Hello,
The eight chapter of section three of Joseph Crespino's Strom Thurmond's America is titled Party Hopping. Senator Thurmond's switching of political parties from Southern Democrat to the Republican Party, in 1964, must be seen as a changing moment in South Carolina and American political history. The quote "The day before, Thurmond had delivered a scalding denunciation of the Democratic Party, announcing his new status as a "Goldwater Republican." shows that the political atmosphere in the Southern United States was changing and the politically adept Senator Thurmond used this change to further his political advantage. Thurmond's switch to the Republican Party could be seen as the historical start of President Nixon's political adoption of the influential "Southern Strategy." that defined national Republican strategy for decades to come.
To me, one amazing fact is the cognitive dissonance that it took for Southern democrats like Thurmond to be supportive of a progressive agenda like the New Deal, but then create the modern Republican party - whose goal is largely to dismantle the legacy of Roosevelt.
ReplyDeleteCharles,
ReplyDeleteI was also amazed by the change. However, it caused me to question whether career aspirations or political beliefs are the primary factor in a politician's actions. For a politican to remain in office as long as Thurmond, and many other members of Congress, it seems as though shifting beliefs are necessary in order to meet the changing political situation locally, regionally, and nationly.