The Sunshine Empire

I was born in and have lived in North Florida for most of my life.  More specifically Duval County Florida, which in it’s entirety is the City of Jacksonville.  I have often told people that I was not born in the South I was born in Florida, but North Florida is historically very conservative.  If you read this space you know that my family and I are not.  I have conservative friends that have started following the “tea party” movement, as much as it can be called a movement, but I was not aware that they were having any functions this weekend until I was reading up on Think Progress.  Here I saw that in the heart of my hometown paranoid, ignorant, and openly racist wing-nuts were carrying on in plain site comparing with signage and everything the President Of The United States with the infamous Nazi Dictator Adolph Hitler.  These people get indignant over being called teabaggers, and they compare the Hawaiian born first African American President with the man that murdered 6 million innocent Jews?  ANY argument or political point put forward by these fringe elements is VOID as far as any self respecting American should be concerned.  Even more sickening about it was that a small number of local Republican politicians has no issue with appearing at such a rally.  Dr. Evil’s clone State Senator Stephen Wise and City Councilman Lake Ray should be held to account for such servile gravy training by appearing with such wackos.  These people are no better than foil hat wearing Y2K paranoid backwoods traitors.

This has garnered national attention and its embarrassing to live in the same town as these people who belong in 1950′s Selma Alabama, but for all those who don’t know Jacksonville let me defend the rest of Duval County and Jacksonville from being lumped together with these vermin.  Duval County has an African American population 18% higher than the national average, and President Obama lost Duval County in November’s Presidential election by only one point.  While this area is decidedly politically conservative for the most part people are educated and not prone to such ridiculousness.  Keith Olberman rated the Duval county Republican party as his Worst Person In The World and for good reason.  The Duval County GOP sent out fliers stating the event was paid for by them, and even posted pictures from the event including those comparing the President to Hitler on their Facebook page.  Only after controversy swirled did they retract into what they would have you believe was only a background role.  But as much as they should be scorned don’t lump these wing-nuts with the rest of the good people of Jacksonville liberal and conservative.