In tomorrow's Washington Post, Michael Gerson engages in a bout of concern trolling at the GOP. Specifically, the tea party elements are pining away for another coming of Barry Goldwater. But as he notes, what they forget is that Goldwater permanently tanked the party's chances with Blacks.
But some political choices are symbolic and more than symbolic. Following Goldwater’s vote, a young Colin Powell went out to his car and affixed a Lyndon Johnson bumper sticker. “While not himself a racist,” concluded Martin Luther King Jr., “Mr. Goldwater articulates a philosophy which gives aid and comfort to the racists.” Jackie Robinson, after attending the GOP convention in 1964, helped launch Republicans for Johnson.In the 1960 election, Richard Nixon had won 32 percent of the African American vote. Goldwater got 6 percent in 1964. No Republican presidential candidate since has broken 15 percent.
