Buzzflash links to the William Lind essay that California G.O.P. Vice Chairman Bill Back e-mailed to the party faithful. In the article, Lind imagines what would have happened if the Confederacy had won the Civil War.

Certainly Southerners would not be living under the iron rule of an all-powerful federal government, as we all do now. Northerners might not be, either; a Union defeat would have given states' rights a boost in both countries. The Tenth Amendment might still have the force of law even up north.

So at least part of North America would still stand for Western culture, Christianity and an appreciation of the differences between ladies and gentlemen. Decency might have taken its stand in Dixie, along with some other good things such as an appreciation for the merits of rural life.

Oh, and no Hitler or Communism, and no slavery either.

Plenty of inbred crackers like Lind and Back, though.