EXCLUSIVE HHR INTERVIEW: A.J. Otjen

HHR Blog: Tell the readers of HHR Blog a little about yourself...where are you from...where were you born...where were you raised?

A.J. Otjen: I was raised in Enid Oklahoma by a Republican family. My grandfather William John Otjen was the Republican candidate for governor and senator for Oklahoma. I remember wearing "I like Ike" buttons as a small child and my mother being a "Bellmon Bell". My parents were divorced when I was 15. I think Mom was my hero as she paid for all of my college but always told me I was on my own the day I graduated and she meant it. She had the greatest friends that had parties and played bridge. The day she died I was able to tell her that she had been the best mom. That is all she wanted to know. That she could be proud of what she left behind. She also gave me a love of horses and a believe that I could do anything I wanted. Her name was Eva and I am named after her mother Agnes.

HHR Blog: How have your feelings about the City and the State you currently live in influenced you're r decision to run for office?

A.J. Otjen: The job I have of teaching has influenced me quite a bit. My students seem to ask me my opinions and what they think their future will be like. And Montana has such an incredible environment and so many resources that should be used to the benefit of all of us. The fact that we live in such a transformative age is staring me in the face and the current Republicans are not saying the right things or having the right influence. But I'm getting started a bit late. I fortunately have had deep principles developed over a long time, and just need to apply a few details to them.

HHR Blog: What is your current job and what are your duties in the current job you hold?

A.J. Otjen: I'm on the faculty of marketing at the college of business at Montana State University in Billings. I teach people how to make a profit in a market economy. I did it for 25 years, successfully. Then I retired to become a professor in God's country. I worked in agriculture, technology, sports, tourism, real estate, the marketing of those things. And now I have horse property. I understand the limits of water and pastureland. I think this should all be of benefit to Montana.

HHR Blog: What type of family were you raised in, and how has your upbringing shaped your political views?

A.J. Otjen: I grew up in a typical middle class difficult family. I made my own living immediately after graduating with a bachelors and paid for my own MBA at night, and eventually made it to the VP level of a fortune 500 company. I was the head of a household, and currently support myself successfully. As a woman this shaped my political views from conservative to moderate to progressive moderate. I would say that my parents were upper class in their child hoods or had upper class manners. But had middle class values. Two wars did that to them. I have extremely liberal views when it comes to human rights.

HHR Blog: Where did you attend College and what was the highest degree you attained?

A.J. Otjen: I have two graduate degrees or a terminal degree (doctorate). I attended Mizzou, University of Colorado for the MBA and back to University of Missouri but in Kansas City for the Doctorate. I worked for Sprint Corporation at the time. The HQ was right across the street from the KC campus so I seemed silly not to cross the street at night to study and go to class. It was writing the dissertation that was the hard part. I had been writing memos and emails for many years by then.

HHR Blog: What were your experiences like as a College Student compared to your experiences as a Professional in the work-place?

A.J. Otjen: I must confess it is easier to write an email than a term paper. And two of my degrees were earned before the invention of personal computers. The doctorate was much easier thanks to Microsoft. But I love the smell of a campus. I think it is the green grass. And great corporate moments are fleeting. Plus I love to sleep in late. But doing the job in real life is more fun than learning it in the classroom. I think that is why I try to give my student as much actual experience now that I teach. It took years to reach a level where I was experienced enough to be a good manager of people in the corporate world, where it took about three years to be a good teacher....granted after 25 years of working. Still, now that I'm a professor, there are times when I wish I could just pick the students I want to teach like I could pick the employees I wanted to manage. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way.

HHR Blog: If you have traveled throughout the United States, please share with our readers what you were able to ascertain about the various cultures of The United States?

A.J. Otjen: I traveled the best way, working for the Potato Farmers of America, having them show me the land and the best historical sights in the area, or travelling for them and getting to eat at their expense. Food and music is usually the best way to experience the local culture. The best part about New York City, besides the theatre, is its different neighborhoods from Harlem to China Town. The South has the Cajun dancing and food, and architecture, Savannah and Charleston, and Jazz Jazz Jazz. I prefer the Gulf to the Atlantic in terms of the breeze. I like Main's lobster the best. And Pennsylvania's farm land is about the prettiest in the country. In Colorado, a hidden jewel is the San Luis Valley soaked in sunlight and brisk air and hardly a soul, where there is the international crowd in Vail just a hundred miles a way. If you really want to understand America, you need to meet our natives from the SW to Montana to Seattle and listen to the drums. I have friends on the east coast who have gone to Europe several times but have never seen our American west. As for California..,,,head north. No offense LA. But those trees will make you cry.

