This is the vehicle Sen. Mark Maynard displayed on his Facebook post about driving to the Capitol.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As America soul searches about white supremacy and citizens debate the presence of Confederate monuments in public squares, a West Virginia state senator is asking his Facebook followers whether it’s a good idea to drive his General Lee-styled car to the state Capitol.

Senator Mark Maynard, a Republican whose district covers parts of Wayne, Mingo, McDowell and Mercer counties, also questions whether the central conflict of the Civil War was slavery.

Maynard, a Wayne County native and owner of Maynard’s Auto World, was first elected in 2014 when Republicans took the majority in the state Senate. He defeated incumbent Democratic Senator Truman Chafin, with 11,620 votes to 11,245 votes. Maynard only raised $750 for his campaign that year.

He’s the chairman of the Senate’s Enrolled Bills and Natural Resources committees. Maynard, 44, announced early this month that he plans to seek re-election. Maynard, who was co-chairman of Donald Trump’s West Virginia campaign team, was chosen to speak onstage prior to President Trump’s appearance in Huntington this month, praising the president and introducing other speakers.

“I will continue to fight for moral values, smaller government, fiscal responsibility, and attracting new businesses and opportunities for the state of West Virginia,” Maynard stated in announcing his re-election intention.

Early this year, Maynard was the subject of a New York Times article, “Road Trip to Trump’s Inauguration.” That article in which Maynard accompanies a newspaper correspondent to the inauguration, also delves into a discussion of the Confederacy, sparked by Maynard’s mention of his General Lee.

West Virginia was created out of the Civil War, splitting with Virginia and siding with the Union. In recent days, debate has flared up again over a Stonewall Jackson statue outside the state Capitol. Jackson, a Confederate general, was born in Clarksburg, Harrison County, and his name is on a variety of West Virginia institutions.

This morning, Maynard didn’t initially answer the phone at the number listed as his home. A woman who did answer was told about the topic’s relation to the Confederacy and said, “Oh, gosh, I’ll be sure to tell him to be careful with what he says.”

Maynard put up his Facebook post just before midnight Friday, referencing the “Dukes of Hazard” television program of the 1970s, which popularized the story of two cousins who owned a Confederate-flag styled vehicle called The General Lee. Its horn played “Dixie’s Land.”

“I want to ask all of you a question,” Maynard wrote. “I’ve meant to drive my General to the Capitol ever since l was elected, l just never made time for it. It is the most fun car l’ve ever driven, strangers wave, yell ‘blow the horn’ and always ask if the doors are welded.

“Then after the church shootings and the controversy over the flag, and South Carolina Senators voting to take it down, l couldnt believe it. My excuse for them was they were out of touch with reality and didnt know the true meaning of the flag, its always interested me.”

Maynard goes on to say he was intrigued by the rebel flag when he was growing up.

“As a kid l would see it around, especially at Myrtle Beach, it was everywhere. So my interpretation of what the flag means is- l’m a good ol’ boy, l like the south, l dont like for anyone to tell me what to do, and l like to raise cain. So after the terrible senseless church shooting and the supposed terrible flag that l had looked up to as a symbol of just being a southern boy, never once thought of it as racist to me,” he wrote on the Facebook post.

Maynard then continues to write that he read up on the Civil War and concluded that its central conflict was not slavery. He says the Confederate states wanted to secede peacefully but that President Lincoln intervened because the country couldn’t afford to lose the tax base of the South.

“So l thought l better read up on history,” he wrote. “I had a super intelligent friend tell me the victors write the history of a war. From what l have read, the 13 southern States wanted to peaceably succeed due to an exorbitant amount of tax they were sending to the federal government with little yield. So they decided they could do more with their own tax money. When president Lincoln heard this, he said we cannot lose the tax revenue from the southern states, we will have to send an army down to over take them.

“I’ve read the South really didnt have an army and had to assemble one. You know the result. I have read it had nothing to do with slavery and that was the twist the north put on it for sympathy. I read the north had slaves and sold them to the south because financially it cost less for them to hire European immigrants, and let them provide their own food shelter and clothing. But some in the north even high up officials in the union still had slaves, even after the war. I also read that abraham lincoln was planing to ship the slaves to the jungle central america, but he was assassinated before he had the chance.”

Maynard says he asked an African-American friend about his conclusions and got confirmation of their central truth.

” I have an african american friend l went to after charlottsville, and asked what he thought, he said its not what the flag meant, its what the hate groups are trying to make it mean.”

Legislative interim meetings begin Sunday. There is also a Black Lives Matter rally set Sunday at the Capitol.

Maynard again asks his Facebook followers if it’s wise for him to drive the Confederate flag vehicle to the meetings.

“I dont know, just trying to sort it all out in my head. So all summer, l was planning on driving my general to the capitol for interims and then charlottsville happened. I don’t want to seem insensitive, but the flag still means the same thing it meant to me 20 years ago. I wouldnt be driving it as an ‘in your face’ statement to anyone, it represents a very special part of my life.”

His post includes a link to a YouTube video from “The Dukes of Hazard.” It’s called “Uncle Jesse explains prejudice.” Maynard continues to say he was inspired by the program that aired on CBS from January 26, 1979, to February 8, 1985.

“The dukes came out on primetime when the class of 90 was in the second grade, the perfect age for a show like that. Uncle Jessie taught morals, prayed before they eat, bo and luke and daisy said yes ma’am and no ma’am, and uncle jessie taught the boys right from wrong, gave any extra money to charity, and bo and luke had an african american buddy that drove a 69 camaro. So my question is, should l drive my general to the capitol?”

Partway through Saturday morning, Maynard’s post had gotten more than 150 likes, 96 comments and 12 shares.

Comments included:

“You need to be careful, but I know how you feel, I love the old cars abd would do it if I felt the need.”

“Yes ! This is part of who you are. Your passion is cars and this one is included no matter the reason. Everyone is offended by something, that doesn’t mean it has to define your life.”

“Mark I wish every person in the United States would take their time and read this post I’m very proud to be a good old boy and I have no intention on changing well said my friend.”