There’s an article in Politico today suggesting that South Carolina is the nerve center of the vicious anti-Obama crusade under way in America. The writer, Alexander Burns, depicts the state as a quaintly eccentric place where politicians tend to be rather wild. That’s supposed to explain why rubes like Representative Joe Wilson feel free to shout insults at the President. Here’s an excerpt from Burns’ article:
The state has a long history of stridency in national politics, having produced legendary opposition figures from Vice President John C. Calhoun, who helped pave the way for the Civil War, to the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, who filibustered historic civil rights legislation. By comparison, (Jim) DeMint, (Mark) Sanford and Wilson (talking with constituents in photo at right) are a tame bunch.
“South Carolina is a state that’s always loved having characters for politicians,” said Bruce Haynes, a political consultant who served as an aide to Campbell (Carroll Campbell III, the son of the late governor who is exploring a bid for Congress next year). “There’s been no shortage of South Carolina politicians over the past 50 years who have said some interesting and outrageous things. And they tend to be re-elected by large margins.”
To read the article click: www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27026.html
Oh, those naughty South Carolinians! They’re such a bunch of cut-ups, aren’t they? Sorry, folks. That’s not how I see it. I see a bunch of white racists, enraged by the election of a black President. And not only in quaint ol’ South Carolina, but throughout the entire South, as well as parts of the West and Midwest.
The South has never put the civil war behind it. In Florida, where I live, pick-up trucks still flaunt the rebel flag in their rear windows and people still talk about “damn Yankees.” A lot of silly folks in the South think of themselves as “Rebels.” What are they rebelling against? Oh, anything and everything. They just like rebelling. Perhaps that’s why so many of them drop out of school and wind up being Rush Limbaugh “ditto heads.”
In Texas, there is a movement to secede from the Union. History buffs will recall that Texas joined the United States when Spain abolished slavery. It must have been a bitter disappointment to the slave owners when the U.S. followed suit not long afterward. I can just imagine what an independent Texas would be like. Can’t you?
Barack Obama was elected by a new generation of white Americans, allied with blacks and Hispanics. If you examine the general election results, you will see that a large majority of white Americans voted for John McCain. And the older the voters, the more likely they were to reject Obama. At least, younger Americans are more enlightened, so the trend is encouraging. But there’s a long way to go. America has not yet evolved beyond its Jim Crow roots. If you look closely, you can still see the shadow of the lynch party’s rope hanging from that ol’ live-oak tree.
