Wow
by tristero
Wow. I’m posting because it is one of the starkest, most chilling examples I know of how close to the mainstream violent, racist extremism has once again come in America. And it is entirely due to the active courtship and encouragement of bottom feeders from the extreme right by some of the Republican Party’s most visible supporters – people the media treat as moderate, thoughtful people. This example features only two of the many who have been tickling the fascist dragon and hoping he doesn’t entirely wake up:
Ward Connerly, the California man leading a ballot measure to end most affirmative action in Michigan, accepts Ku Klux Klan support for his position in a video clip posted this week on the Internet…
“If the Ku Klux Klan thinks that equality is right, God bless them. Thank them for finally reaching the point where logic and reason are being applied instead of hate.”
Who, besides the Klan, also supports Ward Connerly in his efforts to end affirmative action in Michigan?
Ward Connerly is a California businessman and former member of the University of California Board of Regents. He propelled to victory the measures mandating colorblind government [translation into consensual English: anti-affirmative action measures] in California and Washington state.
With Gratz as its executive director, and Connerly lending hard-earned expertise, MCRI collected 508,000 signatures, more than ever gathered for a Michigan initiative.
Who else is a supporter of Connerly’s initiative?
… a white woman rejected by the University of Michigan, Jennifer Gratz, teamed up with anti-preferences [translation into consensual English: anti-affirmative action] crusader Ward Connerly to take the question to the voters.
The Klan supports Connerly’s effort to eliminate affirmative action in Michigan. George Will supports Connerly’s effort to eliminate affirmative action in Michigan. Rich Lowry supports Connerly’s effort to eliminate affiirmative action in Michigan.
Does this mean that Will and Lowry are Klansmen in Republican drag?
It most certainly does not and I am very serious. Just as ACLU is not pro-pederast, Will and Lowry are not pro Klan. Nevertheless, Will and Lowry have – almost surely unwittingly – openly aligned themselves with a man who, for whatever twisted reason, actively courted and is now openly praising and working with one of the most sickeningly racist organizations this country has ever produced. It’s time for both of them to back off fast, and let Connerly court the Klan alone.
Thanks, Dave Neiwert, for collecting the information and links that I’ve posted. For those over here at Hullabaloo, if you’re not reading Orcinus, Dave’s blog, I really suggest you do. When Dave talks about the American extreme right, he does so from personal encounters and rock-solid research. He’s one of the Real Guys, as Zappa says, who knows exactly what he’s talking about.
One of our regular commenters here, Sara Robinson, is also posting at Orcinus now, and she’s done some terrific stuff. Even when what she says is something I disagree with, it’s cogent, passionate, and well-argued.
[Updated to correct the tone of one sentence which implied too close a relationship between the Klan and Will.]