HHR Blog: How do the various cultures of The United States compare to the dominant cultures in your home state?

A.J. Otjen: Many in Montana think you have to be born here. It is not true. Just like in all America. We are all immigrants. I'm a daughter of the American Revolution...can you believe that. And a first family of Virginia..what a snob. My nephew just married a Cherokee/Choctaw and I say it is about time we had some Oklahoma native blood in our family after having been part of the family that helped bring that state into the union. NUTZ I say.

In fact Cherokee and Choctaw are from Florida and North Carolina and part of the Five Civilized Tribes. We are all immigrants. Talk to the Crow and Cheyenne in terms of who belongs to Montana. The more we all mix it up the more beauty I see in our skin and hair and healthy figures. Maybe the dominant culture in Montana is farmers and ranchers. But there are Germans, and French, and natives and Mormons that settled this land. There is big money and poverty. I don't think anyone dominates here any more. We all want good things for each other if we think about it.

HHR Blog: What do you like the most about The United States?

A.J. Otjen: The constitution. The land. The history. The sacrifices made to get to where we are today. The potential of our future. The bravery of most of its citizens.

HHR Blog: What would you like to change the most about The United States and how would you accomplish this goal?

A.J. Otjen: I want to change the ugly rhetoric. I want the populace to be educated with the truth. I want the populace to be healthy. I want our economy based on green energy and technology that makes us more healthy and educated. I want information available to the entire world that is honest.

HHR Blog: What attracted you to your current political party? Did some occurrence in your life influence you in your choice of your current party affiliation?

A.J. Otjen: Yes, it was a part of my family when I was very young. Teddy was great. And now I want it to be good again. It makes me mad that everyone says there are no smart Republicans. It makes me mad that there are so many that make us look like fools.

HHR Blog: If you served in the Military which branch of the military did you serve in, and how has this shaped your views as a politician?

A.J. Otjen: No but my grandfather and father and nephew served in the army proudly. As a politician, it makes me want to stand up and fight for the constitution and not let fear tactics work in our politics. We are a brave nation. How dare we give up any of our rights in the name of fear of terror. Too many have died to protect our rights.

HHR Blog: What does your political agenda for both your constituency as well as the Nation consists of?

A.J. Otjen:I go into most of it on my website.

HHR Blog: What are your views on Gay Marriage?

A.J. Otjen: I am for it. I have many gay friends who deserve to be happy and have been together for a long time. I do not judge people based on their sex lives and I don't understand people who do. I believe that all people have a right to privacy and a right to pursue happiness. If I have a right to marriage than every one does. In fact, Republicans should agree on this issue as something with which the government should not interfere as it is our creed to protect individual rights.

HHR Blog: What are your views on abortion?

A.J. Otjen: I believe that a woman is a human that is being, a human being, and that she is the one with the right to privacy. The unborn is dependent on the mother. The government has no right to intrude upon this woman's right. The best way to reduce the number of abortions is to prevent unwanted pregnancy in the first place.
In terms of third trimester medical terminations, I can't imagination that a pregnant mother wants to lose their child. It must be an incredible medical tragedy. A horrific situation. Has anyone ever known a mother that must lose their child in the third trimester, it is horrible. God bless the doctors still available to these poor mothers in those horrible private situations. Anyone who calls them killers is a disgrace.

HHR Blog: What are your beliefs and policies regarding Healthcare?

 A.J. Otjen: The plan should work on health first. Such as taxing products or industries with high fructose corn syrup or saturated fats first. And then giving that money to support inner city vegetable gardens and back paths and more recess in school systems. Then I want to keep the health care providers in a free market where users can see the prices and shop around. Once they shop for MRIs as an example, they choose the cheapest. If the doctor says the hospital costs $5000 but the clinic down the street costs $500, then they should get their MRI down the street. Then they can pay their bill via a collective payment system that is a single payer system supported by the public.

HHR Blog: What are your views about the economy and effective ways to pull the United States out of the current recession it is in?

A.J. Otjen: Like Richard Nixon, I am a Keynesian. I believe in government spending us out of a crises. I explain this much more on my website.

HHR Blog: What do you think about the United States' involvement in both Iraq and Afghanistan?

A.J. Otjen: I want to get us out of Iraq and Afghanistan and go after criminal swith intelligence and law enforcement and allies. I only want to be in a war as a defense, not offense.

HHR Blog: What are your policies concerning housing, financial assistance, and education for the low-income poor of the United States?

