I think it’s reasonable to put forward the belief that America is not a racist country because most Americans are not racist. That allows you to acknowledge the problems and the history without actually accusing people (votes that he needs) of being racist. It is very clear that people do not like being called a racist (Brexit/2016) and that works in his favor being a politician and all. Taking this position allows him to acknowledge what he feels to be a small percentage of actual racists with the rest of the country being somewhere in between not racist and good people but with anxieties that sometimes express themselves in racist ways. I’m personally not sure that this characterization is all that far off.

He is also a black Republican from South Carolina. His personal experience does allow him to harken back to the traditional Republican values of personal accountability and success based on individual merit. If The US was that racist, wouldn’t it be impossible for a black guy to be elected senator from one of the most racist states? these traditional values are still important for a decent percentage of conservatives even if they are nothing more than worthless platitudes to a lot current republicans.

I also think it is some legitimacy to the feeling that the black community has done itself a disservice by essentially giving its vote to the democrats. There are plenty of reasons for them not to vote republican but a lot of traditional conservatism (minus the racism) should also be appealing. As a block they would gain more influence if their vote was actually up for grabs. I think you could also say the same about poor white people who consistently vote Republican.


[Post edited by Hoojack at 04/29/2021 01:46AM]