Posted by
Gamecock on Friday, June 08, 2007 8:34:38 PM
Hugh Hewitt wondered aloud on his radio show last week if Fred Thompson might not be a good GOP nominee for President because the country “might not want another slow talking Southerner after Bush.” He’s not the only GOP commentator I have heard express this sentiment.
Every time I hear someone say this, I have to wonder if the person saying it is projecting their own anti-southern bigotry onto the American public at large or if there really is a large bloc of voters that would base their vote on where someone is from and/or how fast they talk.
(For the record, this Southerner leans to Mitt, a Yankee. Originally posted at Race 4 2008. Link below.)
It was especially interesting to hear Hugh Ohio-file Hewitt say this given that he accuses anyone of bigotry that thinks Romney’s religion is relevant to their decision to support him for President or not.
Since I started blogging at Redstate three years ago and since my conservative epiphany in 2000 I can say that the biggest disappointment I have had with some conservatives in the blogosphere is the amount of anti-southern bigotry I have seen. I have even come to have a superiority complex on all things regional given that I have never known a Southerner that would not vote for someone because they were not from the South. I guess we developed this superiority during the formative Civil Rights years voting for JFK and Nixon!
Or maybe we base our votes on relevant information? Like policies, duh? Character?
Folks, voters vote on issues, character and leadership. Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are all from the South.
Bush kills terrorists. The other guys that talk slow appeased them. Bush cut taxes. The others from Dixie raised them. Bush picks good judges.
Clinton put a feminist on the court. Carter lusted in his heart. Clinton lusted all over dresses. Bush is faithful to his wife.
Southern Diversity. (Except on immigration, all three would sell out the country)
Voters will not be “reminded” of Bush if Thompson advocates border security first, cuts in government spending and delivers lines like a fine actor from Law and Order.
What state a candidate is from is irrelevant at the top of the ticket. If it is relevant to you, look in the mirror.
[UPDATE]
RICHMOND, Virginia -- Republican Fred Thompson, making his first appearance since his late entry into the 2008 White House race, criticized the immigration pact in Congress on Saturday...
He won a standing ovation from the dinner crowd of more than 450 in Richmond with a call for stronger borders and an attack on the immigration compromise pending in Congress, and backed by President George W. Bush, that would give 12 million illegal immigrants a shot at citizenship.
"This is our home and we get to decide who can come into our home," he said.
He said Washington's partisan politics had bred cynicism about government and there was a "disconnect" between Washington politicians and Americans.
READ IT ALL
Mike DeVine
Op-Ed Columnist – The Charlotte Observer
Blogs as Gamecock at www.redstate.com, and www.race42008.com and is Legal Editor for http://theminorityreportblog.blogspot.com and http://thehinzsightreport.com/.
“One man with courage makes a majority.” - Andrew Jackson