Thread by @KevinMKruse

Sure, let's take a look at the Republican Party's stance on the Confederacy today.

For starters, I'm not a "soi-disant historian."

Lots of places call me a historian, in fact -- the institutions that awarded me a BA, MA and PhD in History, the one that employs me as a professor of history, the OAH and AHA too.

Remind me: what are your qualifications again?

Now, luckily, there have been a considerable number of clashes over Confederate monuments, memorials, and symbols in recent years, clashes which have forced the two parties to state their positions clearly.

Let's take a look at who's defending the Confederacy and who isn't.

In my home state of Tennessee, Governor Bill Lee just signed a proclamation honoring Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Yes, state law required it, but Republicans control the state legislature and could repeal it today if they so desired. tennessean.com/story/news/pol…

In Georgia, Democratic Governor Roy Barnes removed the Confederate emblem from the state flag in 2001.

Republican Sonny Perdue, now Trump's Secretary of Agriculture, capitalized on the backlash, campaigned on holding a referendum on the flag change, and won.

In Mississippi, the Confederate emblem is still on the state flag, despite calls from Democrats to remove it.

The polls from 2015 make the partisan lines clear -- about two thirds of Democrats want the Confederate symbol removed, three quarters of Republicans want it preserved.

In South Carolina, Republican Governor Nikki Haley responded to the Charleston massacre by calling for the removal of the Confederate flag at the Capitol.

She succeeded, but the only resistance came from the GOP.

Only 20 state reps voted to preserve the flag: all Republicans.

In North Carolina, Republicans unanimously backed a 2015 law that forbade localities from removing Confederate monuments and Republican Governor Pat McCrory signed it into law.

The new governor, Democrat Roy Cooper, declared his opposition and wants to repeal it.

In Virginia, Confederate monuments were a big issue in the 2017 gubernatorial election. Democrat Ralph Northam called for their removal, Republican Ed Gillespie wanted them preserved.

Democrats tried to repeal a state law defending the monuments, but were blocked by the VA GOP.

In Alabama, Republicans pushed through a similar state law to protect its Confederate monuments -- sponsored by Republican members in each house, signed into law by Republican Governor Kay Ivey.

Here's the vote from the state senate. See a pattern?

In Louisiana, Democratic Mayor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans and the Democratic members of the city council pushed to take down statues of Confederate generals.

The former governor, Republican Bobby Jindal, wanted to block them.

In Arkansas, Republican legislators tried to enact a similar monument protection bill this year. "Our heritage is under attack," said the Republican sponsor.

It passed the state senate on a party line vote (Republicans for it, Democrats against) but failed to pass the House.

In Texas, the same pattern -- Democrats in cities like Dallas wanted to remove Confederate memorials, but were blocked by a state law against it.

Two months ago, every single Republican in the state senate voted to keep the monuments; every Democrat voted to allow their removal.

As you can see, in every single state of the former Confederacy, Republicans are the ones working today to protect and preserve Confederate icons and imagery, while Democrats are working to remove them.

You don't have to be a historian -- "soi-disant" or real -- to see this.