NY Times on race, statues and the VA gubernatorial race:
Charlottesville and Trump’s Response Reshape Virginia Gubernatorial Race
Many in the political middle here fault Mr. Trump for effectively weaponizing the conversation.
“We need a rational debate, but I’m afraid the emotion of the moment after what Trump did just destroyed the opportunity for that discussion,” said Mr. Deeds, who did not criticize Mr. Northam but made clear he thinks localities should be free to decide the monument issue.
Yet much like the aftermath of the 2015 rampage by a white supremacist in a South Carolina black church, there is an impulse in Virginia to take a tangible step toward healing.
“This state is no longer a history lesson suspended in animation,” Mr. Sabato said. “This was a disaster for Virginia, and people want to put a period on it.”
Conservatives are convinced statue and monument discussions are a win for them. Don’t be so sure. Context matters, and as many begin to come down (and many already have), watch the VA Gov. race for a better sense of where we are at. It’s a moment the way the S.C. flag was, and things may be politically possible that weren’t a week ago.
There’s a plus and a minus side to anything Trump champions, but remember, the discussion is about Nazis and white supremacists. Not Antifa, not statues. Nazis. And if Nazis love those statues, that tells you what you need to know.
WaPo:
Cardin said he supports actions this past week in Baltimore and Annapolis to remove statues of Confederate leaders. “I think what Baltimore and Annapolis are doing is appropriate,” Cardin said.
Jeh Johnson, homeland security secretary under President Barack Obama, said that the monuments had become “rallying points” for white supremacists.
“I salute people taking down these monuments as a matter of public safety,” Johnson said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”
Karen L. Cox/WaPo:
The whole point of Confederate monuments is to celebrate white supremacy
But what do we learn from the history of these monuments? Are they truly innocuous symbols of Confederate heritage, as their defenders argue? The facts tell us otherwise.
WaPo:
Recent condemnations of the president by Republican lawmakers have been harsher, more frequent and sometimes more personal than in previous moments when Trump went beyond what is considered acceptable behavior. Many GOP leaders are now personally wrestling with the trade-offs of making a cleaner separation with the president, while finding no good options.
To some in the party, the hesitancy to act more boldly in response to Trump’s handling of the Charlottesville violence — specifically his angry news conference Tuesday — falls short of what they believe this moment demands.
“At what point does a principled party stand up for its principles?” Tom Ridge, a former governor of Pennsylvania and homeland security secretary under President George W. Bush, asked in a midweek interview.
We don’t know, but just below the placid and too quiet surface, the roiling currents are stronger than they appear. We would do well to encourage that.
The elites are striking back. James Hohmann/WaPo:
The 2016 election represented, as much as anything else, a repudiation of America’s elites and everything they believe in. By running on the hollow promises of populism, nativism and isolationism, an angry outsider challenged many of the bipartisan shibboleths that have long united most of the highly educated and affluent leaders of our country and culture.
Seven months into President Trump’s reign, the elites are striking back. From Wall Street to West Palm Beach and West Hollywood, the past week has been a turning point, perhaps even a tippingpoint. Since Trump abdicated his moral leadership after Charlottesville, the well-connected have used their leverage — like checkbooks and celebrity — to send a message about what truly makes America great.
The growing number of groups canceling galas, stars boycotting ceremonies and chief executives resigning from advisory boards is further isolating Trump
And lest you think it’s just the elites:
WaPo editorial board:
Voter suppression is the civil rights issue of this era
Many Confederate statues, which memorialize a murderous act of treason on an epic scale in defense of an inhumane institution, deserve to come down or at least be repurposed as museum pieces. Many were erected not just as historical remembrances but as retrograde political statements, mainly in the early 20th century as Jim Crow laws formally codified racism in the South, and in the 1950s and ’60s as a thumb in the eye of the civil rights movement.
Yet even if all 1,500 Confederate symbols across the country were removed overnight by some sudden supernatural force, the pernicious crusade to roll back voting rights would continue apace, with voters of color suffering its effects disproportionately. Pushing back hard against those who would purge voter rolls, demand forms of voter ID that many Americans don’t possess, and limit times and venues for voting — this should be a paramount cause for the Trump era.
A year ago but interesting in context:
Patheos:
The White Supremacist Roots of Evangelicalism
Resistance to racial equality and other forms of civil equality was the reason that the Christian right as we know it today came into being. It’s not some recent aberration, but a founding principle of the movement.
As historian Randall Balmer writes, white evangelicals were largely apolitical until the Supreme Court upheld an IRS decision to deny tax exemptions to segregated private schools. The outrage over that ruling was the spark for religious-right powerhouses like Jerry Falwell to launch a massive political movement. It’s only after overt racism became unacceptable that abortion was chosen – basically, picked out of a hat – as the new cause for religious conservatives to focus their ire on (you may have seen Samantha Bee’s ferociously funny segment about this).
Evangelicalism has always been the tool of choice for propping up racial hierarchies. For instance, Christianity Today was founded by a segregationist and promoted segregation. It’s plausible that the “otherworldly” emphasis on heaven and salvation was invented as a means to justify slavery and other earthly evils.
Axios on why they say they stay:
- "You have no idea how much crazy stuff we kill": The most common response centers on the urgent importance of having smart, sane people around Trump to fight his worst impulses. If they weren't there, they say, we would have a trade war with China, massive deportations, and a government shutdown to force construction of a Southern wall….
One White House aide had a memorable response after I asked the question: "It puts Trump's tortured staff in a bigger jam: How do they look their African American friends in the eye, and rationalize their support of Trump?"
- The aide gave me permission to share the thinking, which synthesizes what we hear from many administration officials:
I have absolutely no difficulty looking anyone in the eye. Here's why:
- Will I have the same, incredible opportunities to make a true difference somewhere else? No.
- If I leave, who will take my spot? Someone with my heart for making things better for ALL Americans? Maybe, maybe not. Huge value to country in good people serving right now.
- The Presidency is bigger than the person. And the WH has expansive influence on execution of broad range of administrative authorities.
Be careful: This White House and key federal agencies are starving for well-intentioned talent. The possibility of a catastrophic crisis, abroad or at home, is real. Rookies or boot-lickers are not what we need in those moments.
They mention it’s for the power. That, and presumed career advancement, should be at the top. So, no, I don’t buy it. I think they delude themselves. But, yes, it could be worse. That part I believe.