Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman has been receiving a lot of ink in the past 48 hours, in large part because his polling numbers have surged in New Hampshire. I started this past week with him in Plymouth, New Hampshire. My take on his stake-it-all-on-the-Granite-State candidacy is up over at Washington Monthly.
I argue that Huntsman differs from the rest of the GOP pack not in political moderation -- he's extremely conservative in most respects -- but in that he does not share the belief that government is inherently evil (and must be destroyed) or that big oil, big banks, and bigtime lobbyists are inherently virtuous (and, therefore, should be deregulated.) It's an argument that will get a fair hearing in Yankeedom and Utah, though its likely to win him few friends among Deep Southern primary voters.
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As a student of history, I am captivated by your Nations theory of America.
ReplyDeleteMay I add a powerful point? You write that Tidewater lost it's control over The USA because it became landlocked by the other Nations. I agree, except what seems to have happened is that it's families & heritable power simply spread throughout the Americas. When I listen to people like Newt Gingrich ( born in Georgia & educated in New Orleans (Tulane), I hear a Tidewater Gentleman trying to mentally coerce Yankee Republicans into maintaining their bitter alliance with New Netherlands business/finance & Deep South bigotry & plantation mentality.
As I read your book I thought that your ethnic Bioregional idea is brilliant, but it misses the individual family migrations. As communication became modern (mail...phone...Internet...), each Nation has been able to keep it's citizens connected to it's core values, even if they live in another Nation and/or country!
As an example, my Terrell lineage migrated as Royals to Tidewater Virginia, moved to Louisiana prior to Civil War, fought as Cavaliers for Confederacy, escaped to central Texas, and immigrated to Brasil, as "Confederados, the Unreconstructed Southerners in Brasil".
They maintained their Tidewater principles throughout this migration by maintaining a close relationship with other Tidewater families. They continued establishing Anglican Churches throughout Brasil & Latin America and creating Virginia style plantations where they lived.
Many of those families continue to reconnect with their Virginia, Carolina & Georgia relations to this day. They celebrate the core Tidewater ideals and many have created massive wealth through corporate ownership.
Sorry for the length of the post, if you are interested in this idea, please contact me. William Terrell, billterrell55@gmail.com
@Bill - Fascinating story; I'm especially curios about the confederados. Will drop you an email.
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