Bonus Chapter: Insulting Voters Has a History
Bonus Chapter: Insulting Voters Has a History
And it Hasn't Paid Off
In 1884, a Republican named Samuel D. Burchard, a Presbyterian pastor, remarked that the Democratic Party was the party of “rum, Romanism, and rebellion.” What did this mean? "Rum" signified that Democrats approved of alcoholic beverages. "Romanism" referred to Roman Catholics. And "rebellion" meant the Confederacy during the Civil War. “Rum, Romanism, and rebellion” makes a catchy alliteration but a wretched political slogan. Many people, including James G. Blaine, the Republican candidate himself, felt that the Democrats (whose candidate was Grover Cleveland) won because this remark was made at a rally where Blaine was present, and he didn’t repudiate it. The belief is that this remark alienated Irish American voters and cost the Republicans New York State, and with it, the election. Indeed, Blaine himself thought this was the case.1
What follows is an 1884 poster dealing with this event.
Burchard’s quote was damaging to his party. Compare it to the video below.
This past Sunday, October 27th, there was a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden. One of the speakers was a “comedian” named Tony Hinchcliffe. His “jokes” were not very funny. For example, he called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean.”
Who knows? Perhaps Hinchcliffe will do for the Democrats in 2024 what Burchard did for the Democrats in 1884.
See Politico: https://www.politico.com/story/2008/03/religion-not-new-to-american-politics-009187