Virginia Confederate History month contretemps

As a NoVa resident and member of the VA bar, let me join the chorus of naysayers saying yes, Virginia's Confederate History Month was a terrible, terrible idea. Those of you who love primary sources are encouraged to check out Jack Balkin's impressive collection of relevant documents. In any case, I'm glad McDonnell has stepped back a bit and agreed to acknowledge the role that slavery played in causing the Civil War.

I'm happy that many conservatives have come out against this particular foolishness, too. Still, while I was beaming when I read the beginning of this Powerline post, I was less pleased by the remark that "McDonnell has no problems with his base." It reads as though this might somehow be acceptable if McDonnell did have problems with the base, sort of as though this were a mere Bridge to Nowhere or an otherwise ordinary piece of pork. But... morally speaking... it really isn't.

It's also a bit odd to see a conservative blogger so readily accept the conservative base = racist rednecks stereotype. I've been known to wave my hands around and yell that no, not every supporter of the colorblind constitution/opponent of affirmative action is a crypto-racist. I would've guessed that Mirengoff was with me on this.