The Confederate Flag in Trenton?

There's nothing that most of us Southerners dislike more than 'Yankees' who come down our way and try to interfere with our lifestyle. Another thing most Southerners don't like is politicians (of any Party). So what happens when you combine the two? You get Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd; both of whom utilized their visits to Columbia for MLK Day festivities to weigh in on South Carolina's Confederate Flag debate. This, of course, despite the fact that Biden is from Delaware and Dodd from Connecticut.

Why, you might ask, would two Senators from Northern States with no real interest or say-so in this South Carolinian political debate want to offer their opinion on the issue? Well, you see, both Biden and Dodd have announced their entry into the 2008 race for the Democratic Presidential nomination; and as everyone knows, the inside ticket to the Democratic nomination comes from the black vote. So what better way to spend your MLK Day than to jump into a debate, in which you have no place, and score a few political points with the black community! Wait, did I just say that? I'm sorry; they were 'attending an NAACP rally at the South Carolina Statehouse.' There that's more PC.

For the record, both Dodd and Biden said they wanted the flag moved off its current location on the Statehouse grounds - as if you couldn't have guessed. My point, however, is that it doesn't matter what they think; indeed, the fact that they said it should not even be newsworthy. If Governor Sanford or Senator Graham wants to offer their input, that's newsworthy - because they're actually from South Carolina. I'm not saying people outside of the State can't have an opinion on the issue; it's just that their opinion is not all that important to the actual debate. Furthermore, Senators Biden and Dodd weren't just giving their opinion, they were trying to have what little effect they could on the debate; and also trying to score political points for the South Carolina primaries coming up in a year or so.

Both of those objectives involve politicians from one State jumping into the internal politics of another - and that's what's not right about the Senators' actions. I wouldn't want Senator DeMint to go to Atlantic City and start talking about their local gambling laws, nor would I approve of Senator Graham stumping in Hartford over one of that city's pressing issues. Indeed, them doing so wouldn't make much sense or meet with much public approval. Well, the same should go for Senators Biden and Dodd and what they did earlier today in Columbia. The question of the South Carolina Statehouse and the Confederate Flag is, quite simply, not of their concern.

Perhaps the best commentary of the day came from Jim Hanks; a man who, given that he was one of the pro-Confederate Flag protestors across the street from the NAACP rally, I can only assume is a genuine South Carolina good ol' boy. He remarked that Dodd and Biden "would probably say most anything to get elected." Ain't nobody could have said it better.

***Afterthought***

If Islam is a religion of peace being hijacked by Fundamentalist radicals, doesn't that make the Confederate Flag a symbol of States' Rights that's been hijacked by Racist radicals?

Food for thought.