A.J. Otjen: The problem with capitalism is that it concentrates where there is profit. There is little investment in the low income areas because there is little profit in these areas. Jack Kemp had a good idea about enterprise zones. We need to find a way to get a good return on investment in these areas. For everyone involved. People need to be able to buy a home, enjoy property gains, own businesses, educate children. How do we end the cycle: is it drugs and health that prevents a return on investment? The native Americans have said they need their own banking system. Maybe that would make a difference.

HHR Blog: What do you believe to be the future of education for our Nation's children and our youth (18-22 yrs. Old)?

A.J. Otjen: It must be great. We have to get it there. We have no option. I am for an expansion of public education. I am a professor. And I am against performance pay for teachers. I don't want teachers to compete against each other and there is not a good way to evaluate them.

A.J. Otjen: I see myself back as a professor. I am hoping to start a movement for younger progressives proving that we can win.

HHR Blog: If you were to run for President of the United States who would your ideal running mate be and why?

A.J. Otjen: One of you. Somebody young.

HHR Blog: Finally, Why do you call yourself a Progressive Republican? Is not progressivism an ideology more in line with the Democrat Party?

A.J. Otjen: No, look at Teddy. And Democrats are not very good at getting things done with the government in terms of the budget. They are good at passing social law issues but they usually mess up the end game.

HHR Blog: Who is your favorite Republican President and why?

A.J. Otjen: Teddy....saw the future of capitalism and tried to fix it and loved our national parks

HHR Blog: You voted for Barack Obama for President why did you do this?

A.J. Otjen: I think he is the right man for the right time. He has vision, he seems honest. And I think he will make the world love us again. I trust him with our foreign policy.

HHR Blog: Are there things in which you disagree with President Obama on?

A.J. Otjen: I am not sure anyone quite understands the banking finance issue. I have lots of degrees on this and I can't quite get what he is doing. Or what I would yet. I thought we should have input more cash instead of more credit into the market. And I don't get what any of them are doing on the health care plan. But we should give him a chance, it is early. I believe in a loyal opposition. And our Republican leaders are being really silly.

HHR Blog: We wish you much success in your campaign it was a pleasure. Thanks for sitting down with HipHopRepublican.com

Thank you for your time.

To learn more about Dr. A.J. Otjen's campaign visit her Campaign site at http://otjenforcongress.com/

Interview from:

http://hiphoprepublican.com/feature/2009/10/02/exclusive-hhr-interview-aj-otjen-progressive-republican-for-congress/

Freshman Democratic Rep. Mike McMahon, who won a Republican-leaning Staten Island-based seat in 2008, agreed with that assessment.

"I think, as a quintessential down-ballot candidate, as a freshman seeking reelection, I am, of course, concerned about the top of the ticket because the top of the ticket determines turnout," he said. "I am pleased that the White House is concerned about the issue."

"It's important that we as a Democratic team have the best team up and down the ticket, and that's what we're doing," said McMahon.

Tuesday brought more bad news for Paterson, with the release of a Siena College poll showing his favorability rating at just 29 percent and only 14 percent in favor of reelecting him.

Paterson isn't the only prominent Democratic officeholder whose election prospects are clouded. Polling on the reelection prospects of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) regularly generates highly unfavorable data. New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick are also in jeopardy of losing their seats.

But the rationale for intervening in New York is different. The fear among some legislators is that Paterson stands to affect the party up and down the line in a state with an unusually high number of recently elected members who have not yet locked down their seats. The list begins with Kirsten Gillibrand, the Democratic senator he appointed in January to fill Hillary Clinton's vacant seat.

Gillibrand's own poll ratings have been weak -- only 26 percent of voters participating in Marist's September survey approved of her job performance -- and there is concern in some Democratic circles that former Republican Gov. George Pataki could challenge her in 2010.

"The White House would consider it a huge disappointment losing a Senate seat in New York," said Miringoff. "It's not what you want as a party."

Gillibrand declined to discuss Paterson when approached by POLITICO off the Senate floor Tuesday evening. Her spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Aside from Gillibrand, there are seven House Democrats who face potentially competitive reelection bids, including Rep. Scott Murphy, who won Gillibrand's old House seat in a special election earlier this year by roughly 700 votes.

"In New York, in as challenging a year as 2010 inevitably will be because of historical trends, you want to make sure that you are strong ... and that you don't have to focus on [it]," said Maffei.

