January 25, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rebuttal to the Gainesville Times Editorial of January 24, by J. A. Davis
Gainesville Times 1/24/04 editorial
Since your editorial of Saturday, January 24th ("flag backers are
back") refers to a spokesman for the Georgia Heritage Coalition, as chairman I will respond with the hope that fairness
will permit equal space.
Addressing fairness I have always found fairness at the Gainesville Times despite
opposing views. I have previously said so.
The above-referenced editorial astonished me. First, after reading the first six paragraphs
I thought you had taken leave of your normal and predictive senses. It was for the most part accurate.
Along about paragraph seven, the writer must have been stricken by a sudden attack of PC-itis,
the virus that has reached almost epidemic status and which is only found among the political left. Too bad, there is a
remedy but you're not ready to hear about it.
Now let's examine the facts which are readily available in all news releases issued by the
Georgia Heritage Coalition or on our website. The issue is not about a particular state flag. The campaign
being conducted by GHC and the representatives of a dozen religious, cultural, veterans, heritage. immigration reform,
quality education associations and foundations is not simply about a flag.
It is about self-government and self-determination. It is about a fair solution to a persistent
problem that won't go away until the people of Georgia have a valid and fair referendum so that the issue can be settled
once and for all. This solution is but one step in our efforts to combat the moral and constitutional decay in our
country. This issue is emblematic of the much greater concern when one loss of freedom accelerates to more and more
losses and the people lose all control of their right of self determination.
Regardless of your choice, how can you deny others the same right to their choice by
eliminating one of the leading contenders as a choice?
The secret backroom rigging of the March referendum has been well-documented far and wide and
the people are angrier today than they were during the last election. Those who thought Roy Barnes' high handed rigging
of the state flag issue was wrong are angrier now about the secret pandering which eliminated any chance of a fair vote
and closure of the issue.
GHC has proposed the State Flag Fair Vote Act, which plain and simple calls for a referendum
during the July General primary elections when many more of both parties will vote as opposed to the March Presidential
Preference Primary which has all the appearances of being no-contest for one party and quite possibly will have seen the
decision made by the other party. The results of this referendum involving only a fragment of the electorate choosing from
only two of the three contending state flags of the past three years will be a worthless insult and will never be
accepted as valid by any fair minded citizen regardless of their personal choice.
We propose a non-binding referendum in July as a guidance to the properly designated body to put an honest and fair
solution into law, The General Assembly.
The July fair vote referendum would void and supersede the insulting March referendum and properly lay
responsibility at the feet of those involved in fixing and rigging the issue in the previous legislature. This is appropriate
since they got us into this mess.
I would like to go further, but fairness limits my request for equal space. The Times news
staff knows where to find me.
Thanks, and as the liberals say, "Get over it and let's move on." Let us vote.
Jeff Davis
Chairman, Georgia Heritage Coalition
J. A. Davis is a retired radio and
television journalist living in Gainesville, Georgia. He is
volunteer Chairman of the Georgia Heritage Coalition.
Contact: Telephone 770 297-4788 P-6, 2360 Thompson Bridge Road Gainesvlle,
GA 30501
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