All of that, though, fills me with even more dismay
about what’s going on in the state this week. As I write this, Donald Trump is
still enjoying a sizable lead in the Republican primary this Saturday. The
success of this profane, secular, Vietnam-avoiding New Yorker, in an area that
famously values manners and the military, is nothing short of astonishing.
The Republican establishment and the media have
commented often on the potential long-term damage that the Trump candidacy may
inflict on the party. Less noted and more saddening, I think, is the baleful
impact that Trumpeters may have on the Palmetto State.
Consider, for instance, these statistics from the firm Public Policy Polling on the
beliefs of Trump supporters:
*70% think the Confederate flag should still be
flying over the State Capital;
*38% of Trump voters say they wish the South had won
the Civil War vs. 24% who are glad the North won and 38% who aren't sure;
* 80% of Trump voters in South Carolina support his
proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States;
* 31% of his supporters would also ban homosexuals from entering the United
States;
* 32% of Trump voters in the state still like the
policy of Japanese internment during World War II, just slightly below the 33%
who oppose it and 35% who have no opinion one way or another.
If Trump wins a resounding victory in South
Carolina, he may build up unstoppable momentum toward the GOP nomination for
President. His shock troops, as reflected in the above statistics, seem
hell-bent on making the state a byword for bigotry and retrograde racism. I’m not sure that that is a
reputation I’d want for a state that loves tourists like myself.
We visitors have to
decide if South Carolina’s natural beauty is sufficient compensation for its
attitudinal ugliness. Don’t count on it.
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