"If the leader of the party, the president, has to worry about New York House seats, New York Senate seats -- not to mention the governor's seat itself -- then it will be a lot of resources ... that can't be used in other places where we will face a challenge in 2010," he said.

And there is also significant concern within the party that, should Democrats lose a host of state legislative seats next fall, it would significantly weaken their position in the upcoming fight over redistricting.

"If you have a weak top of the ticket, not only would we lose some of our House members, we would lose some of the state Senate seats, and if we lose the Senate, we lose control of redistricting," said the House member.

Publicly and privately, Paterson has resisted the calls from the White House to stand down. On Tuesday, he told reporters defiantly, "You don't give up."

Rep. Steve Israel, a Long Island Democrat, said he came away from a five-minute phone conversation with Paterson with the feeling that Paterson was "steadfast" in his determination not to back down in the face of pressure.

"He didn't give me any indication that he is packing his bags," said Israel.

I'm just going to post this i it's entirety

The Other 9/12 Rally

Just how many people attended Saturday's 9/12 tea-party protest? Estimates by conservatives range from the hundreds of thousands to the millions -- numbers they say indicate a growing anti-Obama grassroots movement. Unsurprisingly, liberal pundits are pushing back, saying protesters came out in the tens of thousands. So far, the debate is hinging on photos of the rally, which appear to show the National Mall packed from the Capitol to the Washington Monument, 16 blocks away. A National Park Service map pegged to the 2008 inauguration appears to show that the Mall holds about a million people. Bloggers have overlaid the map with photos from Saturday. Case closed, right? Not so, as there's an important detail both conservatives and liberals are ignoring.

What no one has noted is that two-thirds of the National Mall was filled by an entirely separate event on Saturday that had nothing to do with protesting the president. September 12 just happened to be the 24th-annual Black Family Reunion, which ran from 7th Street all the way to the Washington Monument. I spent several hours on the Mall on Saturday, and there's no question that protesters numbered at least in the tens of thousands, but they were isolated to only a fraction of the area they're credited with having filled. The Black Family Reunion, a peaceful and friendly event designed around "healing and uplifting black families," featured mild-mannered African American families meandering through a series of promotional tables and large white tents scattered across the Mall. One crowd gathered across from the Washington Monument, not to protest health-care reform but to enjoy a Christian-themed R&B concert, where volunteers handed out free water bottles and bananas.

Not even the most biased observer could have mistaken these people for anti-Obama protesters. So why did so many pundits conflate the cheery Black Family Reunion with the angry tea-party protesters? The answer, I think, is that they either weren't there or didn't bother to leave the protest's zenith on the Capitol steps. It's an institutional hazard of covering protests that reporters seek out the center of the action and don't budge, giving them great anecdotes from individual attendees but little sense of the event's overall scope. Similarly, it's easy for bloggers to just read after-action reports or browse a few photos before drawing conclusions. But these are both risky strategies for covering big events, and it's easy to see why people are so confused about Saturday's attendance figures.

Also see 1849's blog

My Afro-centric radar was triggered by the televised image of a Black man and woman being escorted out of the event by uniformed men. What had occurred? There was no explanation, just the video. It was left up to the viewer to create a story. Was the couple picked out of the crowd because of police bias?. How had the couple disrupted the event? What was the political position taken by the couple pro- or anti-health care reform?

My question was answered today by YouTube. The woman had entered the event with a sign depicting Rosa Parks. Many in the crowd booed. The woman rolled up the sign and put it away. A reporter came over to see what that poster said. When the woman unrolled the poster, a man standing behind her snatched the poster. When she responded and tried to retrieve the sign, she and her companion were escorted out of the building.

I think the media needs to understand that by showing that image without an explanation, they are doing a disservice to the woman and the viewing public at large.

 The video with more details can be found at the link below:

http://hatingnotdebating.blogspot.com/

Now comes the news that CNBC contacted Tea Party Patriots for information on where the most "heated" town hall meeting would be occurring. The group's spokesperson says that they did not respond to CNBC's request. One Teabagger apparently did offer an event suggestion to TPP but not CNBC.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/email_tea_baggers_hoping_for_riot_at_rep_scotts_to.php

If all MSM is capable of is providing good video without context, then the media has failed in it's responsibility to the public.

