Of course, in writing a maxim designed to reform and even capitalize on Tip O'Neill's famous rendering, I do not mean to say that politics is exclusively determined by race, just as Tip O'Neill would certainly not maintain that politics is exclusively local. I mean to say that race, and, yes, gender and religion are dominant among other influences which shaped our political world.
In undertaking respond to you I did some quick research and learned that in fact the statement, "all politics of America's local," was originated by an AP writer in 1932 and then used by Tip O'Neill in an unsuccessful bid for local election in Massachusetts in 1935. By 1936, O'Neill was in the United States House of Representatives where he became a staunch new dealer and ultimately a man whose mission was to undermine the Reagan revolution. Interestingly, prior to 1935, politics in America from one perspective at least might accurately have been described as local.
In places like Massachusetts the politics of the place and the time were dominated by local boss politicians such as Boss Tweed, Tammany Hall, Frank Hague and John F. Kennedy's grandfather, Honey Fitz Fitzgerald. To a large degree Franklin Roosevelt nationalized politics and nationalized the patronage which had theretofore reposed in the hands of these big-city Democrat bosses.
But in analyzing the term, "all politics in America is not local but ultimately racial," there are other perspectives. First, let us consider history.
If you look at my about page you will see reference to the original sin of America which was of course slavery and the problem of the Declaration of Independence which unavoidably from that perspective appeared to be hypocritical. Likewise, the Constitution had to be written as a compromise on many issues, not the least of which was slavery, or there would have been no constitution at all. The entire subsequent debate over the westward expansion of the United States turned largely on the issue of slavery, would a state be admitted as free or slave?. America fought its most costly war to resolve the matter and begin with blood to repent of America's original sin.
If one looks at the post-Civil War amendments one can see that at that time politics in America was truly racial. The advancement of civil rights took another century and, one might properly observe that the opposition to civil rights was largely a local phenomenon. Which, incidentally was local in the American South, of course, but also local in places like Boston in opposition to school busing. But that is not the point, the point is that race continues a dominant issue right on through the civil rights era. I know it because I stood on the roof of a building and watched one of America's cities burn in a race riot.
It should go without saying that not all political considerations concerning race have to do with the African race but with the integration of Irish, for example, or with the incarceration of Japanese. Today, we find that Asians are being discriminated against in the admissions to our great universities, because of race balancing. We find that Jews who have historically supported the United States defending Israel, are in many instances changing their view. We find that Cubans attempt to influence our policy concerning Cuba. Today we are watching Black Lives Matter protesters and NFL players declining to honor the American flag, all having to do with race. And so it goes.
Beyond our history, race as the dominant political issue might be expressed in another way. Note, the maxim is not that all policy in America is racial but that all politics in America is racial.
In order to determine the impact of race in American politics let's consider a hypothetical. We find a prominent pollster and put a gun to his head and tell him that we will shoot him unless he can identify how an unidentified citizen voted in the last election. To give our pollster a fighting chance for life, we advise him that he will be given one question and one question only. What question do you expect him to ask? Obviously, what is the race of the unidentified voter? Because it's race that is most determinative of voting patterns.
Indeed, we conservatives complain that the Democrats are balkanizing the country in their efforts to segregate voters by race, as well as gender etc. and manipulate that subgroup. That is one of the main reasons we object to unrestrained immigration, because we know that since Ted Kennedy structured immigration to favor people of color, they are voting overwhelmingly Democrat.
As a conservative, I believe that neither politics nor policy should be the product of race but of the values enshrined in the Constitution and in the Declaration of Independence, all as reformed by the Gettysburg address and the Civil War. But our Democrat friends are determined to advance a leftist ideology by exploiting race.
When I see a thread shaped by a leading article which touches on this principle, I often post a reply containing the maxim. The purpose: to demonstrate that it is racialism rather than constitutionalism which is shaping our destiny. Consider the very thread upon which our discussion is taking place. Bill Clinton says that a white Southerner knows what "make America great again" means. The implication, of course, be that it is racist, it is a "dog whistle"-a phrase which has crept into the language with a special racial overtone.
It is no matter that there are several video clips extent which reveal that Bill Clinton has himself advanced this phrase to further his political career or to further his policies. It matters that racialism is being exploited to affect politics, in this case to frustrate the election of Donald Trump. It matters that we do what we can to stop it.
My way is to quote Nathan Bedford's maxim.
