Trump's Pure Rage & Hate Remiscient of When Wallace Came to RI: Schoos

Trump's Pure Rage & Hate Remiscient of When Wallace Came to RI: Schoos

On July 25, 1968, Alabama Governor George Corley Wallace came to Rhodes On The Pawtuxet to campaign, as the nominee of his newly organized American Independent Party, for President of the United States. The purpose of the visit was two-fold: to give a campaign speech and to gain sufficient signatures to have his name placed on Rhode Island’s ballot.

Wallace is remembered as the governor who, upon taking office of Alabama Governor, promised “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever.” As the lead in a political kabuki show contrived to bolster his political cred, he literally stood in front of the door of the admissions building at the University of Alabama attempting to prevent service of a court order requiring the school to integrate. Spoiler alert: rather than risk being arrested, as prearranged with the Kennedy Justice Department, he ultimately stepped aside. The rest is Crimson Tide history.

He was a master of the colorful phrase, warning people not to be misled by the left-wing news media, whined about being called “racist” when he talked about law and order, opined that we should be less concerned with what rest of the world thinks of us, and warned that he’d run over any demonstrator who laid down in front of his car.

As an Alabama politician he freely used the “N”-word, but by 1968 tried to soften his use of that word by referring to blacks as “nigras,” blaming any misunderstanding of what he was saying on his thick southern accent.  In short, George Wallace was a hate-filled, racist, white-nationalist candidate for president, and on that summer July evening, white nationalism was on plain view for all to see and hear. I know, I was there.

By July 1968, my candidate had been killed in Los Angeles by an assassin’s bullet. Over the next month, like many Kennedy supporters, I slowly drifted over into the McCarthy campaign, where I was when news of Wallace’s appearance broke. A small group of us decided that we would attend, clean-cut dressed in jackets and ties, and stand – wearing our McCarthy for President buttons on our jackets – in silent protest. To this day I’m uncertain why any of us thought that was a good idea.

When the doors to Rhodes opened, we were among the first to enter, whereupon we saw tables set up to take signatures of voters needed to place Wallace on the ballot. We respectfully declined and made our way to the ballroom, perched in the back so we could take in what was to unfold. About six of us in jackets and ties, with our McCarthy buttons.

The first thing that surprised us was the number of people who came though that door. It seemed like thousands, although in hindsight I doubt is was that many. But what was unmistakable was the energy – and anger? – of the crowd. And on and on they came. Word had it that the campaign had acquired more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, so that was at least more than 500 bodies, not including ours, in the ballroom.

As the crowd came swarming into Rhodes, a couple of us were looking for a means of egress, just in case. At around that time, someone from the campaign came up to us and asked what we were doing there. We responded that we were there to see the rally and stand in silent protest. It was not our purpose to create a disturbance. He advised that it might be a good idea if we removed our buttons and put them where others couldn’t see them. Otherwise, he doubted that if we were accosted, he’d be able to assist us. We saw the wisdom in this advice and removed the buttons.

The rally itself was what we expected: warnings to protesters, disclosure that there wasn’t a “dime’s worth of difference” between the two major parties, “lawh ‘n orda,” railings against “pointy-headed bureaucrats,” and the slurring of specific racial words. Wallace, flanked by two hulking Alabama state troopers, was in fine form, and the crowd ate it all up. Wallace was feeding them a diet of pure hate and rage, leaving the audience looking for more. That alone was frightening. It would have been even more frightening had we known that this rally and other Wallace rallies during 1968 were a harbinger of what was to come decades later.

Events of the last week prompted me to recall this memory. And I thought of what Yogi Berra once said, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.”

Last week, Donald Trump, in a variety of tweets, impromptu remarks, and one rally, told duly elected members of the House of Representatives – one member in particular – that if they didn’t like this country, they could leave and go back where they came from. Evidently the 45th President thinks that dissent from his policies is un-American.

Wrap your head around that – dissent is un-American.

The four targets of Trump’s vitriol had several common attributes: they were all elected to federal office, they were women, they were democrats, they were United States citizens, and they were persons of color. One attribute not shared by all was that only one was born in another country. One representative was born in Somalia, emigrated to America when she was eight, and ultimately became a naturalized citizen. The other three were American born, and Trump still hasn’t said where he thought they should go.

Trump is the latest iteration of Wallace. Both are/were hateful, rage-fueled grievance politicians, railing against the assault on traditional American (white male) values by the “other” (non-white, non-males). Both prey/preyed on the fears of those who saw changes in the world that they couldn’t quite comprehend and in which their place was increasingly uncertain. They both exploit/exploited the fear of the loss of political, social, economic, and cultural power. In the end, they both skillfully exploit/exploited the fear of displacement.

Early in their lives, Trump and Wallace both sought power, one economic power and the other political power. As both accrued power they eventually set their sights on the grand prize, not to serve others but to secure for themselves the power to shape the world to their own warped myopic vision. Remember Trump declaring “Only I can fix it.” Not “we,” “I.” Neither Trump nor Wallace were lower case “d” democrats. They were/are upper case “A” Authoritarians, ready to stifle and sweep away any dissent to their grand vision and power.

So it was at the recent North Carolina Cult of Trump rally where Trump finally weaponized the language of hate, encouraging his “patriotic” followers to chant “Send Her Back,” regarding an elected member of Congress who had the temerity to independently think for herself and speak her mind. In America.

 If this doesn’t scare us, it should. Lincoln, the antithesis of Trump and Wallace, warned that the greatest threat to America would arise from within. As in so many things, he was correct. So it is that I ask all persons of good will, who understand the meaning of democracy and the best traditions of America, to join together to reject this “love it or leave it” argument advanced by the anti-democrats among us, and instead adopt the old slogan, “America, Fix It Or Forget It.”

 

 

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Geoffrey A. Schoos, Esq is the past President of the former Rhode Island Center for Law and Public Policy