Jim March:
Second, it really doesn't matter whether or not Wallace was a racist, or to what degree. And it damnsure doens't matter that he was a Democrat. The term "social conservative" crosses party lines, or at least it did back then.
It matters in terms of the history of civil rights in the US, i.e., to historians.
The term you used to describe Wallace's beliefs was "conservative racisim." Thats quite different from describing him as a "social conservative."
What matters is that he was politically idiotic in terms of seeing how the issue would play out on the national stage and general public opinion.Segregation and racism was doomed in 1954. Trying to give it CPR as late as '64 or beyond energized the socially liberal/leftist wing of American politics in a way nothing else could...and it's still coasting on the energy Wallace and company imparted.
I disagree. Wallace was one of the longest serving, and most popular governers in American history. He was well on his way towards one of the best third party showings ever in a presidental election before Arthur Bremmer shot him in Laurel, Md back in '72. He very well might have exceeded Thurmond's, Perot's, and Roosevelts showings and he did help to swing the election to Nixon. It's hard to descirbe any politician who was that successfull as an "idiot."
As far as energizing the civil rights movement that we suffer the effects of today, the Kennedy's and LBJ did far more harm in that regard than did Wallace. What Wallace did was energize the political right and set the stage for the shift of the Southern States towards the Republican Party. This is something which every Republican since Nixon with his "southern strategy" in '72 has benefited from, excepting Bush senior in his 2nd run.
This is a different world now. Outside of a few dinosaurs like Pat Buchannon, the conservative/limited government wing has embraced racial equality to a degree that *surpasses* the socialists in many ways, and matches them in the rest.
Socialists aren't interested in equality, only control.
The conservative wing of the republican party embraced civil rights and racial equality as far back as Goldwater's run in '64. If you recall it was Nixon who was first responsible for instituting affirmative action.
Black "political leadership" has become predatory and parasitic on the backs of their own people, promoting a "culture of victimhood" in order to retain personal power. Jesse Jackson's political life would have crumbled had he not had the prior reputation of "supporter of MLKJr" to fall back on.
Not all. There are good Black leaders like Clarence Thomas, Collin Powell, J.C. Watts, Condi Rice, and others.