A few days ago, a good friend of mine sent out a graphic of a map of the US showing the red & blue states in this recent election, compared to a map of Pre-Civil War states vs. Slave States. While it is an interesting snapshot of things, I think she really was just circulating a good piece of humor. One of the recipients took issue with the email and, well… here is the exchange that ensued. I couldn’t resist jumping in with my two-cents worth. Of course this is just a good old fashioned healthy debate and I will preface this by saying that I absolutely respect everyone’s opinion and that is what makes the world go round.

Here is the map that launched the exchange….

View image

And here is the thread of emails.. this conversation is still going on, but I figured I’d just share it on here because I thought it was a good subject.

Original email with Map:

Sharon: This is pretty interesting…………………..just affirms what I’ve known all along!

Reply:
John: Precisely WHAT have you “known all along?”

You just have to love the typical liberal tactic of race baiting and looking down their noses at people who in their opinion are the “uneducated, unwashed masses” who have not “seen the light” of liberal socialism.
Predictable but still pathetic.

Bear in mind that the civil rights act was pushed through congress by REPUBLICANS when Southern DEMOCRATS opposed it. Remember “Mr.KKK, the Democrat Senator?”

On another note, the last time I checked Lincoln was a REPUBLICAN. Check your history (real history, not what is passing for history now) During this period of time it was the DEMOCRATIC party that wanted to keep the status quo of slavery and it was those “mean old racist Republicans” that wanted to end slavery.

Keep being divisive, I love it! Continue dividing the country with racist innuendo. I can’t WAIT for the next election.

Send me more spin, will you? I love a good fairy tail!

And here is my reply… I just couldn’t resist getting involved:
Joe:
Wow… This is way too heated for a post-election discussion! lol

A few observations… The south has been historically democrat, anti-civil rights, and as you pointed out, home of “Mr.KKK, the Democrat Senator”. So that being said, why are those southern “racist” democrats voting republican now? Makes you wonder. Maybe because if you layout the historical platform of the republican party, I.e. Lincoln’s GOP, then you quickly see that the modern day republican platform has little resemblance to the original tenents. Pull a copy of the republican party platform from 1865 and see if this administration is even close. For example: less government? We are in fact living under the largest bureaucracy in history. Financially conservative? Current Government spending and the resulting deficit are the largest in history. Support of Civil rights? More attempts have been made by this republican administration to change the constitution and restrict individual rights then any other administration. Support of Small business and job growth? More jobs have been lost during this presidency then the last 11 administrations combined.

Liberals don’t feel conservatives are unintelligent, “dumb” or “uneducated, unwashed masses”, they just think G.W. is, and well maybe the old addage, guilty by association has some relevance here. Let’s face it, we can all at least dream that our leader and flag-bearer for our moral values wasn’t a convicted DWI offender, cocaine using felon, and C average student. It’s not being elitist to want more from your President, to want a President like maybe Lincoln again. I was president of the republican club for three years in college, so I am WELL aware of what the definition of a conservative and republican is. The party is about the policy not just the man. Just because it walks like a republican and talks like a republican, doesn’t make it a republican. The party platform has been lost. I didn’t leave the republican party, they left me. We can’t just wrap ourselves in the flag and say all is well because we feel good about ourselves. Our foreign policy is a mess and that’s what a C average student gets you. It’s not about whether the voters feel “bad” about being talked down to, or about whether they are educated enough. It’s not about them at all… It’s about whether the President of the United States is educated enough, and intelligent enough to lead the most powerful nation in the world. Some of us, even us conservative veterans, do not believe GW is.

John’s reply:
Joe,

Nice to meet you Joe!

I enjoyed your response. However I have a few comments.

When you mention items like the deficit, lost jobs, etc. - please try and remember this little event called 9-11. A more serious blow to the economy than Pearl Harbor.

We are fighting a global war right now and yes, it is expensive. We are paying the price right now for 8 prior years of inaction, defense and intelligence cuts.

If you want to jump into character assassination, i.e. “D.U.I’s, alleged drug use, moral issues, etc, you can just as easily look to the standard bearers of the Democratic party - Bill Clinton and Teddy Kennedy.

I fail to see how Teddy Kennedy crawling out of the water with a pair of pantyhose in one pocket and a bottle of scotch in the other qualifies him to be the mouthpiece of the Senate and the Democratic party. (Not to mention this little issue called “murder” - remember Mary Jo?)

As for Bill Clinton, well hell, where should I begin? Whitewater, FBI files, Monica, Jennifer, and all the others yet unnamed…not to mention the drug running while governor or Arkansas. Oh, and that little thing called draft-dodging and running to the Soviet Union to protest his country. The list goes on and on.

As for your guy Kerry, why didn’t he sign the proper form P-180 and release ALL of his records from his “hellish” 4 MONTH tour of duty? Why did his discharge require an officer’s review? (Usually done when there are problems with somebody’s service) Why would you want a self-confessed “war criminal”
(his own words) to be the leader of the free world? This is a man who would have surrendered our sovereignty to the United Nations. (Again, your guy said “US troops should not be deployed anywhere in the world without UN approval” in the late 70’s.) Speaking of the UN, can you name ONE thing they have EVER done well?

This man’s words and actions caused the torture and mental torment of several good friends of mine. Why is his picture actually in the Museum in Hanoi as a “Friend to Viet Cong?

You mentioned that you were a veteran, when and where did you serve?

I didn’t receive my purple hearts for self-inflicted scratches - I got mine the old-fashioned way. (Shot twice, stabbed twice and concussed (Blown up) twice. Perhaps you can see that my friends and I might take issue with somebody who receives the same medal for slamming his hand in an M-79 grenade launcher.

I saw first-hand the results of this traitor. There are only a few of us left now. Out of over 60 guys that I served with there are only two of us left now.

So I guess I can say yes, I would much rather wrap myself in a flag than burn it and disrespect it like Kerry and his ilk did. I was present when many of those flag-draped coffins arrived at the gravesite. I personally had to hand 20 of them to the widows, children and parents of my friends so I guess it means a lot to me.

When this man says we need to pass a “Global Test” to protect American interests it really bothers me. I have been in virtually all of the Middle East countries, albeit quite some time ago. Sometimes I was being shot at, sometimes just for training or “other reasons” but I can state that things haven’t changed much. According to several of my buddies that are “over there” right they are still the same.

As far as my comments about liberals looking down their noses at the “dumb people” go, I have formed my opinion from reading the pundit’s columns in the East Coast papers. Many of them have stated that the reason the election went the way it did was that these people were not “educated or sufficiently enlightened” Talk about arrogance!

In closing I have to say that if you are indeed a conservative, and you stated that your party has “left you” why would you swing to the direct opposite party?

Sorry to get “preachy” but sometimes you just have to say what’s on your mind.

Have a good one.

And so it goes on….. :)

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