This is in response to the column by Bill Shipp in The Covington News "Advice for the GOP."

 I have a question for you Bill Shipp — if Martin does not "look the part of a Deep South senator" and needs to "try dyeing (his) hair white and say something really nasty about Taco Bell" are you saying that people in Georgia who are Republicans and conservative who chose not to vote for a liberal candidate (regardless of their color) that we are racist? What color is your hair Mr. Shipp?

 The Republican party is the party of Lincoln, and during the Democratic primary it was not the Republicans that I watched throw racist and sexist comments back and forth like a hot potato and yet I do not call all Democrats racist and/or sexist and I will not because they are not; they are individuals just as we are all individuals. I am sick and tired of columnists, pundits and others branding the GOP as racist.

 Was it the GOP that pelted Michael Steele with Oreo cookies, and was it the GOP that distorted his picture on far left wing blogs in a manner that was very racist? Michael Steele had his credit report hacked into by a high ranking official at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and, thankfully, justice was served and the person who was caught linked to this served jail time. The DSCC’s slogan is "committed to electing a Democratic senate," proving they will do anything to elect a Democratic senate such as telling complete lies about the Fair Tax (in this very race that you are speaking about), hacking into Michael Steele’s credit report during his run for senate and other not so honorable acts.

 Michael Steele is my first choice to be the next RNC chairman, and, guess what Mr. Shipp, I am from the South, and guess what else, it has nothing to do with Mr. Steele’s color. I think Michael Steele is the best choice because of his vision for the GOP. Michael Steele understands what Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin understand — the Joe the Plumbers, Pam the antique shop owners and others. I hope Michael Steele considers bringing in his competition in this run for RNC chairman to work with him to achieve the goals set forth by each of them. Chip Saltsman (Huckabee campaign) who was a technological genius in that campaign, and Saul Anuzis have some great ideas. If they follow their goals and the goals set forth in http://rebuildtheparty.com/ the GOP will see success in 2010.

 I live my life by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." My son is the same color as President-elect Obama. Color has never been a part of my support for conservatism and the Republican Party. One has nothing to do with the other. I have never witnessed the GOP be racist. Have you? If so, give examples please.

 I have another question for you Mr. Shipp — why did Gov. Mike Huckabee get the Southern vote in Arkansas from 48 percent of the African-American vote when the state had mostly Democrats in the government at that time? Was it because he had white hair and looked the stereotyped part that you envision? No, he does not have white hair or fit your description. Perhaps it was the fact that Mike Huckabee did not wait until October or November to ask certain "voter demographic groups" to vote for him. Mike Huckabee said the reason he received such a high percentage of the African-American votes was because of the fact that he worked hard for all of the people in Arkansas all of the time. Huckabee was governor to Democrats, Republicans and independents.Huckabee was governor to African-Americans, Caucasians, Latinos and others.A great example of what Mike Huckabee said he did for the African-American community was that as governor a certain amount of money was allocated to the state’s health care system, and what he worked to get done was more money allocated to diabetes and hypertension for African-Americans because they had a higher incidence statistically than some other conditions, instead of just sending out equal amounts of the money to each disease. Does that sound like a racist Republican in the "Old South" as you describe it? I think not.

 Mr. Shipp you speak about a certain percentage of "whites in the South" plus "a few empty Western" states voting for Obama in less of a percentage than other parts of the country. Have you interviewed each and every one of those people? Did they tell you their vote was based on color? I can personally tell you that my vote had nothing to do with color and was based on the fact that McCain was less liberal than Obama. John McCain was not my first choice, but he got the fact that "spreading the wealth around" was not a good idea and that raising taxes on those who are employers (make the jobs) would only result in those who work for those employers (the employees) losing their jobs. This message was not explained as clearly as I wish it would have been. Sarah Palin, I believe, did the best job in trying to get this message out, and if she had been on her own and able to speak freely, the message would have gotten out there better.

 President-elect Obama is a very smart man and ran as a fiscal conservative saying he is going to lower taxes for 95 percent of working Americans and stuck with his message. I do hope that President-elect Obama does a great job for our nation’s sake and future generations’ sake, but raising taxes on our bosses will only result in more job loss, and I hope he does not follow through that plan during these troubling economic times. That Mr. Shipp is why I did not vote for Barack Obama. I was attacked by some of my friends with because I would not vote for Obama because he is the same color as my son, but again I follow The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s wise words. I will never vote for someone because of their color. I think no matter which way it goes voting for someone based on their color or appearance is wrong. I do, however, understand that older African-American people who lived through horrible times in our past (which as you pointed out in your article, was in the hands of the Democratic party/politicians) do. I understand why they voted for Barack Obama and I am sure that color was a factor for them because that was a moment that I am sure was surreal for them. I thankfully am in the generation that never had to endure the horrible times for African Americans that I have read about. I was born after those times, and even when I have witnessed some racism from both black people and white people, it must be nothing in comparison to those who physically and mentally went through those times. I guess my generation is a part of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream — thank goodness.

 I feel that your article was very irresponsible in trying to evoke "white guilt" to gain votes for Martin? Here is a unique idea, how about voting for Chambliss or Martin based on the issues. The issue that was a deal-breaker for Martin for me was when he teamed up with the DSCC and chose to lie about the Fair Tax in order to try and gain votes. To me that was a very dishonorable action and showed Jim Martin’s character or the lack thereof. I have not agreed with everything Chambliss has done (bailout, amnesty, gang of 10), but he at least has been honest and not tried to lie just to get elected, unlike Martin and his friends at the DSCC.