Tennessee gov. signs proclamation establishing Nathan Bedford Forrest holiday

[Badger]

It's been an official holiday according to TN law since 1921.  

Did other recent governors just ignore the law that instructs them to make this proclamation?  Or did this practice just escape media scrutiny until this year?

EDIT: apparently it's the latter

Lee — and governors who have come before him — are also required by state law to proclaim Jan. 19 as Robert E. Lee Day, honoring the commander of the Confederate Army, as well as June 3 Confederate Decoration Day, otherwise known as Confederate Memorial Day and the birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis...

The statute instructs the governor to proclaim those three days of special observation, along with Abraham Lincoln Day on Feb. 12, Andrew Jackson Day on March 15 and Veterans Day on Nov. 11, and to "invite the people of this state to observe the days in schools, churches, and other suitable places with appropriate ceremonies expressive of the public sentiment befitting the anniversary of such dates."

In the Forrest proclamation, identical to the one issued each year by former Gov. Bill Haslam, Forrest is described only as a "recognized military figure in American history and a native Tennessean."

The text reads that the governor encourages "all citizens to join (him) in this worthy observance."

This is a very good question. I never heard anything about Haslam or bredesen doing so. I suspect they simply ignored the requirement rather than Institute of divisive no-win political battle against the unreconstructed wing of the state GOP in seeking the holidays repeal. Lee seems all the more likely to sign this, ignoring the precedent set by the last two Governors and claiming following the law as a smokescreen, as he is very much a True Believer in the worst sense of the word. Near

However, if I'm wrong and either bredesen or Haslam issued this Proclamation as well, I'd be interested in knowing about it. I'd likewise be interested in knowing how all of a sudden Lee starts taking Heat over this year's Proclamation.

[Badger]

So, if it's the DEMOCRATS who are the REAL racist party, as Dinesh D'Souza never fails to remind us, why is Tennessee, which is solely controlled by Republicans now, continuing this tradition and outright refusing to stop it?

For that matter, considering all Southern states are under full or partial Republican control at this point, why are they refusing to remove or stopping removal of confederate statues that were erected by Democratic politicians in the 1920s-1960s for no other reason than to express opposition to civil rights?

I'll agree to this argument, but why are these issues considered so important and take up so much time?

Having Confederate monuments, the Confederate Southern Cross in the field of a number of Southern State flags, playing "Dixie" at football games, etc. never stopped the Civil Rights movement.  Indeed, the same DEMOCRATIC southern state governments that allowed these monuments to stand, sign proclamations for these absurd holidays, were governments that, by the 1990s, MAXIMIZED black political leverage.  That's because the Democrats in many Southern states were elected by a coalition of black voters and working class white voters; the white voters who voted Republican were either "Mountain Republicans" (descended from folks in East TN and Western NC that were loyal to the Union) or "Country Club" types.  This coalition allowed black voters in a number of Southern states (including GA, MS, and the Carolinas) to have maximum political influence.  The concerns of black voters were taken into account, and sometimes "catered to" because they were a crucial element in the Democratic Party's coalition that allowed them to maintain control over Southern state governments.

The real issue is how Democrats allowed their coalition of blacks and working class whites in Southern states to be obliterated.  It wasn't because of "racism"; if it were because of "racism", these coalitions would not have developed and endured for any length of time.  A degree of why this happened is the tone-deaf attitude of the National Democratic Party who has insisted in imprinting its social agenda on all segments of society.  This, of course, has not gone down well in the section of the country that has the highest rate of church attendance and military installations.

In The Vital South, written by Earl Black and Merle Black, there was a discussion of the Democratic Party's future in the South.  One option was for the Democratic Party to become a permanent minority party; in that event, Southern Democrats could become as liberal as they wished to be.  The other option was for a Democratic Party to develop candidates who could run in the South and win in the South.  In Bill Clinton, there was such a Democrat, and Democrats such as Jim Hunt, Jim Hodges, Doug Wilder, Ned McWherter, Lawton Chiles, and many moderate state legislators enabled Democrats to walk the line between catering to local sentiment and remaining loyal to the top of the ticket. 

The second strategy could have been adhered to without selling out workers.  Instead, the Democrats adhered to the first strategy.  The only thing that hasn't kept the Democrats from losing the entire South are demographic changes in VA.  Perhaps their "Demographics is Destiny" strategy will work in TX, GA, FL, and NC.  Perhaps not in my lifetime.

The Democratic Party is more adept in shooting itself in the foot than any large organization I can think of.

Fuzzy, that book was published almost 30 years ago, back when those various politicians you mentioned had even a nominal amount of relevance. Times have enormously changed since then. Any one of those moderate Democrats would get shut down running for federal office in any Southern State outside of Virginia, Florida, and North Carolina, and would have an uphill battle in all except Virginia.

The average Southern voter outside those three states, and more than a few in them, have completely jump the shark. The Democrats not running candidates modern enough for the South is clearly not an issue. The fact is the vast majority of southern white voters outside of urban areas have gone full on trumpist even before Trump.