[mattf7184]

Zel Miller is on now talking about Kerry, etc. Says he will not switch to Republican Party.

[mattf7184]

Interesting to hear his thoughts on Kerry...a democrat I like :) hehe
He seems like a republican to me the way he is talking...more democrats should vote for him :)

[mattf7184]

Besides his support for FDR, Truman, Kennedy, and certain past democrats, maybe the Miller fans can tell me how he is a democrat and not a republican. I know he is pro-gun and seems to be a moderate (similar to liberman) any other info on him?

[Rebeldon]

He won't say it, so I'll say it for him. The real reason he won't switch to Republican is because of this Southern heritage. It is very hard for some Southrons to associate with the "Party of Lincoln". After all, it was the Republicans who burned Georgia.

I'm the same way. I won't register as a Republican, even though I usually vote for Republicans. But I can't associate with Democrats anymore, because they have become so left-wing, they left the country.

I used to be a Democrat. A Southern "Blue Dog" Democrat is more like it. When I was in college at UF, I started associating with the College Democats. I was at a social with them one evening and I heard them saying good things about the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. I couldn't believe my ears. "But they're Communists", I said. "Because of Ortega, the Soviets now have a satellite right next door to the Panama Canal."

They looked at me like I just fell off the turnip truck. After that, I knew that I wasn't welcome anymore. I started seeing them for what they were--socialists. Frankly, it turned out that many of the college Democrats were true Communists, only using the College Democrat organization as a front. It's interesting how they blended in so well with the Democrats as to not be noticed by them.

[intruder13]

He won't say it, so I'll say it for him. The real reason he won't switch to Republican is because of this Southern heritage. It is very hard for some Southrons to associate with the "Party of Lincoln". After all, it was the Republicans who burned Georgia.


Hogwash! Any southerner with good sense knows that Lincoln was harshly criticized for being a "southern apologist." Had Lincoln not been assassinated, us Southerners wouldn’t have been subjected to the harsh rule that followed after out defeat. All the “rebels” where I live (MS) vote Republican. Verily, the main people who vote "Dixiecrat" are farmers or minorities because they are more likely to get fat subsidies or handouts from that socialistic party.

[Rebeldon]

Hogwash! Any southerner with good sense knows that Lincoln was harshly criticized for being a "southern apologist." Had Lincoln not been assassinated, us Southerners wouldn’t have been subjected to the harsh rule that followed after out defeat. All the “rebels” where I live (MS) vote Republican. Verily, the main people who vote "Dixiecrat" are farmers or minorities because they are more likely to get fat subsidies or handouts from that socialistic party.

These people exist, my friend. Trust me. They refer to themselves as being Unreconstructed. Notice I said "some Southrons". Georgia is full of 'em. They're in Mississippi too. I did not say "most".

True, most conservative Southerners vote Republican because the Democratic Party has left the South. I said I voted Republican most of the time. Zel Miller is telling people to vote for Bush. But being conservative is not the same thing as being Unreconstructed, and that's where I think Zel Miller is leaning. He's hated the Republicans for so long that he can't bring himself to join them now, even though they agree with him 99%. He can't say that in public, so he has a nice septic explanation.

And about Lincoln being a "southern apologist"...what kind of Reconstructed tripe is that? You shouldn't charge into a dragon's lair waving a match. Sure, there were some "Radical Republicans" who wanted to make the South howl, and they criticized Lincoln for not completely exterminating the Southern race. But Lincoln will be remembered for his war of conquest against the South, and any attempt by a Southerner to redeem Lincoln in any way is pure Scalawagary. He is arguably the WORST president in American history. Even worse than WJC!

I wouldn't even drive a Lincoln.

[treeprof]

Zell believes that the party moved away from him, not the other way around. Consequently, he does not believe in abandoning it in name, although he has in principle. He said when he initially accepted the appt. to fill in for Paul Coverdell after Coverdell's death that he would vote his conscience in the Senate, and that at some point everyone in the state of Ga was going to be mad at him.

He has an academic appointment at U of Ga where I work. Although the campus lefties were initially happy to have him once he left the Governor's office, after his support for Bush, speaking at the NRA convention, etc. they've cooled considerably. I was talking w/a high level administrator the other week, and many at UGA are not pleased at the prospect of having to honor his contract should he want to come back and teach. FWIW, I've heard him speak on campus before, and he can be pretty far left when it suits his audience - he is the consumate politician.

[Don of Kalifornia]

If you want to understand Zel Miller, read his book "A National Party No More". It explains alot about rural southern politics, infact the chapters on this and his growing up are very entertaining and even bring a smile or two as you read it.