Race, the Original Republican Sin

Scenes behind the birth of the Southern Strategy.

Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from the first chapter of Stuart Stevens’ book, It Was All a Lie.

“You start out in 1954 by saying, “N—ger, n—ger, n—ger.” By 1968 you can’t say “n—ger” — that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states’ rights and all that stuff.”

- Lee Atwater, 1981

I played the race card in my very first race.

It w…