The Southern Strategy pushed the Republicans in power during the Reagan era by playing on racist fears in the south while simultaneously disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of African Americans voters. A New Southern Strategy now silences the majority of Americans. It was created by Karl Rove and propelled Bush to victory in 2004. Craig had to be silenced by his party because his sexual misconduct threatened to disrupt the New Southern Strategy.

The New Southern Strategy aims to capture the electorate not by silencing a minority, as happened a generation ago, but the majority. The republicans have created the threat of severe stigmatization of anyone who speaks reasonably and publicly about sexuality. Three completely different issues and polling show how this works.

Polls consistently show that the majority wants to protect a woman’s right to have an abortion. Yet, in most states an abortion cannot be obtained, due to terror created by anti-abortion activists. More than that, it has become politically detrimental to speak up for a woman’s right to choose—respecting the fact that women are autonomous sexual beings. The abortion ban in South Dakota was defeated because it did not allow for exceptions in the case of incest and rape. That women are sexually active in this country and that unintended pregnancy sometimes results from sexual activity is no longer a public position that politicians can express. To suggest that an abortion can be a woman’s best friend is altogether anathema to political success. Consequently even democrats are weary to defend woman’s sexual autonomy, and prefer to call every abortion a tragedy. Senator Craig opposed all pro-choice legislation.

Former Surgeon General David Satcher’s Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior (July, 2001) highlights that education is crucial to bringing down the number of unintended pregnancies. Furthermore, the majority of American parents want their children to receive comprehensive sexuality education. Yet, the law of this land states that we teach abstinence only sexuality education, despite overwhelming evidence that shows that ignorance of sexuality does nothing to reduce risk for Sexually Transmitted Infections, HIV or unintended pregnancies. But anyone who wants to promote comprehensive sexuality education in public settings will be greeted by highly vocal accusations of bad parenting and of the promotion of sexual promiscuity, teaching their children to have sex. The stigma attached to that accusation is hard to shake and that is how the majority has been cowed into silence. Senator Craig favored abstinence only sexuality education.

Even though a (shrinking) majority of Americans is opposed to marriage equality, the vast majority believes that no one should be discriminated against, or violently treated, simply because of their sexual orientation. Craig opposed hate crimes legislation —even though a majority of people supports them. To oppose equal rights and protection for LGBT citizens, the republican party—and Craig was a leader in this—have time and again suggested a link between homosexuality and pedophilia, bestiality and adultery, in much the same way that Bush suggests a link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11. It is now hard for politicians to be outspoken in support of LGBT equality in this country because they fear being stigmatized by this spurious association.

Craig absolutely had to go because there is no room for error or tolerance in this New Southern Strategy. Craig’s arrest for a moment gave rise to thinking that it is the oppression of sexuality that creates sexual perversion, not the freedom to be a responsible sexual person. As a US Congressman, Larry Craig gave voice to perverse hatred in particular against LGBT people in this country and abroad. Yet, why did he protest too much against marriage equality and hate crimes legislation, abortion rights and comprehensive sexuality education? Whatever the answer, it is clear that silencing Craig was intentional. Silencing is the goal. That a minority can silence the vast majority of this country is exactly what has occurred. The republicans have succeeded using sexual shame and fear to stigmatize all who speak sensibly about sexuality in public. The cruelty that is needed to accomplish this is the same cruelty the republicans bestowed upon Senator Craig.

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