WHO PLACED BRUCE SHINE IN CHARGE OF CALLING ME A RACIST?

First off, let me say that I fully understand that D. Bruce Shine is a very well-known and respected attorney and that he was recently nominated for a judgeship on the Tennessee State Supreme Court. Major accomplishments in anyone's life. What really burns me is how does he feel qualified to paint me and other voters as racists. Who put Mr. Shine in charge of judging the 'non-conforming voters.' His lament for this area's election results doesn't show his concern , it seems to show his shame of people in this region. What I don't understand is why he felt compelled to share the N.Y. Times analysis that this part of the country is "poorer, less educated and whiter." This leads him to conclude that our voting patterns say to America we are less educated, overly white, and in the minds of many, racist. I did not vote for Barack Obama for many, many reasons; none of which was because of his skin color. I know Mr. Shine began his recent column expressing concern about our areas economic future because of our voting habits. However he is just taking a different angle on the same refrain we have been hearing from the national media and all the extreme wacko fringe socialist liberals accusing anyone of being a racist that did not vote for Obama. I would have no reservations about voting for an African-American, Latino or person of any ethnic background if that person shares my political beliefs. Although they have not to this point run for a national office, based on my current knowledge of them, I think I could easily support either former Maryland LT. Gov. Michael Steele or current Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. Take notice that neither are white.
Because I did not vote for Barack Obama maybe you feel like you can call me many things; poor, less educated, rural and isolated, white, less exposed to diversity. I certainly did grow up as the old saying goes, dirt poor. As a child my Mom and Dad (A W.W. II Vet.) were tenant farmers and our family spent several years living in shacks as we worked other peoples farms. We grew up without running water, T.V., a telephone and many times without a vehicle to drive. Thank God they didn't listen to Lyndon B. Johnson and his Great Society tell them how poor , ignorant and downtrodden they were. Instead, they always accepted responsibility for where life had led them and never told my brother, sister and I that the only way to survive was to depend on a government handout. In their own way they taught us to trust God first and foremost and to make our own decisions and to live with the consequences. As an adult I got a college education, worked for one of the largest corporations in the world for over 20 years, 11 of those years in management, and was exposed to diversity. I chose to live in these Appalachian Mountains because this is home and not because I am racist. Finally , let me say in a nice way, I don't give a rat's rear-end what corporate America thinks about us. I have been inside several large corporations in my lifetime and you can easily see more filth, cheating and back-stabbing than you will ever see in dealing with people in our poor, white and less educated part of the South. And last but not least, I am tired of hearing about how our country's standing needs to be elevated with the rest of the world. The United States of America has shown more compassion and helped people all over the world because it was the right thing to do, not to have our standing elevated. We have fed, clothed, housed, provided drinking water, medical care and rescued entire nations from Nazism, dictators and butchers. In turn, today most of these countries hate us. Personally I think it a deep-rooted envy. As far as I'm concerned, the United States of America needs to answer to no one but God, and we aren't doing a very good job of that.