Posted on 07/25/2004 12:43:00 PM PDT by BluegrassScholar
The city that served as the first Capitol of the Confederacy is scheduled to become the birthplace for an organization of Southerners who feel disenfranchised by today's political system.
The Southern National Congress has scheduled its first meeting March 4-5 in Montgomery and hopes to bring together as many as 1,000 people to create "a permanent forum for the expression of distinct Southern interests, Southern grievances, and Southern solutions."
The League of the South, a Southern independence group that is viewed as marginal and extremist by critics, is organizing the event, but "this is much broader than the League of the South," President Michael Hill said.
Hill said his goal is to bring together people from a variety of groups to "speak out for the disenfranchised people of the South. We see a lot of Southerners - particularly middle-class Southerners - being without a voice."
In Hill's view, the Democratic and Republican parties have hurt the South, and that's why the League of the South has endorsed Constitution Party candidate Michael Peroutka for president. Even though the Southern National Congress will meet after the presidential election, Hill said it will likely take stands on NAFTA, outsourcing and other economic issues that have affected Southerners' jobs.
Earl Black, a political scientist at Rice University who specializes in Southern politics, dismisses Hill and his group as "the die-hards of the die-hards of the Confederate mentality. They cannot find a home in the American two-party system."
Black sees the Southern National Congress doing little more than letting like-minded people spend a weekend together.
"It's going to amount to nothing," he said.
For the Montgomery meeting, some delegates will be elected through Internet voting to represent their states. Groups that honor and revere the South are also being invited to send representatives.
To be a participant, a person must agree that "the Southern people are a distinct people" and believe in "the right of recognition for the South and her people."
Hill said Montgomery was chosen for the first meeting because it is centrally located in the South and "it's where the Confederacy began."
The Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups, classifies the League of the South as a "hate group."
Mark Potok, the center's Intelligence Project director, calls the Southern National Congress "a Mike Hill deal."
He said that in 1998, Hill and other league members developed the Southern Party to try to advance their political views in the region. It failed, and now they are making a new effort to exert influence, Potok said.
"He's trying to build a movement for secession," Potok said.
Hill disputes the law center's portrayal of his organization as a hate group and its characterization of the Southern National Congress.
"The Southern Poverty Law Center won't be getting an invitation, even though they have Southern in their name," Hill said.
Dixie Ping!!!
"The Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups, classifies the League of the South as a "hate group." "
Those racist pimps for the hate America whores should know, each and every member see's a hate group at every one of their meetings and also each time they look in the mirror.
SPLC are shock troopers for the ACLU and are no more than a front group for the American Communist Party.
The problem with this concept is that it is rapidly becoming an anachronism. As the old South has become the eastern end of the Sun Belt, modern mobility (especially in employment) means that people are moving in and out of the South all the time. What proportion of the population of Charlotte, Austin, or Orlando do you suppose are first-generation "immigrants" to the South?
what a happy day when morris dees drops dead.
MS ping
A "Constitution Party" ad.
Click Here if you want to be added to or removed from this list.
"The Southern Poverty Law Center won't be getting an invitation, even though they have Southern in their name," Hill said.Wrong move Mike. This will hurt, not help, your cause. Invite them with open arms. Let them turn down your invite. And if they don't, what harm has been done? You may learn something new and they might too.
As many Southerners can't anymore Earl.
First and good step bump. Hope it goes well for the representatives in Montgomery in March
It sounded interesting until about the fourth paragraph when it got into the economic fear-mongering.
free dixie,sw
Morris Dees is the "scum of the earth".
the sort of nation that he really wants, but is afraid to say so openly, is not functionally better than fascism. in his sort of country, UNpopular speech would be BANNED.
the writers of the Constitution & the BoR were not interested in protecting POPULAR speech, but rather speech that was/IS UNPOPULAR;it's called LIBERTY!
free dixie,sw
free the southland,sw
I signed up for a course taught by Michael Hill one semester. I was in my first trimester of my first pregnancy, and I think I made it to a couple of classes before my nausea became almost unbearable. I lost about fifteen pounds, and I was not overweight to start with. I have wondered what I missed by having to skip out on that class. Oh well.
(it was a course on Hitler.)
bump
Indeed; I so look forward to when "Mo" is no mo'!"
Maybe it wasn't the pregnancy that nauseated you!
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