--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Mormons' passage from bugbears of the…" description: "\"The Mormons' passage from bugbears of the Republican Party to its stalwarts may be analogized to a similar move among middle-class white Southerners, t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/441/noah-feldman-12383_1970s_the-mormons-passage-from-bugbears-of-the_1390310.png" --- # The Mormons' passage from bugbears of the Republican Party… ![“The Mormons' passage from bugbears of the Republican Party to its stalwarts may be analogized to a similar move among middle-class white Southerners, to whom the Republican Party was anathema until the 1970s and '80s, after which it became almost the sole representative.” quote by Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/441/noah-feldman-12383_1970s_the-mormons-passage-from-bugbears-of-the_1390310.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/441/noah-feldman-12383_1970s_the-mormons-passage-from-bugbears-of-the_1390310.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/441/noah-feldman-12383_1970s_the-mormons-passage-from-bugbears-of-the_1390310.png) > “The Mormons' passage from bugbears of the Republican Party to its stalwarts may be analogized to a similar move among middle-class white Southerners, to whom the Republican Party was anathema until the 1970s and '80s, after which it became almost the sole representative.” [Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote compares the shift of Mormons within the Republican Party to the earlier shift of middle‑class white Southerners who moved from opposition to near‑total support. **In simple terms:** It shows how groups can change political allegiance over time. Key Takeaway Recognize that political identities are fluid. Themes politics identity realignment Mood analytical thoughtful Type historical political When to use this quote - campaign strategy - voter outreach - historical research - public opinion polling Key Concepts party dynamics social change regional politics Questions to Reflect On - What factors drive a group's political realignment? - How do cultural values interact with party platforms? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify diverse motivations within each group. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1970s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1970s-440/) [After](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/after/) [Almost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/almost/) [Among](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/among/) [Became](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/became/) [Bugbears Republican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bugbears-republican-4843518/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Middle class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-class/) [Move](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/move/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Passage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passage/) [Representative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representative/) [Republican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican/) [Republican party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican-party/) [Similar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/similar/) [Sole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sole/) [Southerners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/southerners/) [Southerners Republican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/southerners-republican-4843517/) [Stalwarts Analogized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stalwarts-analogized-4843519/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Until](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/until/) [Which](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/which/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [Whom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whom/) ## Related quotes > [“ “Do Southerners laugh at different things than Northerners do? Yes, I say--Northerners.” Roy Blount, Jr., Roy Blount’s Book of Southern Humor”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/do-southerners-laugh-at-different-things-than-northerners-do-yes-i/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [I think Confederate Battle Flag is a symbol that causes a great deal of division and reminds us of a really hurtful legacy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-d-moore/i-think-confederate-battle-flag-is-a-symbol-that-causes-a-great-deal/) [Russell D. 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This is why we always use euphemisms to express ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinsley-mortimer/southerners-pride-themselves-on-being-polite-this-is-why-we-always/) [Tinsley Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinsley-mortimer/) > [Their prejudice allowed white Southerners to look the other way when blacks were denied their most basic human rights, and it encouraged the worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-chavez/their-prejudice-allowed-white-southerners-to-look-the-other-way-when/) [Linda Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-chavez/) > [“No matter what a person does to cover up and conceal themselves, when we write and lose control, I can spot a person from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/no-matter-what-a-person-does-to-cover-up-and-conceal-themselves-when/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [For generations, even many otherwise decent white Southerners learned to despise black people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-chavez/for-generations-even-many-otherwise-decent-white-southerners-learned/) [Linda Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-chavez/) > [Even for southerners, Arkansans are amazingly friendly and extend hospitality to all strangers with astonishing openness. You couldn't find a pretension in that state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/even-for-southerners-arkansans-are-amazingly-friendly-and-extend/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Southerners, whose ancestors a hundred years ago knew the horrors of a homeland devastated by war, are particularly determined that war shall never come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/southerners-whose-ancestors-a-hundred-years-ago-knew-the-horrors-of-a/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [“The South is very beautiful but its beauty makes one sad because the lives that people live, and have lived here, are so ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/the-south-is-very-beautiful-but-its-beauty-makes-one-sad-because-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“We southerners worship our ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-stevens/we-southerners-worship-our-ancestors/) [Amanda Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-stevens/) ## More by Noah Feldman > [The administration of George W. 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But sometimes it is all we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/in-an-ideological-age-diplomacy-may-seem-weak-and-prosaic-but/) [Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) > [When we put our trust in diplomacy, it is not because it is an inspiring or uplifting discourse or because it helps us see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/when-we-put-our-trust-in-diplomacy-it-is-not-because-it-is-an/) [Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) > [I have a 2-year-old son, and I know I'm dealing with a big, grand word when I can't point to the thing when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/i-have-a-2-year-old-son-and-i-know-i-m-dealing-with-a-big-grand-word/) [Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) > [Prisoners, according to the law, who are non-U.S. citizens and are detained outside the U.S. - including in Guantanamo Bay - are denied 'habeas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/prisoners-according-to-the-law-who-are-non-u-s-citizens-and-are/) [Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) > [In politics, Joseph Smith was something of a radical. He preached, instead of democracy, a version of theocratic rule