Virginia's Governor Robert McDonnell acted stupidly and opened unnecessary wounds when he proclaimed April Confederate History Month.
As Ed Morrissey explains,
As a history buff myself, I agree that it’s important to study history, but that doesn’t require a Confederacy Appreciation Month, which is what this sounds like. McDonnell could have broadened the perspective to a Civil War History Month, which would have allowed for all of the issues in the nation’s only armed rebellion to be studied. This approach seems needlessly provocative and almost guaranteed to create problems for Republicans in Virginia and across the country.
I'm all for everyone understanding the history leading up to and through the bloodiest war the United States has ever engaged in, but that could be done within typical history debates and classes. Confederate History Month, especially in the Age of Obama, just represents an unnecessary thumb in the eye of black citizens, reinforcing the stereotype that Republicans hate black folk.
UPDATE: McDonnell apologizes.
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