This article is from the archive of our partner .

AUTHOR: John R. Bohrer, "historian of 1960s American politics"


FORUM: The Huffington Post


LENGTH: 579 words


THESIS: Jimmy Carter is wrong to accuse Republicans of racism. They’re not sane enough for racism.


SYNONYMS FOR 'REPUBLICAN': "sore  loser," "extremist," "loonie."


ALLITERATIVE TERM OF THE DAY: "beast of boisterousness"


TELLING OPENING LINE: "Not to go all Maureen Dowd on you, but…"


THE LAST WORD:

The point is that there is no method to their madness. The hardcore whatever-they-are's at these rallies would be there no matter what. How did anyone ever get the idea that these protests are actually about something? And I don't just mean policies or race, I mean anything.

It just goes to show that if you say something loud enough and long enough, you will drown out the truth. Remember how these rallies started organizing during President Obama's first month in office? It was so very clear that they were about nothing -- that they were parties for sore losers and extremists. Yay! Bring some crazy signs! Wrap yourself in the flag and call everyone else a traitor! Woo-hoo! The media, politicians, people in general saw all that for what it was: a bunch of loonies who were bummed that the guy they hate won.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.