Lee Atwater Quotes
Any time a political movement shrinks dramatically, very quickly, it is almost impossible to unify.
Lee Atwater, 1950-1991, Chairman, Republican National Committee, Presidential Campaign Manager, Campaign for the President: The Manager's Look at '88, 1989
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Every sect of Russian communism had an offshoot in America and in other countries as well. When bad blood broke out between sects in Russia, the battle spread to the rest of the world as when Leon Trotsky was assassinated by Stalinists in Mexico and the Trotskyites were viciously and physically attacked here in America. In many cases there was little ideological difference but the split reflected different leadership styles and personalities. Despite Frank’s warning, American communism was a mirror reflection of Russia until Stalin negotiated the WWII pact with Hitler, when anti-Stalin Communists began to be active, and because America was a more open society, American communists were ahead of their Russian comrades in denouncing Stalinism.
Carter philosophically did not see his role as the head of his party anywhere near as important as his Presidential role. At the same time, Carter had forged Congressional majority support from a coalition of conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans. However, that alienated him even more from the liberal Democrats who even fielded Ted Kennedy as a primary candidate against him. Carter won the nomination but lost many of his own party for the general election and he lost to Ronald Reagan.
“Republicans” then referred to strong opponents of not only monarchy, but opposed a strong Presidency and federal government. The Federalists who supported John Adams for reelection to a 2nd term, were trounced so badly that it was the end of the Federalist Party. Their attacks on Jefferson had been particularly vicious with the hyperpartisanship as bad as in the early years of the 21st century. Jefferson tried to unify the nation with this quotation. It helped but there was still much bitterness.
“Sectionalism” really referred to the North / South animosity which carried over from the Civil War. The South would hardly ever elect a Republican as it was the Republican Lincoln Government that ended slavery and put down their rebellion in the Civil War. There was a language difference that was much greater than modern times and the South was way behind most of the rest of the country in terms of education and standard of living. Every time the Federal Government would try and enforce the Constitution with respect to race, the sectional friction would break out again. The sectional issues carried into the 21st century but had gotten much better.
While all the traditional Democratic interest groups supported Mondale, the average voters were not so enthusiastic. The Democrats lost 49 states to Ronald Reagan. The interest groups in the base of each party can help increase the turnout for a candidate or sit on their hands and suppress it. But if the individual voters are not generally enthused for a candidate, the interest groups cannot deliver a win in a presidential election.
Franklin was also an accomplished political cartoonist.
Harvey LeRoy "Lee" Atwater was an American political consultant and strategist for the Republican Party. He was an adviser to US presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and chairman of the Republican National Committee. Atwater aroused controversy through his aggressive campaign tactics, especially the Southern strategy.
