That the southern strategy has been debunked is revisionism. On an academic level against it a case was put forward by Johnston & Shaffer who make the argument that class played more of a role than race. And right wing apologists in the blogosphere have been trying to run with that ever since. The other main revisionist argument is that it took a while to work down to the state level. Neither discounts the general acceptance of the SS.


In 1970, Nixon strategist Kevin Phillips said:

From now on, the Republicans are never going to get more than 10 to 20 percent of the Negro vote and they don't need any more than that... but Republicans would be shortsighted if they weakened enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. The more Negroes who register as Democrats in the South, the sooner the Negrophobe whites will quit the Democrats and become Republicans. That's where the votes are. Without that prodding from the blacks, the whites will backslide into their old comfortable arrangement with the local Democrats.

The famous Atwater quote and the above Phillips quote, along with the statements of modern Republicans like Michael Steele, offers some solid evidence.

Its been accepted by scholars for 40 years. You may disagree with these opinions of course.

But theres nothing surprising or even controversial about a political party doing what politcal parties do.