[Chi-townChief]

Brother Jesse, in his own slavish devotion to liberalism, certainly seems to forget that the democrats are also, "inescapably", the party of slavery and of his 2nd cousin, Mr. Jim Crow.

[RexBeach]

Do states have soul? I don't know. But Don Cornelius does!!!!!

Peace, love and soul!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Abcdefg]

No form of government has "rights", only powers. People have rights and powers.

[ncountylee]

Hey Jesse....the highways and buildings named after Jefferson Davis date to when the South was a democrat bastion, as you well know you despicable race-baiter.

[kingu]

Yo, Jesse! Tell me, my boy, is there any poll out there that suggests that you have higher numbers than the President? Or are you stuck down there with your fellow liberal rats in the 20% range, where you've been for most of your life?

[NotSoFreeStater]

I don't think the Great Society has turned out so great.

[PAR35]

So Mr. Jackson supports the party that gave us both the Klan of the 1860s and the Klan of the 1960s?

It makes sense -- white racists are good for his fundraising.

[goldstategop]

Exactly. And there were NO Republicans in power in the South when the DEMOCRATS - the party ol' Jesse so admires - enacted and enforced racist laws and created an aristocracy based on color. The difference today is the Democrats seek to create an aristocracy of the privileged and keep every one else in bondage. All that has changed are their targets. Back then it was black Americans they wanted to keep down; today, its the middle class. But ol' Jesse isn't going to let either history or principle get in the way of his trying to invert the history of the nation's two major parties. That won't wash.

( No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo!)

[bfree]

These two competing ideas are at the heart of America's political debate today. Republicans believe in states' rights. They support right-to-work laws, maximum profit with no minimum wage, aggressive action to oppose unions. They believe in the free market without government oversight or a safety net. Jefferson Davis is the patriarch of this body of thought. Highways and buildings are named for him across the South. The South is the bastion of GOP strength.

Lincoln was the patriarch of the other big idea: a more perfect union. Although Lincoln formed the Republican Party, Democrats became his advocates in the 20th century. At their best, Democrats stand for a more perfect union, one big tent, equal opportunity, equal protection under the law. Democrats want government to act to provide the basis for equal opportunity -- not equal results, but a fair start: high-quality public education and health care for all.

Jesse is right and that's why I'm a republican.