[Vision2020] And another incendary grenade tossed upon the
fire
Mark Solomon
msolomon at moscow.com
Sat Aug 20 13:01:10 PDT 2005
A little history is in order here. The "Jackson"
Day and "Lincoln" Day celebrations by the
Democrats and Republicans respectively arose
during the late 1880's when both parties were
just about diametrically opposed to where they
are now (not in every instance, Phil, just
generally...).
Case in point: When I was working construction in
a remote part of Arizona in the early '70s, I was
hiking up a creek bed a few miles from the site
and came across an old weather-beaten,
seen-better-days ranch house I didn't know was
there. Sitting on the porch swing was a very old
grey haired woman with a shawl across her
shoulders (this is in July), a couple of dogs at
her feet and a rifle across her lap. She hollers
out, "Democrat or Republican?". Given a 50-50
chance of getting shot, I shouted back,
"Democrat". She smiled, put down her gun (which
hadn't wavered once while pointed my way) and
said "Good! Them Lincoln Republicans came down
from the North and burned my pappy out of
Arkansas." We became good friends and I ended up
going out there once or twice a week to work on
her place for her so she could stay out there
until she died without the place falling down
around her ears. Which she did. (Stayed and died).
Now I bring that up because that's the history of
the Democratic party in Idaho and much of the
West: Southern Democrats moving out of the south
seeking a new life in the post-Civil War era.
It's why we've got old mining towns named Dixie,
Atlanta, etc. As with the rest of the country,
especially the South, it's only been within the
past 25 years or so that those Dixiecrats have
realized the Democratic Party of today is not the
same one their grandparents belonged to.
All that said, it's time to complete the phasing
out of Andrew Jackson from the party's tradition.
We're part way there with the addition of
Jefferson to the annual gathering title and the
flight of the Dixiecrats to the Republican
banner. Might be time for the Republicans to
jettison Lincoln now that their party strength
resides largely in the South.
Mark Solomon
At 10:41 AM -0700 8/20/05, keely emerinemix wrote:
>I'm not involved in the party up here, Phil. In
>the 3 1/2 years I've been here, I've been a
>little busy. So yeah, I missed it. Partly, I
>guess, because I don't know anyone who's ever
>heard of it, and partly because I wouldn't be
>even remotely interested in attending. But
>that's just me -- one Democrat, and one quite
>critical of the party at times. My point was
>that we Dems don't consider allegiance to Andrew
>Jackson a major, minor, or even noticeable
>motivator for how we vote. Some of us even vote
>Republican at times, and this particular
>Democrat wishes Howard Dean would shut up.
>
>My assessment of my own importance to the
>Democratic Party here or anywhere else doesn't
>allow me to believe that my take on all things
>Jacksonian is even remotely important to anyone
>other than my cat, so I'll decline your
>invitation to set them all straight.
>
>keely
>
>
>From: "Phil Nisbet" <pcnisbet1 at hotmail.com>
>To: vision2020 at moscow.com
>Subject: RE: [Vision2020] And another incendary grenade tossed upon the fire
>Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2005 08:10:56 -0700
>
>Keely
>
>Strange, the Idaho Democratic Central Committee
>has the Jefferson-Jackson Banquet Committee
>listed quite nicely on its formal filings with
>the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office as being a
>major fund raiser for the Party in this state.
>So a Banquet in honor of Andrew Jackson would
>seem to be exactly what I was talking about. It
>even notes that right here in Latah County they
>seem to be holding that event. Did you miss it?
>
>Phil Nisbet
>
>And BTW great that you condemn events that honor
>that particular racist. Maybe you ought to talk
>to fellow Democrats and get them to change the
>name of your annual banquet.
>
>
>>From: "keely emerinemix" <kjajmix1 at msn.com>
>>To: pcnisbet1 at hotmail.com, vision2020 at moscow.com
>>Subject: RE: [Vision2020] And another incendary grenade tossed upon the fire
>>Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2005 07:54:08 -0700
>>
>>I come from a family of staunch Democrats,
>>Phil. Our house was always rife with politics
>>and commentary, and my parents' friends were
>>union organizers, civil rights workers, NAACP
>>comrades, educators and peace activists. My
>>grandfather, father and I were journalists;
>>they were renown for their newspaper columns
>>about the Democratic Party and its doings, good
>>or bad. Both of my parents are still active in
>>the Democratic Party in Tucson.