within a framework given by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/in-politics-joseph-smith-was-something-of-a-radical-he-preached/) [Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) > [The true test of whether Mr. Obama has improved on the Bush era lies in how his administration justifies its decisions on the 241…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/the-true-test-of-whether-mr-obama-has-improved-on-the-bush-era-lies/) [Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) > [In the first decade of the twenty-first century, the major international question was the relation between Islam and democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/in-the-first-decade-of-the-twenty-first-century-the-major/) [Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) > [Well-meaning Europeans sometimes argue that unlike the U.S., their countries are traditionally 'homogeneous' and have little experience with immigration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/well-meaning-europeans-sometimes-argue-that-unlike-the-u-s-their/) [Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) > [Many Muslims in Saudi Arabia believe that the core values of Islam, namely acknowledgement of God's sovereignty and basic human equality before God, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/many-muslims-in-saudi-arabia-believe-that-the-core-values-of-islam/) [Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) > [Cyber war takes place largely in secret, unknown to the general public on both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/cyber-war-takes-place-largely-in-secret-unknown-to-the-general-public/) [Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) > [We often imagine that the court serves as a sort of neutral umpire controlling the warring political branches. But this is mostly myth. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/we-often-imagine-that-the-court-serves-as-a-sort-of-neutral-umpire/) [Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) [Explore all 55 Noah Feldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) ## More 1970s quotes > [As someone who came to New York in the 1970s, I was, like so many of my friends, a certified member of what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graydon-carter/as-someone-who-came-to-new-york-in-the-1970s-i-was-like-so-many-of-my/) [Graydon Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graydon-carter/) > [The 1970s, the decade of my teenage years, was a transitional period in American youth culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-allin-cornell/the-1970s-the-decade-of-my-teenage-years-was-a-transitional-period-in/) [Eric Allin Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-allin-cornell/) > [Back in the 1970s, it was mostly all-black audiences coming into the theaters. So, we presented stories they could relate to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-ray-moore/back-in-the-1970s-it-was-mostly-all-black-audiences-coming-into-the/) [Rudy Ray Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-ray-moore/) > [I'm a product of the 1970s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/i-m-a-product-of-the-1970s/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [Once, bit-fetching was the job mainly of children. In the 1970s, if I sat too long looking bored, I'd be dispatched to the shop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/once-bit-fetching-was-the-job-mainly-of-children-in-the-1970s-if-i/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [When I joined Ford, in the late 1970s, I felt strongly we could not forever be a huge user of natural resources without there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-joined-ford-in-the-late-1970s-i-felt-strongly-we-could-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wings was one of the first bands in the 1970s to do stadium tours, as well as Led Zeppelin. We had all the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denny-laine/wings-was-one-of-the-first-bands-in-the-1970s-to-do-stadium-tours-as/) [Denny Laine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denny-laine/) > [The whole idea of making 'James' was to make an action film in the style of the 1970s and '80s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-gopal-varma/the-whole-idea-of-making-james-was-to-make-an-action-film-in-the/) [Ram Gopal Varma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-gopal-varma/) > [All I know about 1970s New York City is that it's where I grew up, and you always have an umbilical connection to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-sante/all-i-know-about-1970s-new-york-city-is-that-it-s-where-i-grew-up-and/) [Luc Sante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-sante/) > [I have lived my whole life just outside Youngstown, Ohio. We watched the steel mills close and 50,000 jobs disappear in the late 1970s.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ryan/i-have-lived-my-whole-life-just-outside-youngstown-ohio-we-watched/) [Tim Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ryan/) > [When I was growing up in the projects in Philadelphia in the 1970s and 80s, Cadillac was the car to have. But I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-staley/when-i-was-growing-up-in-the-projects-in-philadelphia-in-the-1970s/) [Dawn Staley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-staley/) > [I don't really have a treasured possession, but I do love my family's proper old photo album. We all have hundreds of photos on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-walker/i-don-t-really-have-a-treasured-possession-but-i-do-love-my-family-s/) [Nicola Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-walker/) > [My family had been involved in gangs since the 1970s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cabral/my-family-had-been-involved-in-gangs-since-the-1970s/) [Richard Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cabral/) > [When I was in high school in the early 1970s, we knew we were running out of oil; we knew that easy sources were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/when-i-was-in-high-school-in-the-early-1970s-we-knew-we-were-running/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [When I was younger, I remember families like mine who had to deal with the disastrous policies of the 1970s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-scheer/when-i-was-younger-i-remember-families-like-mine-who-had-to-deal-with/) [Andrew Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-scheer/) [Browse all 189 1970s quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1970s-440/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Mormons' passage from bugbears of the Republican Party to its stalwarts may be analogized to a similar move among middle-class white Southerners, to whom the Republican Party was anathema until the 1970s and '80s, after which it became almost the sole representative.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noah Feldman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/the-mormons-passage-from-bugbears-of-the-republican-party-to-its/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "1970s" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/the-mormons-passage-from-bugbears-of-the-republican-party-to-its/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/441/noah-feldman-12383_1970s_the-mormons-passage-from-bugbears-of-the_1390310.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/441/noah-feldman-12383_1970s_the-mormons-passage-from-bugbears-of-the_1390310.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/441/noah-feldman-12383_1970s_the-mormons-passage-from-bugbears-of-the_1390310.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Mormons' passage from bugbears of the Republican Party to its stalwarts may be analogized to a similar…” — Noah Feldman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Noah Feldman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The Mormons' passage from bugbears of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/the-mormons-passage-from-bugbears-of-the-republican-party-to-its/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/the-mormons-passage-from-bugbears-of-the-republican-party-to-its/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```