It’s turning into a pretty difficult week for Republicans, and this is especially the case for those in the Deep South. On top of the Affordable Care Act being upheld in court… again… gay marriage was legalized across the nation and Republican leaders began calling for the Confederate flag to be removed from the South Carolina state capitol.
It couldn’t possibly get any worse for these guys, right? You would think that, but you’d quickly realize your folly after hearing the hero of rednecks everywhere, Dale Earnhardt Jr., express his beliefs on the Confederate flag.
DALE EARNHARDT JR. ON CONFEDERATE FLAG
It was already turning into a bad week for conservatives when, on June 23, NASCAR stated that it supported Governor Nikki Haley’s call to take down the Confederate flag. Citing the recent tragic shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, which was committed by a lone white supremacist who left a racist manifesto behind, NASCAR released this statement:
“NASCAR supports the position that South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley took on the Confederate Flag on Monday. As our industry works collectively to ensure that all fans are welcome at our races, NASCAR will continue our long-standing policy to disallow the use of the Confederate Flag symbol in any official NASCAR capacity.”
As if this wasn’t hurtful enough to the individuals who claim the flag isn’t about hate, even though there’s irrefutable historical proof that the Civil War was over slavery, Dale Earnhardt Jr. then decided he’d make a statement as well. Unfortunately, his progressive thinking very likely lost him a few beer-bellied fans:
“I think it’s offensive to an entire race. It does nothing for anybody to be flying there, so I don’t see any reason. It belongs in the history books and that’s about it.”
This has got to be heartbreaking for some NASCAR fans. I don’t know about you, but I feel a twangy country song coming on.
JEFF GORDON ON CONFEDERATE FLAG
For those who don’t know much about NASCAR, Jeff Gordon is sort of a big deal too. He’s also Earnhardt Jr.’s teammate. He tossed his thoughts into the mix as well:
“I’m in support of what [NASCAR] is doing. It’s a delicate balance. We race all over, but the South is an area where we have a lot of fans and everyone has different opinions and expression of that.”
While we could get all giddy over some bigots having nothing to watch in their free time, you might as well push that thought out of your head. NASCAR already got considerable backlash from the homophobic portion of its fan base when the organization spoke out against Indiana’s bigoted “religious freedom” law, but it’s not as if they lost any fans over it.
Either way, the favorite sport of the South supports LGBT rights and wants the Confederate flag taken down. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and many Southern Republicans also want the flag removed. Oh! Plus, LGBT people everywhere can get married and Obamacare is still the law of the land.
I vote best… week… EVER.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Confederate Flag Video (Jump to 9:40)
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