Bill Shipp: Zell may be running a scam on GOP

[mac56]

(tinfoil hat material, to be sure, but worth a read)

http://onlineathens.com/stories/091204/opi_20040912030.shtml

Has Zell Miller scammed the Republican Party and helped embattled Southern Democrats hang on to their positions of power?

(snip)

While Republicans cheered and egged him on at their national convention, Miller's firebrand speech made it OK for white Southerners to continue to run and vote as state and local Democrats. Former President Jimmy Carter, once Miller's mentor and benefactor, helped the Georgia senator pull off what may turn out to be a gigantic con.

(snip)

Carter's letter, in effect, validated Miller as a renegade Democrat, but a Democrat nevertheless. While Carter is admired across America, the former president remains a prophet without honor in parts of Georgia. To be at odds with Carter is often a badge of respect and a sign of political trust.

(snip)

Disclaiming affection for the national party is nothing new for Georgia Democrats, even when they controlled state government as a one-party power. Party activists often referred to themselves as "Sam Nunn Democrats" or "Dick Russell Democrats" or even "Lester Maddox Democrats" to make clear that they were a breed apart from their national cousins. Miller's angry act in New York allows them to refer to themselves as Zell Miller Democrats and remain loyal partisans on the state and local levels.

Now we may know why Miller's name was left off the guest list to celebrate in the president's box after his speech. At least one smart Republican must have figured out what he was up to.

[bluestateguy]

1. Why do I have to register for "Online Athens"?

Anyway, interesting. But will he campaign for Denise Majette?

[mac56]

2. Try this link instead.

Same column, different paper.

http://www.rockdalecitizen.net/sc/archive/2004/4440.htm

[Rose Siding]

3. No one could manufacture that much vitriol if it weren't genuine.

[coloradodem2005]

4. If it were genuine, it can't be manufactured.

It's just there.

[Rose Siding]

7. lol, I was sort of channeling gee-dub there, wasn't I?

Spooky. I'll rephrase...No one could manufacture that kind of vitriol. It was genuine.

[bemildred]

5. Bullshit. nt

[Art_from_Ark]

9. I call bullshit, too

The man voted against the Dems in the Senate 95% of the time, and he wrote a book lambasting the Democratic Party, while withholding any meaningful criticism of the Repugs. He is a bull in the Democratic china shop.

[mmonk]

6. well

:eyes: :crazy:

[Blayde Starrfyre]

8. That may be a side-effect

But the motivation was purely idiocy.

[DaveSZ]

10. I think he's a bit off his nut to be honest

He attacked someone who was interviewing him after, and came off like a total nut.

[mistertrickster]

11. Zell Miller is what is left of the southern Democrat segregation

party. If they don't agree with mainstream Dems, it almost always comes back to race and loss of the Jim Crow era, which they think of as "the good old days."

Screw that!

[bunkerbuster1]

12. I about dropped the Little Hillbilly Rag when I read that piece

I should explain. This column ran in the Gwinnett Daily Post, a horribly right-wing daily rag that we get delivered for free. the rag features some of the lamest letters-to-the-ed I've EVER seen--you can practically hear the Rebel Yells as the sister-wife is proofreading it and saying "yew dunn showed them LIBRUHLS what for there..."

And then out comes this conspiracy theory piece about how Zell's actually made it safe for redneck Democrats to be, well, redneck Democrats.

Funny as shit, to be sure, but having read this guy's work before (he's actually the more *thoughtful* of their local columnists) I think the author's dead serious.

/bb