Tom DeLay at the Intersection of Race, Gender and Class

Race, class and gender are the unholy trinity of American power dynamics.  You can't explain any of them solely in terms of the other two, and you can't understand American political psychology without recognizing the importance of all three.  

That's why I found this moment, caught by Max Blumenthal in the middle of his excellent video in which he encouraged College Republicans to enlist for the Iraq war, to be so illuminating.  Disgraced former Representative Tom DeLay, speaking to the national convention of College Republicans, said this:

I contend [abortion] affects you in immigration.  If we had those 40 million children that were killed over the last 30 years, we wouldn't need the illegal immigrants to fill the jobs that they are doing today. Think about it.

This quote has it all.  On race, obviously the discourse about immigration, especially at the level of the Republican base, is all about hating Latinos and Asians.  But this quote shows it's more than that -- it's about convincing white people to have more kids.  It's reminiscent of John Gibson's call on white Americans to "have more babies."

Which of course, directly links to gender.  DeLay and Gibson are saying women shouldn't be using contraception or choosing abortion, they should be having babies.  It's a direct reinforcement of traditional gender roles.

But we can't forget class -- after all, the speaker here is Tom DeLay, the architect of the K Street Project.  You have to ask yourself, how does this message promote his class agenda?  It's not as obvious as the race or gender message, but I think he's promoting the politics of resentment -- against immigrants, against women who defy traditional roles -- as a way of diverting the frustration of those who aren't getting ahead in our economy.

•  Tip jar

  I'm just working toward a unified theory of wingnuttery.

  by Colorado Luis on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 06:31:48 PM PDT

  •  Is there room for religion in the triumvirate?

    No theory of wingnuttery is complete without religion.

    by Brahman Colorado on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 06:49:37 PM PDT

    •  Hmmm, good question

      I would probably break religious appeals down into these three categories, because not everyone is susceptible to a religious appeal, but everyone has a race, class and gender location in society.

      by Colorado Luis on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 06:55:11 PM PDT

      •  Great answer.

        Religion seems to have a second tier effect of radicalizing (or at least influencing) one's postion on race, gender and class.

        I really liked the analysis Luis.

        Great to talk to you.

        by Brahman Colorado on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 07:03:49 PM PDT

    •  I'm surprised he didn't throw gays

      and lesbians in there as well, since many of them aren't doing their duty to the state and turning out babies for work and war either.

      I was thinking last night that I'm surprised that the wingers hadn't yet tried to tie immigration and Iraq together, offering citizenship to anyone who would be willing to go to Iraq.  Well, I did a little searching this morning and found they already did, around December of last year.

      http://www.boston.com/...

      by Tam in CA on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 08:28:24 PM PDT

  •  OMG

    When you see DeLay at the intersection of race, gender, and class, make a U-turn ASAP!

    by srkp23 on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 07:09:51 PM PDT

  •  I saw that video earlier today

    and just shook my head. I've seen this arguement before from idiots who were especially complaining about the rate of abortion for African Americans, since they are clearly the designated slave class..how dare those dirty Mexicnas usurp their place.

    by mariachi mama on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 07:12:20 PM PDT

    •  Snaps!

      And I thought I was the only one who caught that. Great catch, Colorado!

      by never forget 2000 on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 07:46:09 PM PDT

  •  There're so many ways

    to dissect this quote. About the only things you can't find in it are Christian love and sanity.

    by anastasia p on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 10:54:52 PM PDT

•  Cool.

  You figured out a way to use "Tom Delay" and "class" in the same sentence!

  by LarryInNYC on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 06:32:16 PM PDT

  •  It's not that hard

    For example:

    Tom DeLay has no class.

    by wiscmass on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 06:56:12 PM PDT

    •  lol n/t

      by Brahman Colorado on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 07:05:17 PM PDT

    •  or ....

      ... tom delay is a member of the criminal class.

      by gailwax on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 09:38:15 PM PDT

•  Antiabortionists

  have been making similar arguments for decades, e.g., social security is in trouble because workers who would have funded it have been aborted. In other words, it is American women's duty to breed, whether or not they want to, for the sake of the economy.

  by NogodsnomastersMary on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 06:42:46 PM PDT

  •  You can spin that one right back

    Unwanted children are far less likely to become highly educated and well-employed and far more likely to be drop-outs in menial jobs or unemployed, or even go to prison where they will cost the system not contribute to it. And since many women abort for economic reasons, bringing these children into the world will require a much higher level of social services to make them even marginally functional.

    by anastasia p on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 10:58:09 PM PDT

•  DeLay's warped mind....

  ...never ceases to amaze me.

  I wonder, does he expect his kids and grandkids to go pick lettuce? hmmmm....

  by kimoconnor on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 06:56:06 PM PDT

•  Long ago I noticed that the leaders of the

  Anti-abortion groups were all White men. For the leaders of the anti-abortion groups, I don't think it was ever about life, it was about power and control. The power and control that comes from being in the majority.

  If the power and control came from doing the right thing, race would not matter. Immigration is shifting the balance.

  by Blogvirgin on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 06:59:01 PM PDT

  •  Bingo!

