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The REAL Georgia State Flag
Two years after ex-Governor Barnes stole this flag from the Georgia people in a back-room deal in the legislature, it is still the most flown flag in Georgia. Read about the ongoing Georgia State Flag controversy in the articles and emails below.
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To: [email protected], [email protected] CC: “Dan Coleman” From: “James Garner” Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 13:58:49 -0500 Subject: [georgiaflag] Flag Forum in Mableton
Flag forum last night I was at the event and have mixed feelings about what transpired. As we saw last night, the flag issue is a very, very emotional issue to both sides. Last night, it appeared that there is a wide chasm that separates both sides of the Flag issue. When Rep. Alisha Thomas stormed out of the forum, I had a sickening feeling that we could never reconcile our differences. However, after Rep. Thomas left, I went around the room and talked to some of the Blacks who attended. I was very surprised and somewhat uplifted at their comments. I talked to two Black men at length, they were very complimentary about our conduct at the meeting and somewhat embarrassed at Rep. Thomas emotional exit. One of the gentlemen said that his eyes had really been opened and that he had to do some research and re-examine some of his beliefs. Dan Coleman did a good job of preventing the meeting from getting out of hand. I’m afraid that this meeting may be an indication of things to come. If we are to win this battle, we have to be the side that keeps calm and controls our emotions. Last night, we made at least two Black converts, if we had lost our temper and gotten into a brawl, we wouldn’t have made any converts and would have only hardened the stance of the other side. James Garner
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To: “SPGA Email List” From: “Bradford Isbell” Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 09:23:41 -0500 Subject: [SPOFGA] The Great Southern Scalawag Governor BOOT-OUT! by Connie Chastain Ward No doubt there’s a lot of Monday-morning quarterbackin’ going on all over the South in the aftermath of the elections last week. You likely won’t find many references in the media to the influence of proSouthernism on the governors’ races in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, and numerous county and local races across Dixie, but WE know it was pivotal. And it tells us — we who are part of the movement — something very heartening. We know we are a very small, very young movement; by ourselves, with just our votes, we couldn’t have made a dent in imperial politics in the South. No, the dent (actually a gaping hole!) was made by hundreds of thousands of Southerners who are not part of our movement — who likely have never even heard of it — but who think like us and who believe like us and who (like us) have had it up to here with imperial lunacy in government, education and culture — and most especially politics. It is heartening to know so many Southerners are still Southern. It is greatly encouraging to know that they recognize that “heritage, not hate” is literally true, regardless of the left’s attempts to lie about that statement and neutralize its truth and effectiveness. This bodes well for the growth of our movement, and its success in opposing the forces of imperialism bearing down on the South. (Note: If we recognize this reality, “Show Mo’ the Money” Dees and Company will certainly recognize it, too, and will redouble their odious efforts to demonize us. Know that it’s coming; be ready not only to withstand it, but to combat and neutralize it with the best weapon we have — truth.) Of the three governors’ races, the greatest victory (IMO) was in Georgia. I’m a native Georgian and I couldn’t be prouder of the people of Georgia for handing King Roy Rat Barnes a defeat he so richly deserved. No doubt the defeat will be analyzed from every imaginable angle — and some unimaginable ones — to determine just how great a role the flag change played in it. I’m no political analyst, but I believe that if the rat had been a popular governor in all other respects, his flag change, and the method used to accomplish it, however unpopular, would not have been enough to get him booted. Even with the Herculean efforts of Elijah Coleman’s Project Wave and the faithful flaggers who dogged Roy everywhere he went (all of whom deserve to be memorialized in the history books of our future Southern nation), Barnes would probably have prevailed had the flag issue been his only negative. But it wasn’t. Analyses of the defeat will likely mention things like education, redistricting, jobs, etc., which, by themselves, might not have earned Roy a defeat, either. But combine them with the resentment about the flag change, and it was enough to put Sonny Perdue over the top. And then, there’s that factor you probably won’t see mentioned very much but which