Even though it was 25 years ago I can still vividly remember it today. I walked into Dr. Susan Howell's political science class at the University of New Orleans and there he was in the front of the room, David Duke, candidate for the Governor of Louisiana. He was speaking to the class that met before ours (Dr. Howell would never in a million years have invited David Duke to speak to her class, lol) which was just wrapping up. Duke was leaving as I was entering and I think, seeing the shock and recognition in my eyes, walked up and extended his hand. He said "I'm David Duke and I'm running for Governor, and I am asking you to vote for me". I shook his hand and said something to the effect of that's probably not going to happen but I'll keep on open mind.
The 21 year old version of me was much more inclined to give people the benefit of doubt. My personal hero, Malcolm X, transformed from a petty street criminal to a racial separatist who thought all white people were devils to be a powerful voice for the reconciliation and love of all people. Plus my Christian faith taught me that we are to forgive people and give second chances. So I was willing to take Duke at his word and consider the possibility that he had realized the errors of his Ku Klux Klan past, even though I still was probably not going to vote for him for Governor.
What does any of this have to do with Donald Trump, and why am I thinking about that incident now? Because the political story of the day is that Donald Trump is in hot water for not disavowing Donald Trump and Ku Klux Klan, and not explicitly saying that he does not want his support or the support of white supremacist groups. It made me think about the 1991 Louisiana Governor's race between Duke and Edwin Edwards, and the similarities between Trump's current campaign and Duke's campaign in 1991. Anyone who studies that campaign will have to admit that Donald Trump's 2016 campaign for President is much more overtly racist than David Duke's campaign for Governor in 1991.
David Duke actually disavowed the Ku Klux Klan and all white supremacist groups unequivocally in 1991. Trump refuses to do so in 2016. The campaign themes are virtually identical. A New York Times article in 1991 said of Duke, "Now, his message is a blend of dark and light, stories of welfare mothers and their unwanted babies contrasted with allusions to a morality based on his newly professed, born-again Christianity. His bottom-line image -- that of a nation decaying from within -- strikes a resonant chord, particularly in a state that has been reeling economically for almost a decade." Substitute Mexicans and Muslims for welfare mothers (although I'm sure Trump supporters detest them too) and the exact same can be said of the Trump 2016 campaign. He often refers to his Christianity, his infamous Two Corinthians gaffe notwithstanding, and the oft repeated theme of his campaign is to "Make America Great Again".
Their base of support is virtually the same, mostly disenchanted, poorly educated, working class white workers who feel that they are victims of the progressive movement in America over the last 100 years. As best I can tell the "Again" that Trump supporters want to go back to when America was "Great" is the post World War II era where blacks, latinos, and women were largely second class citizens and almost of the government programs designed to help Americans were overwhelmingly designed to benefit the white middle class. But there is another similarity that we shouldn't miss.
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| David Duke and Edwin Edwards |
David Duke always outperformed the poll numbers, many think because although a lot of people actually did support him they were too embarrassed to tell pollsters for fear of being branded a racist (I mean why would someone think you were a racist for supporting the former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan for Governor, right?). And very few elected officials were willing to endorse Duke for the same reason. I'm sensing the same phenomenon with the Trump supporters. Even though the "poorly educated" that he professed to love so much last week turn out in huge numbers at his rallies, my sense is that there are a lot of highly educated, upper middle class whites who also support Trump but are just too ashamed to say so publicly for fear of being branded a racist by their black friends and coworkers. Trump is winning virtually every demographic in the Republican primaries so far, not just the poorly educated.
As I said, Trump's campaign is actually much more racist than Duke's was. David Duke at least tried to temper his racist language and apologized for his racist past. Trump uses overtly racist language regularly, particularly when referencing the Latino community. Trump has at least on two occasions retweeted messages from white supremacists to his 6.5 million Twitter followers, including one that contained a factually incorrect statement that blacks killed 81% of white homicide victims (in case you're wondering the FBI says the actual number is 15%. 82% of white homicides are committed by other whites, yet we never hear about white on white crime being a significant problem. But that's for another post). But Trump's supporters don't seem to care. He's well on his way to being the Republican nominee for President of the United States.
Every now and then the 1991 Governor's election comes up when you talk to people from Louisiana. There are some great stories that came out of that election, and a movie really should be made about former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards. In my opinion, he may be the greatest politician of my lifetime in terms of pure political skill. But the thing that I will always remember is that in the general election David Duke won 61% of the white vote (The article in this link is a great read about David Duke's amazing track record of success with white Louisiana voters. That's not a misprint. In 1991 if the electorate was limited to white voters only, a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan would have been the Governor of the State of Louisiana, and he would have won in a landslide. It makes one wonder if Duke had been willing to be as brazen as Trump and be more overtly racist and unapologetic if he might not have actually won the Governor's mansion.
But here is the good news. Duke didn't win. As I say often in this space, we usually get things right in this country in the end. Trump won't win the Presidency either, even though he will be the Republican nominee. What I will be interested in is how high a percentage of the white vote Donald Trump gets in the general election. That more than anything else in this election cycle will tell me how much progress we have made in changing hearts and minds in this country since 1991. But don't look for Trump to disavow Duke any time soon. Trump is the 2016 version of Duke plus a billion dollars and a reality show.
P.S. As an aside, the 1991 Louisiana Governor's race gave me two of my all time favorite political slogans/ quotes. Thought I would share them in inverse order.
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| 1991 Edwards Campaign Bumper Sticker |
2. Governor Edwards was thought by some to be corrupt, and eventually did go to jail, as did Duke. But like I said, the man was a brilliant politician. His campaign had bumper stickers made for the election that said "Vote for the Crook. It's important."
1. When asked if he had anything in common with David Duke, Edwards replied "The only thing we have in common is we're both Wizards under the sheets".
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