Pat Buchanan tells a story of standing in the Wade Hampton Hotel in Columbia, South Carolina in 1966 with Richard Nixon. The crowd was whipped into frenzy with talk of patriotism and law and order. Law and order was Nixon's code words for keeping Blacks in their place. Nixon realized that the GOP's future was going to be based in the South.  Nixon was anti-abortion, but could accept the procedure if the offspring were the product of sexual intercourse between a Caucasian and African-American. Lyndon Johnson was correct that the Civil Rights Act signed by a Democratic President had delivered the South to the GOP. Nixon took full advantage.  The Dixiecrats found a willing home in the party of Lincoln. Barry Goldwater managed to chase African-Americans out of the GOP with his strong support of state's rights. Goldwater's state's rights were another code for keeping the Blacks in their places. Integration would only come when the Whites in power felt the need for change enter their hearts.  Martin Luther King Jr. advised against voting for Goldwater because of his stance on state's rights. In his autobiography, King opined that Goldwater himself might not be a racist, but that Goldwater would support racists in the South to gain political capital.

Goldwater is a GOP hero, but is at the core of the ethnic problem that the GOP faces. Goldwater and another GOP hero William F Buckley supported the right of individuals to associate with whomever they pleased. If this meant that Whites refused to serve Blacks in restaurants, so be it. Both men served to give moral support to segregationists.  Goldwater told Georgia activists in 1961, ought to stop chasing the votes of African-Americans and "go hunting where the ducks are." And the ducks in 1964 turned out to be white Democrats in revolt against integration. Goldwater's campaign slogan, "In Your Heart You Know He's Right," was an arrow aimed directly at them. It was a clear allusion to a prejudice that dared not speak its name. The stain on the Republican Party has never been erased. In fact the modern GOP readily embraces the Confederacy of old.

The current GOP's ties to the Confederacy are easy to find. Former GOP Senator Trent Lott is famous for his 2002 statement that segregationist, and father of an unacknowledged Black daughter, Strom Thurmond would have been a great President. Lott did face a great deal of heat for this statement, and lost his GOP leadership position. Regarding Thurmond, there is the delicate question of whether a Black servant in a White Southern household has free will to refuse the advances of a young White male who by default wields significant power over her employment.  Thurman illustrates the double standard applied by the Confederacy.  A Southern White male can take sexual pleasure in Black female. A White Northerner who was involved in a loving relationship in with a Black female is a degenerate.

Getting back to Trent Lott, in 1984 Lott called the Civil War the war of aggression in an interview in the pro-Confederacy Southern Patriot magazine in1984. Lott appeared as a speaker at the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC) in 1992. The Council is a successor to the Jim Crow era White Citizens Councils. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour wore a Confederate flag lapel pin during his gubernatorial campaign. Barbour appeared at a CCC BBQ in 2003.

Former GW Bush AG john Ashcroft gave an interview to the Southern Patriot in 1988 in which he praised the magazine for defending Southern patriots like Jefferson Davis, Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Missouri Governor Matt Blunt ordered the Confederate flag to be flown for a day in 2005 during a Confederate Memorial Service in Higginsville, Mo.

The above examples reflect the stance that modern Confederates in the GOP have taken, just like their hero, Barry Goldwater; these government officials have no problem associating with organizations that have a history of racial bias. Despite this fact, they will be at the forefront condemning Obama for associating with Jeremiah Wright and Sonia Stotomayor for belonging to a Hispanic organization as demonstrating racial bias.

The Confederacy viewed the Union as the aggressor. Modern GOP leadership does little to hide their views that support this Confederate ideology. National government is a monster that has to be controlled.  Government intervention is what caused the Civil War. Government intervention is also why the status of Blacks has improved. Ending slavery and ending Jim Crow was not a primary issue for the Confederacy. Life has become more difficult for Confederates because of the action of the federal government. Only a government that is weak on ethnic issues will maintain the status quo and this government is what the Confederacy prefers.. It is likely that also in the background is a concern that if minorities ever come to power, they would do the same thing to Whites as Whites did to minorities.  

As a defense, Confederates now view minorities as racist and throw the term out repeatedly. Glenn Beck calls Obama a racist. Limbaugh says the President is an angry Black man.  Sonia Sotomayor is also called a racist merely for being Latina. The racism that Conservatives see is racism against oppressed White males. In the wake of the Ricci decision which provided aid and comfort to Confederates who were tired of losing jobs to "unqualified minorities comes a decision by a NY judge that testing used by the NYC Fire Department to hire recruits, had nothing to do with how well the candidates would perform as firefighters. NYC has altered it's testing procedures and currently 38% of recruits passing the new test are minorities. Under the old test only 105 of those who passed were ethnic minorities. The judge noted that other large cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Houston had much higher percentages of ethnic minority firefighters using different testing techniques. Ricci may provide a brief respite, but minorities know how to adapt. Confederates will again be in an uproar as they see jobs that they take as their God given right in the hands of minorities

http://www.blacknews.com/news/nyc_unfair_to_minority_firefighter_recruits101.shtml