    That struck me dramatically back in the mid 90s when there was a summer of big demonstrations on abortion. Here in Cleveland, both anti-choice and pro-choice people had their rallies and my paper sent a reporter and photographer to hang with each group. I went as photographer to hang with the anti-choice group. Everything they did was directed by belligerent white men; the women there were sad, frumpy, overweight and mostly silent.

    by anastasia p on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 11:00:56 PM PDT

•  Republicans economincs kills kids

  Pointless wars that gut the nations coffers, dire policys that stifle peoples aspirations, crippling taxes and subhuman social services, that reduces childbirth and the numbers.
  Boom and bust economic cycles that just happen to coincide with elections, who are they kidding.

  by Ferrofluid on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 07:14:43 PM PDT

•  These are the same people who are freaking

  out about the fertility of latinos.

  Eugenics, baby. Some of the more extreme have advocated for the compulsive sterilization of illegal immigrants from Mexico, (they aren't gonna spay Poles) but want to revoke the 14th Ammendment, shoot women and kids on the border, etc. Sick fucks.

  by mariachi mama on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 07:24:21 PM PDT

•  Delay is playing on race and class

  He is implying that if all the aborted babies had lived (in his mind, all of them being the children of black and Latinos on welfare, even though we all know that affluent white suburban women who don't want children get abortions too and can afford them more than the poor), they would all be working in low wage, menial jobs now being filled with illegals. It dovetails with what Bill Bennett said a year or two ago about aborting black babies.

  I really wonder if the likes of DeLay, all the right wing talk show hosts, and other cultural warriors honestly believe what they say. The irony is that many of them live in major big cities that are almost all without exception dark blue. They act like they really care about those living in dark red America, in places like Lubbock, Amarillo, and Boise. Sometimes I wonder if they all cater to their frustrations, say what they want to hear publicly, while laughing it all to the bank and ridiculing them privately.

  I saw the same video of those college Republicans. I really liked the scene with the one who adamantly denied that he was gay over and over again. I don't know why he was so defensive unless he had something to hide and is gay himself. If he is not gay he didn't do a good job of defending of himself and acting straight.

  But anyway, though, most of those college Republicans seemed to be far removed from the interior red enclaves of this country. I wonder if they aren't laughing at those folks in rural Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, Idaho, South Carolina, Florida, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.

  by jiacinto on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 07:34:14 PM PDT

  •  heh, I noticed that too

    The plump guy in the tshirt (not suit, like most of the other young facists) who prayed to get over his natural attraction to same sex relationships.

    Those guys were scary. Especially the women.

    by mariachi mama on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 07:48:21 PM PDT

    •  Yeah

      But that one guy there is going to have a rude awakening. I can't say that he is gay 100%, but he seemed very defiant and defensive about the issue. I wonder if he will reach the same point where David Brock couldn't handle it. Did you see the black guy in the video too?

      They aren't that "scary" to me. Mainly they aren't "scary" because I went to a college where many of my acquaintances were Republicans. Some of them now even work for Republicans on the Hill. I've heard these arguments over and over again. I have an agreement with most of them not to talk politics.

      by jiacinto on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 07:55:54 PM PDT

      •  Heh

        Scary was the chick hanging back and bobbling her head with really, really ugly earrings.

        Oh and they all can't enlist because of health problems. Maybe that legit, but how many health problems are cased by a toxic environment?

        I am particularly offended by this subset.

        by mariachi mama on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 08:24:21 PM PDT

        •  It exposed them for what they really are

          They don't have a problem with supporting war--unless they don't have to fight it themselves. I agree that one doesn't have to serve to support a war. However, at the same time, those same people have no right to question the patriotism of others who have served and may not support a war. Those college Republicans would have no problem calling Iraq war vets who have changed their views on the war "unamerican" and that is what bothers me.

          by jiacinto on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 08:31:56 PM PDT

  •  tom delay makes my skin crawl.

    by gailwax on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 09:39:24 PM PDT

•  Those young Nazis scare me

  Not an original thought amongst them.

  They'll wave the flag, but won't carry a gun.

  by Trim Your Bush on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 07:55:12 PM PDT

•  It's About Class

  The key to the GOP is to maintain its core economic doctrine ("what's mine is mine") while exploiting visceral cultural issues to get votes from religious/traditionalist whites.  But those same religious whites used to hold deep resentment against the business elites, who espoused "Social Darwinism," e.g., consider William Jennings Bryan's base of support.  And it was the Deep South that first ratified the Sixteenth Amendment (Income Tax).  The GOP's worst nightmare is a return of that resentment.  

  Accordingly, what DeLay is trying to do is dovetail a religious issue (abortion) with an economic issue (lack of opportunity) in such a way that does not jeopardize the wealthy elites who truly run the GOP.  That's what the GOP always does.  Consider this: Which moral or cultural issues supported by the GOP actually cost their wealthy base anything?  Our healthcare crisis and income disparities are no less stark a moral issue than, say, abortion or gay marriage.  Which gets the GOP's attention?

  by ZizzerZazzerZuzz on Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 08:57:19 PM PDT