Do not Tolerate Barbour

Haley Barbour, Mississippi’s presidential hopeful, a few days ago distinguished himself as a cracker, and hopefully disqualified himself from the Presidency.

Mr. Barbour, who is being given credit for the Republican “landslide” of 2010, decided to again rewrite history, as a conservative southern Republican. His rewrite efforts, typical of what we call a southern “cracker” (white southern male, bigoted, white supremest, racist but quiet about it, and apologist for the treason of the south during the Civil War), was centered on his memories as a young confederate loving lad that “things were not that bad” in the ‘60s Mississippi racist society.

He is referring to Mississippi in the 50s and 60s. He is referring to to White Citizen’s Councils, whose history during the Civil Rights struggle was one of violence, segregation and economic punishment, trying to destroy the NAACP and drive “uppity Negroes”, and Jews by the way, out of Mississippi. The White Citizens Councils did not only target the NAACP but any individuals who dare challenge the institutionalized segregation and racism.

Mississippi was the worst, its overt and indirect racism and violence were the most toxic anywhere, according to Civil Rights workers and federal authorities at the time. Medger Evers was assassinated by a member of a White Citizens Council, three Civil Rights workers, one Jewish one White and one African-American, were murdered and buried in a levee, and found only after an intensive manhunt, utilizing federal marshals and finally, troops. Members of the local White Citizens Council, who knew where the young men were buried, kept silent, forcing a week’s long search.

Those responsible were first acquitted, and I still remember the Life Magazine photograph showing the sheriff of the county, who also participated in the killings, chewing tobacco and mocking the court. Eventually some of the perpetrators were brought to justice. Medger Evers’ killer was finally convinced in the 1990s, almost 40 years after the murder! His killer had been free for almost half a century, and his White Citizens Council friends knew he had done it. They knew he was a murderer and accepted him, in fact protected him.

This would be similar to a child molester being protected by a church??? Hmmm..

Lynchings, church bombings, discrimination using firings of “uppity” blacks, and attacks on federal officials who were trying to stop the insanity were the norm, not the exception in Mississippi.

And, today, under Mr. Barbour’s leadership, Mississippi still has a long way to go. The state has one of the worst public education systems in the United States, one of the highest poverty rates, highest unemployment rates, and most of the victims of this economic injustice are still African-Americans. Basically, not much has really changed.

What Mr. Barbour has been able to do, under the guise of conservatism, is to maintain a de-facto society of racial discrimination and injustice that rivals the Jim Crowe era. If you are African-American or a person of color in Mississippi you still are a second class citizen.

Every once in awhile, he slips, and the truth comes out. There is no doubt who is in control in Mississippi, even though there are now African American judges, sheriffs, and even mayors. White Citizen Councils simple changed their names to Conservative Committees.

In 1968, southern Democrats, angry about the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Voter Rights Act, abandoned their century long allegiance to the Democratic Party and switched over to the Republican Party. The party of Lincoln, who had led the north to defeat the Confederacy, was joined by segregationists (crackers) under the guise of states rights, local control, and hatred of the federal government.

I can just imagine Lincoln or Grant’s reaction to this, the G.O.P. who had led the destruction of slavery, and whose Radicals had actually tried to help the freed slaves in the post Civil War south to attain some freedoms and justice, now welcome the same bigoted crackers into the party. The Party of Lincoln has now become the Party of Barbour!

The crackers are in the G.O.P. now. They not only belong, but they now run it!

Senate Republicans, with endless filibusters, are aimed directly at destroying an African American President. The Republican Senate leader, from Kentucky of course, has actually proclaimed that the primary aim of his caucus is to destroy the President.

I cannot remember ever an opposing Senate leader making such a statement. Of course, this is a southern Republican Senator.

Both Barbour and McConnell share the same cracker backgrounds. They both don’t think segregation and racism in the south wasn't “all that bad” because they are WHITE SOUTHERNERS!

Barbour represents the racist Republican southern wing, who has taken over the Republican Party. Many current Tea Party leaders are from the south. Mitt Romney, who almost comically tries to be a conservative, has two huge problems: 1. He is a northerner. 2. He is a Mormon. There is no way the southern dominated Republican Party will nominate him.

So, we are looking at a political fight, pitting an African American President against a cracker Republican in 2012.

In a real sense, we are looking at the Civil War replayed politically, because the south has never accepted, still doesn't accept, African Americans as human beings.

That may sound harsh, but it is true. Barbour represents a resurgence of racism in the United States. Every time this has happened the results have been tragic for the United States.

I only hope, that if this does happen, and if the federal government (the north) again prevails, like it has in the past fifty years, that this time we do it right, and destroy the racist south forever. That means jail, punishment of treason by death, and war!

That’s right, war! Barbour and his ilk, know only one thing, and that ultimately is domination and violence. The Radical Republicans in the post Civil War era, wanted to permanently occupy the south, and radically alter the racist foundation of white supremacy. At the end of the upcoming struggle, we need to follow their example.

“Subjugate the south, punish the south, lead a crusade of social and economic justice down on the heads of the southern bigots and traitors, and eradicate their evil forever.”

These are the words of Radical Republicans in the 1870s. Lincoln, and Johnson (a southerner), both sought to reconcile, and “bind the nation’s wounds”. Unfortunately, the south took this as a weakness, and were able to maintain the same injustice that had existed before the war, dooming African Americans to racial inequality not only in the south but also in the north for one hundred years.

The struggles of twentieth century Civil Rights are a direct result of this failure to adequately reform or punish the south after the Civil War.

The Civil Rights Act has proved that racism can be stopped, but only if people are punished under the law. Racism is a crime, and the resulting discrimination and injustice ruins communities and nations. Only by really losing something, like freedom, will a racist stop. Jail has a way of reforming racists, especially when confronted with angry African American prisoners!

Barbour should not be tolerated; he should be destroyed as a viable candidate and hounded until he gets out of public service. Only by being punished will he learn the evil of his ways.