was crucial — a factor that cut across all the issues, but which was seen best in the flag change — call it the Barnes ego and arrogance factor. When King Roy Rat pushed the flag change through the General Assembly in Georgia, he made a speech in which he called the 70% of Georgians who supported keeping the old flag racists and in the wrong. Oh, he didn’t use those words, of course. But the message of that speech was clear — changing the flag is the right thing to do; if you don’t want to change it, you’re wrong, and the reason you’re wrong is that you’re a racist. As bad as that was, he compounded it further by holding himself up as an example of what’s right! It was classic Yankee arrogance worthy of a Massachusetts Puritan. There’s a lesson there for any politician. Do not sit in judgment on those who elected you to serve them. Most especially do not force something on them against their will while holding yourself up as a pure and shining example of moral superiority. People (most especially Southerners) do not like that even when it comes from a good person — and when it comes from a sleazy, backroom-deal-making politician… well, they simply won’t take it. So goodbye, Roy-rat. Go spend some time in solitude at the top of Brasstown Bald and learn some humility. For the rest of us — what now? First, everyone in Georgia, bask in your victory for a while. Savor it. Gather strength from it — because you’re gonna need it. Let’s all realize right now that this is not over. Far from it. Do you s’pose Calvin Smyre and Tyrone Brooks and others who pushed through the flag change are sitting around thinking, “Oh, no, we lost, they’re gonna vote to change the flag back and there’s nothing we can do, woe is us, boohoo….” Well, they aren’t. Right now, Sonny Perdue is avoiding discussion of the issue that put him in office. Even if he does fully intend to hold a referendum on the flag, and follow through on his campaign promises, the other side has lawyers out the ying yang looking for any possible way to stop or sabotage him or the vote, or control its outcome. Any possible way. Remember, these are sneaky, underhanded, devious people who kept the Barnes flag deal under wraps for a slap YEAR. They’re not going to give up because of some election. ProSouthern activists in the Peach State, please heed political reality. It’s guaranteed that enemies of the real Georgia flag — rich and powerful ones — are already at work coming up with plans and methods to thwart the will of the people regarding the flag. Don’t let them; whatever they try, counter it. Anticipate them. Stay a step ahead of them. Neutralize their efforts before they even start. And realize it could get real, real nasty, even dangerous, for you. Stick together; watch out for each other. Take care of each other. Be ever, ever vigilant. Good advice, actually, for everyone in our movement. We are impacting the Empire’s politics. We are a blip that has suddenly popped up on the imperial political radar screen. For us, the stakes have just gone up again. So watch the skies, brethren and sistren, and keep your powder dry. |
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Original article at: http://www.washtimes.com/national/20021107-98902115.htm
Georgia boots Barnes, elects
by Robert Stacy McCain
Published 11/7/2002 In 2001, Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes changed Georgia’s flag. On Tuesday, Georgia voters changed governors. Sonny Perdue became the first Republican elected governor of Georgia since carpetbagger Rufus Bullock, who was chased out of the state in 1871. Mr. Barnes’ redesign of the state flag, reducing its large Confederate emblem to a tiny spot, alienated many white Georgians who scorned the cluttered new design as the “Barnes rag.” But with a $20 million war chest, the Barnes campaign was confident going into Election Day. Even many Republicans thought the governor was unbeatable. “I tried for months to tell the Republicans down here that the flag was an issue, but they wouldn’t believe it,” said Jim Arp, former chairman of the Floyd County Republican Party. “I told them, ‘You don’t understand — these people won’t whine and moan, they’ll just go do something about it.'” They did do something. Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) followed the governor to campaign stops, displaying the old Georgia flag and anti-Barnes signs at protests. One group of SCV activists started “Project Wave,” which erected hundreds of 24-foot flagpoles flying the old flag around the state. “I think there was a backlash [over the flag change],” said Anthony Scott Hobbs, chairman of the Georgia Grassroots Republican Action Committee. The suddenness of the Barnes move — ramming the measure through the Democrat-controlled General Assembly in barely a week, with little debate — was a factor, he said. Mr. Barnes conceded the role of the flag change in his defeat. “The flag did have something to do with it,” the Democrat said. “I think it brought out a white rural vote.” In fact, the strongest anti-Barnes margins were in Atlanta’s prosperous suburban counties. Mr. Perdue got 77 percent of the vote in Forsyth County, 71 percent in Cherokee, 69 percent in Paulding, 62 percent in Gwinnett, and even got 54 percent in Mr. Barnes’ native Cobb County. Many Georgians thought Mr. Barnes “just pushed stuff down our throat,” Mr. Hobbs said. “Perdue promised a referendum on the flag. Let the people choose what they want.” Confederate-heritage boosters say they would win a flag referendum in Georgia. The defeat of Mr. Barnes was among several recent indications of voter support for Southern symbols:
