1. Why do you think Southern racist politicians chose to frame their defense of racial segregation through the language of “law and order”?  What special advantages was this choice of words going to give them?

I think Southern racist politicians chose to frame their defense of racial segregation through the language of “law and order” in order to avoid being labeled as racist or socially unjust due to the climate around racism changing. By labeling the Civil Rights Movement as an attack on law and order, they could dodge around the idea of race as the motivator for legislation that primarily or solely affected people of color.  By avoiding race through this wording, they were able to appeal to poor and working class whites that were conservative but not necessarily racist.

2. Do you think the Southern Strategy is still influencing American politics? Give an example supporting your answer.

In the article, the Southern Strategy was described as a plan to create a “new majority” by combining the traditional Republican base with the white South and half of the Catholic, blue-collar vote from cities by appealing to racial fears and antagonisms.  I think this concept is still influencing American politics today, specifically in regards to immigrants, as political platforms continue to be built on the fears that Americans might have surrounding job security and safety.  Similar to how the Southern Strategy was used to convince conservatives that an increase in crime was correlated to an increase of people of color in those areas, the same concepts are applied to areas with immigrants in order to argue for the legislature to not help them.  I see it as an evolution of the concept of the Southern Strategy.