While people were noticing a cringe-worthy historical comparison, Reince Priebus’ comments show something else
Reince Priebus — the former Republican National Committee chairman who was installed as chief of staff by President Donald Trump before being last week — remains optimistic about the future of the Republican Party. He probably should have chosen better words to express that optimism, however. “Winning is what we were supposed to do, and we won. That’s the job of the Republican Party. It’s in the best shape it’s been in since 1928, ”. The former chief of staff was almost certainly referring to that year’s legendary presidential election, in which Republican candidate Herbert Hoover defeated Democratic nominee Al Smith in a landslide. The reasons behind that landslide, however, do not reflect well on the GOP. As historian Allan Lichtman explained in religious and racial bigotries were instrumental in Hoover’s victory over Smith. As the first Catholic candidate nominated by a major party, New York Governor Al Smith was at a major disadvantage running against Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover. Catholics and Protestants wound up diverging on their choice of candidates in that election far more than in previous or subsequent contests, and given that Protestants had monopolized the White House for the previous 140 years, Hoover naturally had an edge. More notably, however, is the fact that Hoover personally directed a “Southern strategy” to turn white voters away from Smith, who were reluctant to support him — not only because of his religion but because he was perceived as more progressive on issues of racial equality than most other Democrats. As a result, Hoover managed to win states that had previously been part of the so-called “Solid South” for Democrats, including Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina and Florida.
