Kaine should re-study history of commonwealth
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Jon Carter
Published: November 9, 2008
I found Gov. Tim Kaine’s comments in your paper on Nov. 6 stating that “Ol’ Virginny is dead” to be disturbing and divisive.
Gov. Kaine seems to be implying that Barack Obama’s victory in the commonwealth of Virginia has somehow atoned for past mistakes on segregation and slavery and worse, that people who failed to help elect Obama are obstacles to progress.
Are the residents of Culpeper County supposed to take the blame for past problems in Virginia simply because we voted to support a candidate with a different political ideology than Obama?
This kind of misleading and offensive rhetoric has no place in governance.
It should also be noted that this is not the first time that Virginia has been “progressive” enough to elect an African-American.
Perhaps our Harvard-educated governor needs to be reminded of our history. Almost 20 years ago the commonwealth of Virginia gave the United States its first elected African-American governor — Gov. Doug Wilder.
Gov. Kaine owes the residents of Culpeper and the entire commonwealth an apology.
Jon Carter
Culpeper
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Posted by ( Sandalwood ) on November 12, 2008 at 7:52 am
Kaine has always been a suck-up to the Democraps.
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Posted by ( semper fi mom ) on November 10, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Make up / atone?? How many of us owned other humans? How many of our grandparents did? Matter of fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find many whose ancesters used the 1/4th total world slave trade in Colonial times - because you had to be wealthy and have a large farm. Most of our ancestors would have been small farm owners, tenant farmers, tradesmen. HUGE changes have occurred since the 60’s. It seems that there are too many people who just can’t let go of the past and live in the present. Racisim sadly continues…both ways. BUT it’s INDIVDUALS…the vast majority of people are not racist. I guess there are people who simply enjoy being divisive if it serves some interest they may have. Perhaps if I were a racist, I would see things differently. People are people. Their character is what counts.
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Posted by ( lordculpeper27 ) on November 09, 2008 at 6:08 pm
I think he was just trying to be cute about Democrats doing well in the state—not trying to make some racially motivated atonement. And you are correct about Virginia’s past.
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Posted by ( Concerned ) on November 09, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Let’s not forget that the old Virginia (Ole Virginny) was the cradle of massive resistance, the capital of the confederacy, and the bosom of Jim Crow laws. The Ole Virginny reference by our Governor just means that the Commonwealth has partially atoned for past sins and is now leading in efforts to promote equality. We still have a ways to go.
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