This is not a Republican-Democrat thing. This is a conservative thing.

At one point, the southern conservatives were Democrats. Democrats were the party that represented the white working poor, the unions, and southern conservatives were union members who voted for Democrats. The Republican party was – at the time – the more socially liberal party of Wall Street, the bankers’ party, the management’s party, with some social liberalism thrown in. FDR was a Democrat and created the New Deal to help the working man and woman, not the bankers.

But the conservatives were always against allowing blacks to vote and pro-states rights, which meant giving a state the right to continue Jim Crow. It took LBJ to sign the Civil Rights Act and Richard Nixon to oppose busing to start the movement to the Republican party. As everyone knows, the parties flipped.

The seamless line throughout has been the socially “conservative” movement, both in the south and rural parts all over the United States. But to the southern conservative, the Civil War never ended, and thus, in many ways, the Confederate States of America retained its position alongside the United States of America. Yes, a truce was made but the Confederates demanded their place as heroes alongside the “Yankees.” To a large extent, they want to start that war up again.

To this day there is a Robert E. Lee Day in some southern states (In one state, it falls on MLK day, yes, that’s true), there are counties and cities named for William Bedford Forrest, meaning “Forrest County” (two “R’s”), who was a southern general and the founder of the KKK. The statues are everywhere.

Including the United States Capitol. The southern states signed on to the Constitution back in the late 1700s. They agreed to abide by the Constitution when it allowed them to keep slavery as an institution. When, in accord with the Constitution, the United States decided to end slavery, legally, the Southern conservative went outside the Constitution, formed their own country, and fired the first shots at the United States. They were an enemy of the United States.

The South had the good fortune to lose that war and be brought back into the United States. We are not trying to say that the South would be some third-world lawless nation, but the South would be poorer. The South has benefitted from remaining in the United States just as the north gained by having the south. The South just gained more.

So why are there statues of traitors in the United States Capitol? And why are there United States Congressmen voting to keep them there?

Wow… 120 Republicans vote to keep Confederate statues in the Capitol pic.twitter.com/fKhLMB4AEG

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 29, 2021

It is because many want to honor the heritage of doing things their way, no matter what Washington says. The United States Supreme Court has said that prayer in public schools or any public school event is unconstitutional. Guess how football games start in the south?

This is inexcusable. The most important consideration is that it is a slap in the face to Black Americans (again).  But from a purely civic standpoint, why would we have enemies of the United States of America honored, honored, in the U.S. Capitol? We don’t want to hear “Because it is part of our heritage…” It is part of a heritage that doesn’t want to follow the Constitution because the Constitution gave Black Americans equal rights.

Period.

Here’s the total vote count.

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