>>
>>Not once in my 44 years have I heard of
>>"Jackson Day" in honor of Andrew Jackson. Not
>>there, not here, not anywhere. Further, no one
>>I know would passively accept the remarks of
>>Woodrow Wilson, either as quaint evidence of
>>his times, or as a manifesto for the Party.
>>Frankly, the Democrats I was raised with, and
>>the ones I know now, consider Jackson and
>>Wilson as relevant to their activism as Laurel
>>and Hardy. The folks I know and grew up with
>>have pictures of Cesar Chavez, JFK, Dr. King,
>>Susan B. Anthony and Medgar Evers in their
>>offices.
>>
>>Some Democrats are and have been undeniably
>>racist, as have some members of my own family.
>>Others are just obnoxious, ignorant and petty.
>>But such aren't the tenets of the Democratic
>>Party, and if you would like to consider this a
>>denunciation of Jacksonian/Wilsonian racial
>>bigotry from a Democrat, you're welcome to.
>>
>>keely emerine mix
>>
>>
>>From: "Phil Nisbet" <pcnisbet1 at hotmail.com>
>>To: vision2020 at moscow.com
>>Subject: [Vision2020] And another incendary grenade tossed upon the fire
>>Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2005 06:06:46 -0700
>>
>>I have recently read the interesting
>>denigration of some folk’s espousal of Robert E
>>Lee as a possible role model and found the
>>whole thing fairly interesting.
>>
>>If we are to take the idea a little further,
>>then of course we should look at a number of
>>organizations and try to see who exactly
>>idealizes whom.
>>
>>So if for an example, a group or organization
>>were to idealize and make heroic reference to a
>>known racist who had been specifically
>>responsible for say genocide, would that group
>>receive similar condemnation? What if that
>>same group still found heroic a neo-Confederate
>>who was endorsed by the KKK and who had
>>sponsored complete segregation in all public
>>facilities?
>>
>>And should we condemn a group whose chief would
>>say, “
Negroes should expect to be treated as a
>>servile race.” Or one who would tell a black
>>that "segregation is not a humiliation but a
>>benefit, and ought to be so regarded by you
>>gentlemen."?
>>
>>Because last I checked, the local Democratic
>>Party still holds a Jackson day. Andrew
>>Jackson was a slave owner, a racist and was the
>>man who condemned tribes to the Trail of Tears.
>>He is commonly held out as an example of what a
>>good Democrat should be.
>>
>>And the KKKer who gave us National Jim Crow,
>>who had Dixie played at his innagrial ball was
>>none other than Woodrow Wilson. Wilson is
>>still held out as the ultimate Progressive, yet
>>he had the provisions for Racial Equality
>>stricken from the League of Nations Charter.
>>
>>Oppose that the Lee’s statement to President
>>Pierce, “There are few, I believe, in this
>>enlightened age, who will not acknowledge that
>>slavery as an institution is a moral and
>>political evil. It is idle to expatiate on its
>>disadvantages. I think it is a greater evil to
>>the white than to the colored race.”
>>
>>As one whose relatives fought on the Union side
>>in the Civil War and were distinguished for
>>their service in it, I think I an fairly say
>>that Lee’s failure to support the Union was a
>>terrible choice and he should be and was found
>>guilty for it. But as a man, he was a far
>>better person than the ravening racists Jackson
>>and Wilson and I would rather see people
>>emulate him than either of those two rascals.
>>At the very least, he never committed genocide.
>>
>>So can I get Tom Hansen’s round condemnation
>>for the use of Andrew Jackson as a role model?
>>Is it possible to see a segment of Not on the
>>Palouse Not Ever devoted to a round of
>>condemnation for groups who hold dinners in
>>that bigoted mass murderers honor?
>>
>>>From Horseshoe Bend to the Trail of Tears, to the slave cabins at the
>>Hermitage, surely painting a rosy picture of
>>that man deserve deserves a serious cat call.
>>How about it Tom?
>>
>>Phil Nisbet
>>
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