A commenter came across a site that quoted the Mantra and then went off into pure anti-Semitism. Now that the Mantra is beginning to be used, it is time for us to talk about the usual fear of its being MISused.

Respectable conservatives were worried to death about being called racists, and this was a major argument against the coalition of Wallace and conservative voters that won a solid majority in 1968.

Yes, there were a lot of Democrats who would back a fight against liberal policy but they were Wallacites, and what would that do to me at the next cocktail party I attend.

When Reagan used this coalition and won, all anyone heard at the cocktail parties was that he had WON. The “Wallace vote” instantly became the very respected “Reagan Democrats.”

Wallace ran as a segregationist in 1968. In the polls, which I remember distinctly, the Nixon vote stayed fixed and pasted between 41% and 43%. The majority was equally constant, dividing between Humphrey and Wallace, in other words, Democrats.

The undecided vote was as astoundingly constant as the Republican vote was. It stayed at 7% for months. What moved wildly was the division between Humphrey and Wallace. Humphrey got down to 29% at one point. As the election neared, all the Wallace Democrats went back to Humphrey.

Nixon won with the same 43% he had had the whole time.

To get a majority, Republicans had to convince  up to 22% of the total vote that they were entirely different from old Republicans on basic questions.

Jimmy Carter did that for us, but respectable conservatives could have prevented us from making that coalition. They were terrified of what limousine liberals would say.

So am I worried about people who associate themselves with the Mantra?

No way. Politics is a rough business, and any message that can’t survive being quoted correctly is dead on arrival anyway.

“Just spell our names right.” “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.”

The only way someone can associate with the Mantra is by stating it.

People will then go on to their own world view, which will often waste effort or make people disagree with THEM.

By then the person has read the Mantra. He has received an introduction to a world view which is poison to our established religion.

Each person has his own reasons for stating the Mantra. We are not worried about facing a bunch of New York Media personnel at a cocktail party because of it.

There is a huge variety of world views inside BUGS. But we get along fine precisely because we know that what is important is our basic message.

The invention of the Romans and Greeks is not lost on us. It matters not a whit whether you admire or despise your comrade, or how many differences you have with him.

The only thing that matters is that, when you go into combat, your shields remain locked together and your whole force is aiming for the same ground.