Reagan was a Communist before he associated with Birchers

Interesting. St. Ronnie was a member of Communist-front organizations, and later was closely associated with powerful members of the John Birch Society. That's why he latched onto the so-called eleventh commandment, "Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican." It kept his opponent in the 1966 California Republican primary for Governor from disclosing those facts.

Then there is David Brooks' recent NY Times column (Subscription required) absolving St. Ronnie of racist politicking when he announced his candidacy as President at the in Philadelphia, Mississippi at the Neshoba County Fair. That was just up the road from where the KKK had assassinated three civil rights workers in 1964. Brooks passes it off as "just a scheduling error." Brooks also passes off Reagan's reference to "States Rights" as merely a "callous" turn of phrase in the context.

It was not just a scheduling error with a bad speech, accidentally conducted by a well-meaning candidate. It was pure out-and-out Republican racist politicking, conducted using code works and a wink-and-a-nod.

The following comes from An article written by Joeseph Crespino who teaches history at Emory University and is known for his studies of "The conservative counterrevolution."

A full account of the incident has to consider how the national GOP was trying to strengthen its southern state parties and win support from southern white Democrats. Consider a letter that Michael Retzer, the Mississippi national committeeman, wrote in December 1979 to the Republican national committee. Well before the Republicans had nominated Reagan, the national committee was polling state leaders to line up venues where the Republican nominee might speak. Retzer pointed to the Neshoba County Fair as ideal for winning what he called the “George Wallace inclined voters.”

This Republican leader knew that the segregationist Alabama governor was the symbol of southern white resentment against the civil rights struggle. Richard Nixon had angled to win these voters in 1968 and 1972. Mississippi Republicans knew that a successful Republican candidate in 1980 would have to continue the effort.

On July 31st, just days before Reagan went to Neshoba County, the New York Times reported that the Ku Klux Klan had endorsed Reagan. In its newspaper, the Klan said that the Republican platform “reads as if it were written by a Klansman.” Reagan rejected the endorsement, but only after a Carter cabinet official brought it up in a campaign speech. The dubious connection did not stop Reagan from using segregationist language in Neshoba County.

It was clear from other episodes in that campaign that Reagan was content to let southern Republicans link him to segregationist politics in the South’s recent past. Reagan’s states rights line was prepared beforehand and reporters covering the event could not recall him using the term before the Neshoba County appearance. John Bell Williams, an arch-segregationist former governor who had crossed party lines in 1964 to endorse Barry Goldwater, joined Reagan on stage at another campaign stop in Mississippi. Reagan’s campaign chair in the state, Trent Lott, praised Strom Thurmond, the former segregationist Dixiecrat candidate in 1948, at a Reagan rally, saying that if Thurmond had been elected president “we wouldn’t be in the mess we are today.”

Reagan was using code words to let the racists know he was on their side, even as he flew from Mississippi to address the Urban League.

The Republicans are still using similar code words to speak to the racists and garner their votes. The most obvious in the current Republican Presidential nomination race is Rudy giuliani, who used such tactics to win his first elected office as mayor of New York.

Ronald Reagan was no saint, unless an accolyt of Satan can be declared one of Satan's saints.