Honoring Traitors?

A new Republican talking point is making the rounds: restoring the names of Confederate generals to US military bases, after they have been changed to names other than the traitors who disregarded their oath to the United States and fought to destroy it, to maintain their precious system of chattel slavery.

One such base is Fort Liberty, near Fayetteville, North Carolina, home of the 82^nd Airborne Division and of the XVIII Airborne Corps. Republican presidential candidates Mike Pence and Ron Desantis have announced they would restore the base’s former name of Fort Bragg, after the Confederate general/traitor Braxton Bragg. At the Republican state convention in Greensboro, Desantis announced, “It’s an iconic name and iconic base, and we’re not gonna let political correctness run amok in North Carolina.” (https://www.cbs17.com/news/political-news/ap-politics/biden-heads-to-north-carolina-to-push-clean-energy-agenda-and-promote-order-aiding-military-spouses/)

Pence said, later in the convention, “We will end the political correctness in the hallways of the Pentagon, and North Carolina will once again be home to Fort Bragg.” (https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/06/12/gop-hopefuls-vow-scrap-fort-liberty-return-confederate-namesake-fort-bragg.html) (https://www.cbs17.com/news/north-carolina-news/former-vice-president-pence-to-nc-republican-convention-u-s-requires-new-leadership/)

What’s it about? Is it a pander to the racist-white supremacist elements in North Carolina (which also move within the religious-right elements)? Pence tends to bring up his religious background in discussing policy, such as his stance against abortion, and the usual Republican fears of “woke”-ness and “left-wing social justice” (such a scary thought!)

It’s the old Republican playbook from back to Nixon, the old “southern strategy” of using race and racism to divide working-class and low-income people against each other, and to motivate the religious right, the party’s most faithful voting bloc. Plus, throw in hate against LGBTQ+ people, transgender kids, and drag queens, totally distorting who they are and what they’re about, and that’s the Republican strategy; plus, these factions overlap, like a Venn diagram.

Also, the whole idea of honoring Confederate generals by naming Army bases after them-the same men who declared war on their own country for the sake of slavery upon another race, so they can reap the benefits of their enforced and brutal labor, is repulsive. Plus, Braxton Bragg has been considered by military historians as about the WORST general in the Confederate army. (https://www.npr.org/2020/06/13/876440554/opinion-lets-rethink-the-names-behind-forts-benning-and-bragg) This at least shows where the Republican Party would lead us, IF we allow them back into power-I said IF.