Freep this poll - don't let Clinton or Homer Simpson be declared Greatest Ever American

BBC ^ | 12 June 2003 | BBC

[Tomalak]

Who is the greatest American?

Bill Clinton
 4.54% 
Bob Dylan
 8.06% 
Benjamin Franklin
 6.28% 
Thomas Jefferson
 9.19% 
Martin Luther King Jnr
 14.06% 
Abraham Lincoln
 15.08% 
Franklin D Roosevelt
 6.47% 
Homer Simpson  20.60% 
Mr T
 8.02% 
George Washington
 7.71% 
8414 Votes Cast

[justshutupandtakeit]

Oh, and there was a very limited government when Lincoln took power. It was tiny and would have remained so had the Traitors not attacked the Union.

If you believe there is any right to secession within the Constitution you clearly do not understand it or the founders ideas. NONE supported the idea of a right to secession. Nor can any tittle of the constitution be changed by anything other than an amendment. No state action can change the Union unilaterally.

Lincoln's actions in WAR were forced upon him by the oath he took becoming president. His actions were even less than those Andy Jackson would have taken had S. Carolina not backed down over nullification. Jackson would most definitely have hung J. Davis and many others for their treason.

[nickcarraway]

Interesting that they only chose Americans from the United States.

[gcruse]

I say we keep voting for Homer and demonstrate that online polls are stupid

Given the time and energy Freepers spend freeping the damned things,
why would you want to demonstrate they are stupid?

[Behind Liberal Lines]

My theory has always been that, since they are unscientific, FREEPING them serves TWO purposes:
1. Keeping liberals from citing them w/o noting that they are unscientific;
2. Demonstrating that they are unscientific and/or just plain goofy.

Normally #1 is a worthy goal but here where #2 is already well on its way to being proven, I say take what we can get, rather than split the non-Clinton vote and let the Slick one get it.

[Henrietta]

For another perspective on these issues, I suggest the book "The Real Lincoln."

It was an eye-opener.

[jpl]

If Reagan isn't on there, I'm definitely voting for Homer Simpson.

[justshutupandtakeit]

I don't put much credence in crackpot historians. Where does that author teach- the Biloxi Institute for the Idiotically Inclined?

Lincoln was not only one of our greatest presidents but one of the greatest men who ever lived. A second rate hatchet job by a third rate no body won't change that.

Lincoln's humanity would have made him the greatest friend of the defeated South. Our nation would have been spared incalcuable grief and suffering had he not been murdered. Almost all the reputable leaders of the Confederacy understood that and mourned his killing. Why do you think that was if he was a brutal tyrant as you claim?

[Sloth]

I voted for a combination of Homer and Mr. T:

[ewing]

lol!!

[AmishDude]

I'm surprised the Brits didn't include Benedict Arnold.

[Henrietta]

"Almost all the reputable leaders of the Confederacy understood that and mourned his killing. Why do you think that was if he was a brutal tyrant as you claim? "

I blame historical revisionism.

"I don't put much credence in crackpot historians. Where does that author teach- the Biloxi Institute for the Idiotically Inclined?"

I dunno, the guy doesn't sound like a crackpot to me:

Biography of Thomas J. DiLorenzo

Thomas J. DiLorenzo is a professor of economics in the Sellinger School of Business and Management at Loyola college in Maryland. Specializing in economic history and political economy, he is the author of 11 books and over 70 articles in academic journals, and he is also widely published in such popular outlets as the Wall Street Journal, Reader's Digest, USA Today, National Review, Barron's, and numerous other national publications. He lives in Clarksville, Maryland.


Maybe these noted conservatives are crackpots, too:

Praise for The Real Lincoln, by Thomas DiLorenzo:

“DiLorenzo’s greatest contribution is to show the real reasons for which Lincoln went to war. Abolishing slavery was not one of them. Lincoln was determined to destroy the Southern states in order to remove the constraints that Southern senators and congressmen, standing in the Jeffersonian tradition, placed in the way of centralized federal power, high tariffs and subsidies to Northern industries.” —Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy, U.S. Department of the Treasury;
Chairman, Institute for Political Economy; syndicated columnist

“The Real Lincoln is a devastating critique of America’s most famous president.” —Joseph Sobran, commentator and nationally syndicated columnist

“Today’s federal government is considerably at odds with that envisioned by the framers of the Constitution. Thomas J. DiLorenzo gives an account of how this came about in The Real Lincoln.” —Walter E. Williams, Professor of Economics, George Mason University

“A peacefully negotiated secession was the best way to handle all the problems facing Americans in 1860. A war of coercion was Lincoln’s creation. It sometimes takes a century or more to bring an important historical event into perspective. The Real Lincoln does just that and leaves the reader asking, ‘Why didn’t we know this before?’” —Donald Livingston, Professor of Philosophy, Emory University

“Professor DiLorenzo has penetrated to the very heart and core of American history with a laser beam of fact and analysis.” —Clyde Wilson, Professor of History, University of South Carolina

Keep believing the myth if you want. I guess it's easier than having an open mind...

[nravoter]

Mmmmmmm... Greatness...

[justshutupandtakeit]

Your response to the fact that the leaders of the Confederacy recognized Lincoln's humanity and greatness makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

How can a Defender of Slaverocracy speak of an open mind with a straight face?

Appeal to authority is the last resort of a failed argument.

DiLorenzo teaches at a second-rate college and is no expert on the Civil War. I would also be very skeptical of his economic views as well since delusions in one field tend to obscure rational thought in another. If he thinks slavery was not the reason the Slavers revolted he apparently is hopelessly deluded.

Who around here claims Lincoln went to war to destroy slavery? No one.

Sobran also believes Shakespeare didn't write his plays. Thus, everything he says is carefully examined by me.

Lincoln carried out his constitutionally mandated oath and that has earned him the undying hatred of those wishing to destroy the Union.

I used to buy the mythology you wish spread when a kid in southern Arkansas but I grew up and learned how to research things to determine the truth. Maybe someday you will too.

[stevio]

I voted for Homer too. Mostly for the reasons you've stated.

[PhilipFreneau]

I sent an e-mail to "factual errors" section of the BBC regarding the poll. It went like this:"

You made a factual error in your recent poll on the greatest American. You listed Homer Simpson as a choice; but he is European, not American. We know this because he is a foul-mouthed blockhead of single-digit IQ. We do not know his exact origin, but we suspect he works for the BBC.

Yours in Liberty

You, too, can e-mail the "factual errors" section of the BBC at this URL.

[dfc62]

sense of humor - none
but please pay attention to me

[Junior]

I voted for Homer. Sometimes, ya just gotta have a little fun...

[PhilipFreneau]

sense of humor - none but please pay attention to me

It wasn't mean't to be funny. Okay, I'm paying attention. Now what?

[Henrietta]

Really, I think resorting to calling those who disagree with you about the merits of Lincoln's presidency "Defenders of Slaveocracy" is delusional.

Maybe someday you will learn to think instead of call names...but somehow I doubt it!

This is all I have to say on the subject. I'll let you have the last word, if you like. You haven't changed my mind; you've only made yourself look petty and small.

I pity you.

[kms61]

Exactly. For the life of me I've NEVER understood why Freepers get so darn worked up over these internet polls, which exist solely to increase the number of hits on a website.