UNBELIEVABLE! WAPO Says GOP Using Blatant And Overtly Attacks To WIN Nation’s Governorships

Candidates in the past have tapped obliquely into racial undercurrents during political campaigns. Ronald Reagan talked of “welfare queens,” and George H.W. Bush played on racial fears with an ad in his 1988 campaign about a black convict, Willie Horton.

But the attacks are now much more blatant and out in the open, at a level not seen since the 1950s and 1960s, according to Alan Abramowitz, a professor of political science at Emory University.

“It’s quite extraordinary. It goes beyond criticizing their views,” he said. “This is using very racially tinged language. It’s very remarkable to hear from a president, and now it’s seeping down to candidates running below the presidential level. And it’s spread beyond the small fringe now.”

The charges of racism at its most blatant have come in the South, where candidates Abrams and Gillum are attempting to become the first black governors of their states. The president has led the charge against them, calling Gillum “not equipped” and Abrams “not qualified” to be governor despite their long experience in government. Gillum is the mayor of Tallahassee, and Abrams is a longtime legislator.

“There is certainly a throwback element to the language we’re hearing coming out of the Republican Party that is unfortunately disparaging to communities,” Abrams told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday. “It may be unintentional, but it signals a deeper misinformation about what Andrew Gillum can accomplish, what I can accomplish.”