Jimmy Carter: The Real Southern Strategy

In Dismantled: The Party Switch Myth, the conventional wisdom about Richard Nixon and civil rights is shattered. The book then uncovers the truth about Jimmy Carter’s segregationist past and his ascent to national Democratic Party leadership, which began with his 1970 campaign for Governor. What becomes clear is that when Nixon started his war in 1966 to dismantle the one-party segregated South, he was also fighting against Jimmy Carter.

Jimmy Carter in 1970 had a clear Southern Strategy, “I expect to have particularly strong support from the people who voted for George Wallace for president and the ones voted for Lester Maddox.” ¹

If you’re unfamiliar with Maddox, he entered the scene with zero political experience but then rose to become Georgia’s governor, and then lieutenant governor, serving under Jimmy Carter. Maddox’s popularity was singularly due to his violent segregationist views and tumultuous relationship with the civil rights movement. In 1964, Maddox wielded an axe handle and a pistol to reject black customers from entering his restaurant. He became an icon of resisting integration. This act catapulted him into the spotlight and solidified his status among the Democratic segregationists that dominated Georgia politics.

When the Georgia Supreme Court barred Lester Maddox from seeking reelection, Carter welcomed the ruling saying “I expect that many of his former supporters will be friends of mine.”²

Throughout 1970 Carter embarked on a deliberate campaign of openly attempting to align himself with George Wallace and Lester Maddox. Carter borrowed campaign symbols like Wallace's well-known slogan, "Our kind of man," in prominent TV advertising and print. Carter even lifted Lester Maddox’s “Little Man” terminology for campaign advertisements.³ I’m not one to delve into conspiracies about “dog whistles” but this has to be as close as it gets to a real example.

Carter also described himself as “basically a redneck” and when asked how he’d fair in the general election against a former Democrat turned Republican:

Days before making his announcement to run for governor in March he was asked about the most important problems that Georgians face, Carter said, “In my talks I tell them the single most disturbing factor right now is the school integration problem and that Georgians deeply resent being singled out for special court rulings or special legislation…”

When Carter officially announced he was running for governor he addressed federal efforts by the Nixon administration to desegregate schools saying that he is determined “not to yield this precious control to anyone.”⁴

Throughout his campaign, Carter consistently voiced dissatisfaction with the Atlanta press and his electoral competitors. Did allegations of racism from the media irk him? No. A particular grievance was a pamphlet suggesting his mother was involved with CORE, an organization aiming to resurrect the Freedom Riders. Her real affiliation was with the Peace Corps. Carter proactively sought to correct these misconceptions:

While Carter was paraphrasing the racial slur originally used by his campaign worker, his unprompted decision to share this anecdote without any caveat or condemnation provides clarity toward Carter’s campaign tone.

In July of 1970, Carter again clarified his campaign strategy, “When I go into a town, I seek support from all, but I don’t deal with them [blacks] as a bloc vote.”⁵

In August, Carter stressed the need to create closer ties with George Wallace in a speech that was reported with the title “Carter Backs Closer Ties With Wallace.” When Carter was asked if he was pandering to that particular audience to show he liked the “Wallace style of government,” Carter rejected the notion with a smile saying “I’ve said the same thing at least two or three of [sic] times already during the campaign.”⁶

Around the country, Carter was described as a candidate “who invokes the policies and image of George Wallace.”⁷

Meanwhile, in Alabama, Wallace was threatening that if the Nixon-backed Albert Brewer were elected “the niggers would control the state.”⁸

In September, Carter was compelled to correct a previous accusation. The claim was that Carter had privately supported the Supreme Court ruling on school integration. He firmly denied the “accusation,” clarifying that he did not view the Supreme Court ruling on school integration as "morally and legally correct.” He attributed the accusation to a partisan attempting to fabricate stories about him. Later on the national stage, Carter spent decades claiming the opposite.⁹

Also in September, Carter privately met with Roy Harris, a prominent segregationist serving on the State Board of Regents. Harris, also the editor of the openly white supremacist Augusta Courier and leader of Georgia's White Citizens Council, had been George Wallace's campaign director in his 1968 presidential run. After the meeting, Carter secured the endorsement of this notorious segregationist and political kingmaker.¹⁰

Sanders was no match for Carter in terms of viciousness. Carter campaign staffers were allegedly spotted distributing and mailing compromising photographs of Sanders, who was a part-owner of the Atlanta Hawks. In the photo, Sanders was celebrating a victory with two black players pouring champagne over his head. The leaflet was intended to dissuade Georgia voters on purely racial terms.¹¹

Carter denied being involved in the leaflet. Ray Abernathy, an Atlanta public relations man who worked for Carter's media director, Gerald Rafshoon, in 1970 said, "We distributed that leaflet. It was prepared by Bill Pope, who was then Carter's press secretary. It was part of an operation we called 'the stink tank.'"¹²

Roy Harris was one of the most notorious racists in the state and at one point in the campaign when talking with Atlanta media, Carter said that he did not plan to reappoint Harris to the State Board of Regents. But, by October, Carter said he would not oust Roy Harris saying, “I think he’s been one of the better regents.” Into late October, just before the election, Carter was still defending Harris. His Republican opponent, according to reports, said without equivocation that he would not.¹³

Throughout his campaign, Carter consistently vowed to invite George Wallace to Georgia's state legislature if elected. His frequent references to Sander’s refusal to do the same became a cornerstone of his campaign. As a result, ABC-TV noted that Carter's campaign was predominantly focused on one promise: inviting George Wallace to Georgia if he became governor.¹⁴

Carter's Press Secretary, Bill Pope, who voted for George Wallace in 1968–an ordinary detail that Carter was sure to highlight–articulated their campaign strategy as running a "nigger campaign," a term shrouded in strategic ambiguity. It isn’t a stretch of the imagination to think that a person like Bill Pope could pass out photos of Sanders celebrating with black people.¹⁵