Was GOP, Blames Country's Divisions Entirely on Whites' Resistance to Civil Rights
- ↑ http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2013/06/12/msnbc-gov-george-wallace-was-a-republican/
- ↑ Chris Hayes Apologizes for Tagging George Wallace As Republican: A ‘Stupid, Inexcusable, Historically Illiterate Mistake’, Newsbusters
- ↑ The Hill Calls Lifelong Democrat Segregationist George Wallace a Republican in Piece About Donald Trump, Breitbart.com
- ↑ GEORGE WALLACE DEAD, 79 ALA.'S EX-GOV WAS ICON OF SEGREGATIONIST 1960S
