Rumors have it that in a House Rules Committee meeting over the Georgia state flag that went on long into yesterday evening, State Representative Bobby Franklin (R) stated the following:

"If the true motive of heritage advocates is to honor the South and those who fought for Southern independence, what better symbol than an actual national flag of the Confederacy?" Franklin told the Rules Committee while holding up his proposed version of the flag, a modification of the pre-1956 flag showing the Stars and Bars with the words "In God We Trust" on a white bar strip.

Franklin continued with: "Allowing hate groups and white supremacists to hijack our battle flag and pervert it into a negative symbol, without publicly and repeatedly repudiating them, without disassociating from them and without demanding that they cease and desist -- that has been a grievous moral failure."

"The result of this moral failure -- a failure of conscience and courage -- is that the battle flag is so tainted from misuse that it cannot stand as merely a symbol of heritage."

For more on this story, readJim Galloway's full story of this meeting.

PV Checks The Calendar: No, no, it's not April Fool's Day today either. Bobby Franklin actually stood-up and said these things after spending the last two years believing that we should have a statewide vote on the battle flag.

To us, this demonstrates that people like Franklin can face reality, and admit when the political rhetoric should not become reality. We heartily applaud Franklin in his standing-up for what's realistic, what's factual and what's right.

As it turns out though, we now hear that the Georgia Confederate Heritage Association has put him on its hit-list of lawmakers targeted for defeat. We predict that the GCHA and all of the little flagger groups will fail in their attempts to defeat people like Bobby Franklin...and, they will discover that they do not have as much influence on the outcome of a race as they truly believe.

PV Presents Some Relevant Info: In an editorial published 2 weeks ago by AJC Editor Cynthia Tucker, Tucker wrote the following:

"The anti-integration fervor that fueled the Georgia Legislature through the 1950s has been meticulously documented by State Court of Appeals Judge Alan Blackburn in his master's thesis, Brown v. Board of Education: A Southern Response.

" '...[The 1956 flag's] defenders contend it was intended solely to honor the Southern soldiers who fought in the Civil War and arose out of the 'all-South Centennial Committee' activities. [But] the 'committee'...which [was to] promote the centennial celebration of the Civil War, wasn't approved until March 9, 1956, while the 1956 flag had already been approved by the Georgia Legislature on February 13, 1956,' Blackburn noted.' "

PV's Analysis: Gee, Wally (as in, "Leave it to Beaver"), looks like the heritage folks are all wet. Unless they can prove that either Cynthia Tucker fabricated these dates (and, though she is a left-wing socialist, that doesn't make her a liar) OR that Judge Alan Blackburn is lying, the heritage arguments in favor of the battle flag just got real soggy.

And, let's be honest: the reason why the business leaders are against the battle flag is not necessarily because, as they claim, "the return of it will cause economic hardship to the state." It is because a LOT of these business leaders grew-up during the time of the racial strife of the 1950s and 1960s. And they know from personal experience, either by being directly involved on the "white side" against the blacks and wanting to forget their own terrible past, or by winessing displays of the battle flag prominently used by the KKK all over this state during that time period to intimidate, beat, and murder black people.

Oh yes, the business leaders know the reality of the battle flag. Everyone knows the reality of the meaning of the battle flag. It's just that some people (i.e., the "heritage" groups) are too afraid to admit that they've been either duped by the claims of their predecessors as to why the flag was changed in 1956 OR they merely do not want to admit it.

PV Calls On The Republican Leaders: It's time, folks. It's time for you, Governor Perdue, to stand-up and admit that what Bobby Franklin says is accurate. It's time for you, Senator Eric Johnson, to echo Franklin and support him.

In fact, it's time for every single elected Republican in this state to admit what Bobby Franklin says is true and to recommend passage of his flag proposal out of committee and onto the floor. The shrillness of the people who claim it is their "heritage" must be shouted down with people who are not afraid to admit the truth.

In fact, to not admit the truth will demonstrate tacit support of the assinine results of our current Website poll. Out of 380 votes cast over the past week, 50% of the respondents have the design of the Georgia state flag as the most "pressing thing" on their minds. Not the war in Iraq where Americans are dying in defense of freedom. No, 50% of the respondents are worried about the design of the state flag. What a bunch of kooks!