An Old Battle Flag Helps Bring Down a Governor

New York Times ^ | Thursday, November 7, 2002 | By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

[JohnHuang2]

Thursday, November 7, 2002

Quote of the Day by leprechaun9

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

Yep- no doubt about it, it was those angry white males who brought down this "progressive" Governor. That's their story, and they're stickin' to it.

[Truth Telling Guy]

He got what he deserved.

[goldstategop]

They don't like southpaws down South who take marching orders from Kwaisi Mfume and Jesse Jackson. Roy Barnes got exactly what he deserved.

[AmericanVictory]

On the other hand the NY Times never gives up on its old red battle flag. Still apologizing for the Stalins and Castros and Islamist terrorists while blaming it all on Southron white guys.

[ambrose]

Notice that they have absolutely *zero* evidence to support this theory. It may be right, it may not be... But it is basically pure speculation. I'd be interested to hear from Georgia Freepers on why Perdue won.

[Waco]

Also many objected to being froze out of the procees too, I suspect. (He got too uppity in the matter. Moral: Don't get uppity down south. )

[Taft in '52]

Advance the flag of Dixie, hurrah, hurrah!
For Dixieland, we take our stand to live or die for Dixie!
To arms, to arms, and conquer peace for Dixie!
To arms, to arms, and conquer peace for Dixie!

[Truth Telling Guy]

Most blacks in the South don't consider the flag racist at all.

[Holden Magroin]

It'd be nice if Zell would cross the aisle; of course, he's probably ticked off that Cleland was defeated.

[Leroy S. Mort]

I'd be interested to hear from Georgia Freepers on why Perdue won.

A) Barnes took victory for granted and thus made little effort to energize his base in the cities.
B) Nasty weather kept all but the dedicated from the polls.
C) Perdue benefitted hugely from Chambliss's coattails and the anti-Cleland vote.
D) The new flat-panel voting machines made fraud more difficult and straight party-line voting easier.
E) The flag issue didn't have squat to do with Barnes losing and it's typical of the Times to think it did. Lazy, yankee-centric journalism has become a way of life there.

Leroy (near @lanta)

[Grand Old Partisan]

Every Confederate was a Democrat, every single one. Those who remained loyal to the Stars and Stripes were Republicans.

[ambrose]

So were you absolutely shocked by his win? This seemed to be on no one's radar screen. Even the "wishful thinking" Freeper contingent that said Jay Wolfe would beat Rockefeller in W. Virginia made no mention of this race.

[Malesherbes]

Let's see - before the Confederacy was formed, the Stars and Stripes flew over all the slave-holding states. So I guess Old Glory is also a racist symbol.

[Leroy S. Mort]

So were you absolutely shocked by his win?

It was a total shock. But I failed to mention also that the school teachers in GA hated Barnes' guts for his educational "reform" programs. It's hard for a Dem to win in GA these days without a strong city vote and the active support of the teachers.

[William McKinley]

My guess for the reason behind the Republican sweeps in Georgia and Florida:

D) The new flat-panel voting machines made fraud more difficult and straight party-line voting easier.

Has Illinois gone to touch screens yet? If not, I would be very curious to see what would happen there.

[Non-Sequitur]

So is Perdue going to return to the old flag or is he going to wimp out and leave the new one in place?

[Tiger6]

I am from Georgia, and it is a fact that the flag played a big part in the Barnes defeat. The people here were really ticked off when he changed the flag without letting the public vote on it. No one made a big public deal about it, but they just waited till the next election to express their feelings. Semper Fi.

[arthurus]

So is Perdue going to return to the old flag or is he going to wimp out and leave the new one in place?

If he perceives that the flag was important to his win then he will put it to a statewide vote.