Comments on: Dave “Mudcat” Saunders Is An Idiot And No Democrat Should Hire Him

By: Your Racist Friend | Blog of the Moderate Left

Your Racist Friend | Blog of the Moderate Left — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:51:54 +0000

[...] Oliver Willis has a good catch about a new profile of Mudcat. Really, it’s not so much Mudcat’s regurgitated pablum, which is [...]

By: Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:19:35 +0000

I’m sorry, but you can’t even be an AMERICAN and a confederate at the same time, let alone a democrat!

The flag is first about treason. It was created to wave of troops who were actively engaging in murderous treason. I think it’s racist too, but there is no question that the flag is a symbol of treason.

By: Incertus

Incertus — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:59:19 +0000

kth,
You may be well meaning in that statement, and I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt since I’m not a regular commenter here and you may well be, but here’s the problem. There’s nothing to reclaim as far as that symbol is concerned. The Southern Heritage that that flag represents is one of the defense of slavery, white supremacy, and treason–period, full stop. If you want to celebrate southern heritage, there’s plenty of ways to do it–celebrate the food, the literature, the music, etc. There’s plenty of richness to go around in those areas, as well as in many others. But the Confederate Battle Flag represents exactly none of that. The Confederate Battle Flag represents treason, slavery, and the notion that black people don’t deserve to be treated like humans–that’s it. This is the proper way to treat the Confederate Battle Flag.

By: kth

kth — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 03:23:07 +0000

Saunders isn’t arguing for treason in the defense of slavery and white supremacy in sporting the Confederate flag, he’s trying (probably futilely) to reclaim the Southern heritage from precisely those evils. I agree with you guys that the effort is historically dubious and politically not very practical. But he’s on our side, really, so I’m not sure why we need to make a litmus test out of this.

There are probably no worse-served constituencies in America than the black folks who live in the deep South (not really Saunders’ Appalachian stomping ground, but still). Saunders has ideas about how to change this. Those ideas may be terrible, but all I’m hearing from his opponents among Dems is, “fuck the South, we don’t need them”. And maybe we don’t, but they sure need us.

By: Incertus

Incertus — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 03:13:02 +0000

He can kiss my southern one too, Tom. I hope Saunders has destroyed his ability to get a national job with this. I’ll tell you this much–I won’t give money to a campaign that hires him, and I’ll actively discourage everyone I can from doing the same.

By: Tom Hilton

Tom Hilton — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:08:12 +0000

Mudcat Saunders can kiss my Yankee ass.

By: Jaim

Jaim — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 23:26:42 +0000

He’s like an even dumber Bob Shrum

Quoted for truth. But I’m curious to be a fly on Saunder’s wall these days, or any of the other “friends of Clinton” like Begala, Shrum, etc. Is anyone on Team Obama returning their calls? I certainly hope not.

By: Alas, a blog » Blog Archive » Straight Up Racist, the Sucker Was Simple and Plain

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:14:58 +0000

[...] Oliver Willis has a good catch about a new profile of Mudcat. Really, it’s not so much Mudcat’s regurgitated pablum, [...]

By: Your Racist Friend | Blog of the Moderate Left

Your Racist Friend | Blog of the Moderate Left — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:12:51 +0000

[...] Oliver Willis has a good catch about a new profile of Mudcat. Really, it’s not so much Mudcat’s regurgitated pablum, [...]

By: SpiderJ

SpiderJ — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:50:35 +0000

ALl of this said, I still think that the General Lee was one of the most fun cars ever. Not as cool as KITT or Bond's Aston Martin, but definitely up there.

By: PTCruiser

PTCruiser — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:59:23 +0000

“The confederate flag is a flag flown in support of slavery.”

Let’s be more exact here. It is a flag designed for and exhibited by people who believe they had a right to engage in armed rebellion against the federal government because they were intent on spreading slavery into new states and territories including Central America.

By: Joel Patterson

Joel Patterson — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:38:08 +0000

Glad you put Thomas Schaller article up as the link at the end of your column, Oliver.

Mudcat’s rural strategy didn’t deliver the votes to Mark Warner and Tim Kaine–improved voting in suburbs and ex-urbs did it. Mudcat is a swindler–in the grand tradition of Huck Finn’s two “royal” traveling companions.

By: jr

jr — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:25:42 +0000

I’m sick of Saunders and his stupid “bubba” references in his interviews. He’s like an even dumber Bob Shrum

By: Bruce Henry

Bruce Henry — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:09:26 +0000

Know what’s good about the South? Lots of stuff. Most people are polite here. The literature is great, and the cooking is awesome. It hardly ever snows.
But the “heritage” embodied by the Rebel flag? Not so good.

By: Quaker in a Basement

Quaker in a Basement — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:29:25 +0000

I’m with Bruce and Cid.

I was more of a “city boy”, but I grew up a southerner. I heard plenty of people ask, “If you don’t like the South, why don’t you leave?”

So I did.

By: The Reality-Based Dave

The Reality-Based Dave — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:56:09 +0000

Why does he hate America?
The confederate flag is the symbol of treason against the United States.
I repeat – Why does he hate America.

By: Bruce Henry

Bruce Henry — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:53:10 +0000

I agree with El Cid. I too grew up in the South, and I’m old enough to remember “Colored Only” and “We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to Anyone” signs. It was shameful, and the Rebel flag was then, and is now, no more about “heritage” than a swastika is about “heritage” to a German.
There were two things that led the South out of the freaking Dark Ages of the 1950s. One was widespread air-conditioning (believe me, you don’t want to live down here without it.) The other was the Civil Rights Movement. There is no way the South, and therefore the country, could have boomed without it.
Rebel flagwavers need to realize that “Gone With The Wind” was a work of fiction. Idiots.

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:47:58 +0000

I’m going to have to agree with Aw. Give me a fucking break, Mudcat.

By: aw

aw — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:34:43 +0000

Who can forget Hillary Clinton’s many attempts to criminalise pickup trucks, NASCAR, and country-and-western music, with the Defense of Eardrums Amendment?

Truly, the Democrats are intolerant bastards.

By: Duros Hussein62

Duros Hussein62 — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:07:40 +0000

I like the shirt, though.
“One nation, under surveillance.”