Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
Emily Esfahani Smith, Ed. ·
Sep 22, 2010 at 8:31am
I know we pick on Jimmy Carter a lot here on Ricochet, but that’s just because for conservatives, he’s the gift that keeps on giving. Last night, for instance, on the Nightly News, he said that our country is more polarized now than at the time of the Civil War.
Here's the text of his remark below. The comment appears about two and a half minutes into the clip.
This country has become so polarized that it’s almost astonishing…. Not only with the red and blue states… President Obama suffers from the most polarized situation in Washington that we have ever seen – even maybe than the time of Abraham Lincoln and the initiation of the war between the states.
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Jun '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
Well, whenever someone is trying to expand the reach of slavery (working for a master in the Big House, or in the White House) it does tend to divide folks. The Tea Party are the abolitionists here.
Jul '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
Just when you thought Obama was the most historically illiterate president, here comes Jimmy Carter. But worse than Carter's ignorance is his despicable assumption that Americans opposed to the Obama administration are motivated by racial hatred. Incidentaly, does he even know on which side the Democratic Party was during the Civil War? The man is a disgrace.
Edited on Sep 22, 2010 at 8:49amJun '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
My favorite line was that he really wants Obama to create a spirit of negotiation - like he did in his administration - I was imagining Mark Steyn laughing and crying...
Jun '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
Its time someone wipes the oatmeal off his chin and parks him at the dog track
Edited on Sep 22, 2010 at 9:29amMay '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
You gotta love though that he still calls it "the war between the states."
Jun '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
Let's see. The Civil War lasted four years, 600,000+ combat deaths, great swaths of the country destroyed, brother fighting brother. Sounds just like today.
Remember, this is the man who declared the mid-1970s energy crisis to be "the moral equivalent of war." In other words, when he was president he couldn't distinguish a gas line at a filling station from WWII.
Time for Jimmy to spend more time in his rocking chair on the front porch.
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
Is he speaking from memory?
Aug '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
'Typhoid' Mary was a carrier of that fatal disease who never showed symptoms, but who, as a cook, gave it to many and started an epidemic.
Typhoid Jimmy and his party base have built - with the help of Marx and Saul Alinsky 'progressives' - a tyrannical Regime geared-up to promote every imaginable grievance of every tiny interest group to redress every perceived inequity and transgression going back to the founding of the country.
All they want and care about is power, to be at the helm of a massive Federal government, to satisfy the vacuum at the core of their souls.
Of course the nation is polarized. Like the Sorcerer's Apprentice, they've set something in motion they can't control, and it's leading us into chaos.
(All credit for the Typhoid Mary analogy goes to Robin of Berkeley; read her article Typhoid Barry)
Jun '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
Yeah, what's up with that? Every true Southerner knows that it was The War of Northern Agression
May '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
Ritual apologies for starting a flame war and genuflection to the Ricochet code of conduct.
That said, it can as well be termed "The War To Perpetuate Chattel Slavery" as the "War of Northern Aggression.
May '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
Carter's just angry that his place as worst president in modern times is in danger, and Obama still has two years to burnish his record.
May '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
The better analogy would be "the Democrats have not been this unpopular since the end of the War Between the States."
Jun '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
Pilgrim
Yeah, what's up with that? Every true Southerner knows that it was The War of Northern Agression · Sep 22 at 10:00am
That was the best quip of the day, Pilgrim!
May '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
This talk of the late unpleasantness between the states reminds me of a quote that applies to Republicans arguing among themselves. I'm reminded of what Robert E. Lee is reported to have said to his generals when they were arguing "Gentlemen, the enemy is out yonder."
Edited on Sep 22, 2010 at 10:59amAug '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
Carter's statement is hyperbole (as are other of his recent statements). However, bear in mind that the antebellum years were filled with antagonistic claims by both sides, failed compromises and increasing discord. It is not too much of a stretch to state that we are well on our way to that type of divisiveness in this country.
Wasn't there a Russian political scientist several years ago who predicted that the US would split into five separate countries by 2020? I think divisions along the lines of the geographical boundaries of the main college football conferences makes good sense to me. I'd invite the Texas schools to join the SEC.
Jun '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
Nick Stuart
Ritual apologies for starting a flame war and genuflection to the Ricochet code of conduct.
That said, it can as well be termed "The War To Perpetuate Chattel Slavery" as the "War of Northern Aggression. · Sep 22 at 10:05am
I'll meet you at the Appomattox court house -- you can be Grant
Jun '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
While most certainly not giving up on our conservative brethren in other regions of the nation, imagine the irony of the South becoming the last bastion of American Exceptionalism.
To your final point, though, this may be the only way to get rid of the BCS.
May '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
Texas could have its own conference. But I was hoping A&M would join the SEC just so I wouldn't have to drive so far for good football.
I've been to his hometown. My grandma lived nearby and went to school with him. In a way, he really is speaking from memory. The races remain mostly separate there, though not due to hatred. Like anywhere, you won't see many whites worshipping at a black church.
That said, don't mistake Carter for a product of his area. Red clay doesn't make donkeys.
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
All this Civil War talk reminds of when Gov. Rick Perry suggested that Texas might secede from the union at a tea party rally last spring. At the time, Fox News reported:
(And I'm going to second Tim's comment about Pilgrim having the best quip of the day. That one made me laugh out loud Pilgrim!).
May '10
Re: Jimmy Carter: US is more polarized now than at Civil War
Emily, I imagine anyone who visits Texas even briefly can't help but notice the strong nationalism here (pride in being Texan). It's so strong that companies regularly cater to us, renaming products and placing the Texas flag on their labels. I keep a copy of Texan declaration of independence from Mexico.
It's ironic, really, that we were just talking about football, because that pride is very similar to pride in one's college team. Just as Bama fans usually don't pay Auburn fans much respect, Texans don't hold New York and California in the highest esteem. But when the national championship comes around and SEC teams are set against teams from other conferences, we root loudly for our rivals. Likewise, a Texan will gladly lay his life on the line for a fellow American from hippie country or the Beltway.
Texans and others from flyover country love America (as it is) and hope it endures. But human beings generally prioritize our loyalties by locality: family --> city --> state --> region, and so on. Robert E. Lee was a devoted American, but he was first a devoted Southerner.
There's still hope for American unity.