State Treasurer and candidate for Governor Richard Moore wants to dump Governor Charles Aycock’s name from the Democrats Annual Vance-Aycock Dinner.

Governor Aycock (1900-04) is decidedly politically incorrect. He was a leader of the ‘red-shirt’ campaigns that disenfranchised black voters. But he was also the first in a long line of North Carolina’s education governors – a legacy Democrats still proudly embrace.

If Democrats – like Mr. Moore – are going to dump Charles Aycock why not dump Zeb Vance too. After all, Vance was governor during the Civil War. Which surely makes him as politically incorrect as Aycock.

And, who should Democrats name their dinner after? Terry Sanford? Or Sam Ervin?

Well, once upon a time the late Governor-Senator Terry Sanford was a defender of segregation. And Sam Ervin opposed every one of the landmark Civil Rights Bills in the 1960’s.

How about Thomas Jefferson. Or. Andrew Jackson. Whoops. They owned slaves too.

Moore suggests Harvey Gantt and Liston Ramsey – the mountain wheeler-dealer who was House Speaker as long as Jim Black. No one can criticize Harvey Gantt on race. But does the Gantt-Ramsey Dinner really sound as illustrious as the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner?

The point here’s simple: If we’re going to start ostracizing our ancestors for their clay feet, pretty soon we’ll have no one left to honor at all. So, maybe, it would be wiser to accept the past warts and all rather than getting holier-than-thou about it.

The second point’s simpler still: Moore’s just pandering to African-Americans to one up Beverly Perdue in the Democratic primary. There’s nothing really wrong with that – after all they’ve been through African Americans probably find a little pandering a nice change. Except, it’s only pandering. Vilifying Charles Aycock’s a cheap way to win votes. If Mr. Moore really wants to win African-American votes, maybe, he should join Black leaders who oppose the lottery. Of course, that would mean taking a politically unpopular stand. There’s less risk attacking a long dead Governor. The question is: Where’s the beef?

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