By the time this posts, VP Harris might already have announced her choice for a running mate. Over the past few days, it seemed like the ghost of Lee Atwater was back, observing what he had begun in the late 1970s. As a right-wing strategist in South Carolina, his candidates won. 1/7

Atwater made “the bigs”: 1980 & 1984 Pres campaigns for Ronald Reagan & the 1988 campaign of Bush I. Atwater made senior partner at the political consulting firm of Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly. [FN1] He chaired the Republican National Committee. A piquant contribution 2/7

to American politics was how to substitute, for traditional racial invective, “Southern strategy synonyms like “forced busing.” [FN2] He also developed the “wedge issue,” almost to the level of fine art. We see that employed today by magaGOP. An example of a wedge issue: 3/7

on the possibility of PA Gov Josh Shapiro as #2 on the Democratic Party ticket. People who are progressive, or define themselves as on “the left,” have expressed concerns over his support for Israel & the crisis in Gaza. A “wedge” issue bisects “a group of people according 4/7

to strongly-held beliefs or values that are not easily reconciled. This creates the perception that if one side is right, the other must be wrong.” [FN3] In this example, you would support Shapiro, but for this issue. Congrats! You just voted for trump, who won’t do anything positive. 5/7

The far right is nihilistic. It loves wedge issues. Wedge issues play as suckers people who have values. Whomever VPresident Harris chooses as her running mate, I’ll support 100 %. First, we save this country & dance on the metaphoric grave of Lee Atwater. 6/7

Footnotes:
FN1. Esdall, "Partners in Political PR Firm Typify Republican New Breed". The Washington Post, 4/7/85.
FN2. Perlstein, "Exclusive: Lee Atwater's Infamous 1981 Interview on the Southern Strategy," The Nation, 11/13/12.
FN3. Media Manipulation Casebook. 7/7