While believing in limited government, Confederates are willing to play aggressor to any real or imaged threat. Diplomacy is not their strong suit.  Curiously the region that fought against the United States now views itself as being super-patriotic. People who attempt diplomacy first are said to place the country at risk. Southern Confederates, always willing to fight are super-duper patriotic. McCain thrilled the crowds with his "Bomb, Bomb, Bomb...Bomb, Bomb, Iran. Confederates gorged on the message to fight another war. The rest of the country recoiled.

In the 2008 Presidential election, we saw a regional divide. The majority of Southern White voters could not cast a vote for Barack Obama. Some Southerners just could not accept an African-American Commander In Chief. The birthers have found the South to be a region that willingly accepts the belief that Obama was not born in the United States of America, A poll by the Daily Kos noted that while 87% or more of those in the East, Midwest and West believe that Obama was born in the United States, only 47% of Southerners believe that Obama was born in the US. 30% of Southerners are not sure if Obama is US born.

Outgoing GOP Senator George Voinovitch (R-OH) said that the problem with the GOP is that there are too many Jim DeMints (R-SC) and Tim Coburns (R-OK). The problem implied by Voinovich is that Southern Republicans come across as ignorant and disconnected from the rest of the country.  By being seen as too Southern and too ignorant, the GOP becomes marginalized. Demint, by the way, is a staunch supporter of the Confederate flag and felt that the state capitol was an appropriate place for the symbol.

Kathleen Parker agreed with Voinovitch's sentiments in a recent column in the Washington Post.  Joe Scarborough also worries about the regional disconnect between the modern GOP and the non-Southern parts of the country. The recent spectacle of mostly Southern White Republican Senators chastising Sonia Sotomayor repeatedly over her "wise Latina" snippet didn't help the GOP's image with Latino voters. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) who was denied a federal judgeship because of racially biased comments was allowed to be the GOP's point man in trying to derail Sotomayor's appointment. Rush Limbaugh and Pat Buchanan, who proudly points to Confederates in the Buchanan family, throwing red meat to the GOP base by saying that the GOP doesn't need the Hispanic vote continue the ethnic gulf.

http://townhall.com/columnists/KathleenParker/2009/08/05/them_dang_southerners

Republican Texas Governor Rick Perry raised the ultimate threat of the Confederacy. Perry mentioned Texas's right to secede. Approximately 50% of Texans are ready to bolt if they feel offended by the Obama administration. How patriotic can Confederates be if they are so willing to leave the Union?

The town hall bullies who shut down discourse over heath care and occasionally threaten violence bring to mind South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks who attacked anti-slavery Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner from behind with a cane on May 22, 1856. Brooks was responding to a verbal lashing that Sumner had delivered to SC Senator Andrew Butler about Butler's support of slavery.  Brooks and Butler were relatives. Brooks could attack Sumner in such a manner because, Sumner was of lower station and therefore not worthy of the challenge to a duel. The double standard for chivalrous behavior demonstrated by Brooks appears to echo in the actions of SC Governor Sanford. Sanford can boldly state that President Clinton should have resigned because of adultery, but that he (Sanford) can remain in office.  Clinton is unworthy. Sanford is like King David.  Sanford and his C Street brethren are not bound by rules for mere mortals. Just as Strom Thurman could take advantage of a Black servant and face no repercussions, Sanford and the C Streeters feel equally privileged. The double standards for moral behavior and civil discourse are glaring. The hypocrisy is lost on the Confederates who follow in the footsteps of their forebears; rules are for the riff-raff not for the chosen.

The White South that the GOP is appealing to is the worst of the past. The GOP can continue its march towards the Confederacy at its own peril. Other White Southerners are faring rather well among African-Americans. President Bill Clinton was recently inducted into Phi Beta Sigma, a national African-American fraternity.  For all the racial temper flares between Obama and the Clintons  during the Democratic Primaries, Bill is back in the fold.

The South, per se, is not the problem (see Florida and North Carolina in the last election). The problem is the lingering aspects of the Confederacy in the South. That mentality has found a home in the former Party of Lincoln. The actions of the Confederates are chasing away moderates, ethnic minorities, and even some Conservatives. 

The Republican Party needs to reclaim its dignity and reject the Confederacy.  Take off the grey suits of the Confederacy and rejoin the Union.