You are so right about conservatives being branded racists. It has been one of my most oft fought fights with those who find out I am a conservative. They instantly brand me a racist. It is difficult to defend oneself when there is absolutely no basis in fact for the charge. And how many times did I have to say George W. Bush had not one racist bone in his body.
Every well-know REAL racist was a Democrat - from Bull Conner to George Wallace. And they stayed democrat. The only racist that switched was Maddox. The rest of them just changed victims - once they hated blacks - then they updated to hating conservatives. Same narrow minded bigots they always were - just new targets...
Sen. Byrd ran the Senate for decades - was a past member of the KKK. The first governor to put the confederate battle flag on a state flag was a democrat from South Carolina - I think it was Collins - but I’m not sure. Anyhow the guy stayed a democrat his whole life - and ‘switched’ victim groups along with the rest of the liberal bigots.
I wish you luck with this - it’s not easy being a conservative. You’ll like this - it’s the truth about journalists. When you run into someone who says they’re objective - show them this. It’s the truth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBFOmUXR080
Collect truth and facts - when people attack you for being racists BECAUSE you’re conservative, bring up the truth and then back off... Liberals are thin-skinned and mean - so they can’t handle much diversity of thought. A little at a time works best.