The flag was not the only issue in Georgia. A Barnes-backed school-reform plan angered teachers. Some black voters also were angry about the governor’s failure to support black Rep. Cynthia A. McKinney, who was beaten in the Democratic primary. Mr. Perdue, a former state senator, released in May a video portraying Mr. Barnes as a power-hungry giant rat. TV stations jumped on the “King Rat” video as a news story, giving the Republican free media coverage, Mr. Hobbs said. “It had a huge impact. I think it definitely put [Mr. Barnes] on the defensive. That image of arrogance kept building.” While the Barnes campaign saturated TV with ads, the Perdue team found that potential donors were afraid to give to the Republican, lest they anger the powerful incumbent. In the end, however, not even a 6-1 fund-raising advantage could save Mr. Barnes, who lost by 100,000 votes. Georgia’s last elected Republican governor was voted into office in 1868, when the defeated South was under military rule. The GOP did not win another gubernatorial election in Georgia until Tuesday, when Mr. Perdue was inspired to echo Martin Luther King. “You’ve stunned Georgia,” the governor-elect told cheering supporters. “Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, free at last.”
Copyright © 2002 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
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A rally was held in Augusta yesterday (Fri.) for Governor-elect Sonny Perdue. Now get this: Either those sponsoring therally or those donating private property for the rally — refused to allow the Real Georgia State flag into the rally. Even a local SCV member was told he could not wear his SCV T-shirt into the rally site. But he did anyway. Understand this loud and Clear: It was not these cowards that got Barnes kicked out of office. No, it was those of us who kept flying the Real Georgia flag when others (supposedly on our side) said we didn’t have a chance at getting our flag back. We were out working hard while others were having tea parties that they claimed were SCV meetings.
To top it all off, I heard that a SCV camp had a say in this decision to rob our folks of their freedom of speech and _expression at this rally. If this is true, does anyone know which camp it was? Think whatever dumb thought you want, but if it were not for Georgia SCV members getting down right politically active — Barnes would be in for another term. “Southerners” such as these (those who stifled this rally) don’t have enough guts between them all to fill up a measuring cup. Not only that, if we are not careful — such characters as these will undermine the very ground we have worked so hard to gain. They are saying, “We want to give Sonny a break. We don’t want to push too hard right now.” Guess what? The owner of the Atlanta Flacons, other big shots and the NAACP are already doing whatever they can to push him. And we’ve got folks in our own corner telling us to back off? Are these folks cowards, traitors or just not politically wise? They sound like the nobles who turned on William Wallace when the Scots were trying to fight off their English invaders. We and others across this state got out Real Georgia flags, tags, stickers and signs when we felt like giving up. We fought back our own tears — and instead of giving up, we fought Roy Barnes. Don’t tell us to back off!!!! There is nothing wrong with us flying our Georgia flags in a respectful manner at a Perdue rally. But there is something wrong with SCV members who are afraid or ashamed to fly them. Get out of our way!!! I’m ashamed to say it, but I voted for NRA member Roy Barnes the first go round because I thought he would be an old line conservative Southern Democrat. He turned on me — and I turned back on him. Don’t think I won’t do the same to Sonny Perdue and camp if they turncoat. If Perdue turns on us, it will be “Sack Sonny” just as quickly at it was “Boot Barnes.” We are neither Republicans or Democrats; we are Southerners. And neither Sonny Perdue or President Bush should forget it. How dare someone tell one of our guys that he can’t wear his SCV T-shirt inside a Sonny Perdue rally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
P.K. Fitzgerald
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http://www.southernmessenger.org/flag_poles.htm
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