--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Wallace, Goldwater, and Nixon recognized…" description: "\"“Wallace, Goldwater, and Nixon recognized and sought to take advantage of existing bigotry in the voting public, bigotry they did not create but which ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/ian-haney-l-pez-25230_racism_wallace-goldwater-and-nixon-recognized-a_2440915.jpg" --- # Wallace, Goldwater, and Nixon recognized and sought to… ![“Wallace, Goldwater, and Nixon recognized and sought to take advantage of existing bigotry in the voting public, bigotry they did not create but which they stoked, legitimized, and encouraged. They did so not to inflict further pain and humiliation on nonwhites, though that consequence was sure to…” quote by Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/ian-haney-l-pez-25230_racism_wallace-goldwater-and-nixon-recognized-a_2440915.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/ian-haney-l-pez-25230_racism_wallace-goldwater-and-nixon-recognized-a_2440915.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/ian-haney-l-pez-25230_racism_wallace-goldwater-and-nixon-recognized-a_2440915.jpg) > ““Wallace, Goldwater, and Nixon recognized and sought to take advantage of existing bigotry in the voting public, bigotry they did not create but which they stoked, legitimized, and encouraged. They did so not to inflict further pain and humiliation on nonwhites, though that consequence was sure to follow from their actions. Rather, they were willing to play racial hardball to get elected. These racial demagogues acted out of strategic racism. This chapter’s principal”” [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Politicians exploited pre‑existing racism for electoral gain, not creating it but amplifying it to win votes. **In simple terms:** Politicians used racism to win elections. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge strategic racism. Themes politics racism ethics power history Mood cautious critical concerned Type analytical political When to use this quote - election campaigns - policy debates - media analysis - activist organizing Key Concepts strategic racism racial demagoguery public opinion Questions to Reflect On - How can voters resist racial manipulation? - What safeguards can prevent strategic racism? A Different Perspective Racism can be deeply entrenched, making change difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [“Even so, unlike most in society, these politicians thought long and deep about how to turn race to their advantage. We’ve previously defined strategic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/even-so-unlike-most-in-society-these-politicians-thought-long-and/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [Black Privilege is a concrete motive that black people benefit from, such as racism but racism on whites. Black people don't know it but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/black-privilege-is-a-concrete-motive-that-black-people-benefit-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [I hate prejudice on any level. I don't care if it's somebody being discriminated against because of the color of their skin or their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlamagne-tha-god/i-hate-prejudice-on-any-level-i-don-t-care-if-it-s-somebody-being/) [Charlamagne tha God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlamagne-tha-god/) > [Caught in a racial uproar, people make all sorts of promises to make amends. 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If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [The color of somebody's skin or the way he wears his hair or clothes has nothing to do with anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-color-of-somebody-s-skin-or-the-way-he-wears-his-hair-or-clothes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Well, I've been politically involved for a really long time. 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Black people don't know it but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/black-privilege-is-a-concrete-motive-that-black-people-benefit-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you do a black character or a female character or an Asian character, then they aren't just that character. They represent that race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-mcduffie/if-you-do-a-black-character-or-a-female-character-or-an-asian/) [Dwayne McDuffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-mcduffie/) [Browse all 10,057 Racism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Wallace, Goldwater, and Nixon recognized and sought to take advantage of existing bigotry in the voting public, bigotry they did not create but which they stoked, legitimized, and encouraged. 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