Repurposing The Reverend
by digby
It seems certain now that Republicans actually believe their own revisionist history about Martin Luther King: they are squealing like stuck pigs about the labor rallies all over the country today commemorating his last speech on the day day he was assassinated as if it’s a blight on their conservative, pro-business hero’s memory. Either that or they are just jerks.
Here’s the ad that’s caused all these self-anointed King defenders to lose their minds:
“All we say to America is be true to what you said on paper..”
Seriously folks, he was in Memphis that day to support striking santitation workers, ferchristsake. You can say a lot of things about Martin Luther King but you just can’t say that he was an anti-union, free market, social conservative. If he were, you sure wouldn’t have known it by the fire-breathing hatred he inspired among the anti-union, free market social conservatives of the time.
Just for a little perspective, here’s a little reminder, from just a few years ago, about how the rightwingers used to look at this:
August 12, 1993 Dear Editor, Salt Lake City council’s announcement that they are renaming the main boulevard, 600 South, after Martin Luther King (Daily Herald, 8/11/93, p. B-3) is yet one more example of the dangerous trend to make a hero out of one of America’s most vociferous traitors. I am not expressing opinion; but fact; based on documented evidence that Martin Luther King was vigorously promoted by the Soviet-financed CPUSA (Communist Party of the USA) in order to foment a violent polarization of Americans along racial lines (divide and conquer). The subsequent raising of Martin Luther to ever more elevated hero status is only a follow-up of that initial motive. (I do not intend to address the lie that Communism is “dead,” other than to merely note that this particular case is yet one more evidence that the subversion of our beloved country is ongoing and alarmingly successful.) Here is a sample of the documented evidence of which I speak. I am referring to an essay by Evans-Raymond Pierre, a native black of New York City who earned a degree in political science and history at the University of Vermont. In it he quotes from a member (FBI plant) of the CPUSA who testified before a Senate Judiciary Committee in 1979 that “the [communist] cells that I was associated with in Cleveland were continually being asked to raise money for Martin Luther King’s activities and to support his movement…. While I was in the Communist Party, as a loyal American Negro, I knew Martin Luther King to be closely connected with the Communist Party….” Another example of M.L. King’s Communist support and ties documented by Pierre was his close association with Stanley David Levison, who “assisted King in organization matters and political strategy, wrote some of his speeches, and advised in hiring personnel to staff King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference.” At the time, Levison was “knowingly being used as a conduit for the Soviet funds” to the CPUSA, and also “assisted in managing the secret party coffers.” ‘Yet one more example of calling evil, good. Let’s see if we can’t convince the city council to reverse this decision. Anyone desiring to peruse further evidence of M.L. King’s close connections with the CPUSA is invited to request free (if you order within a month) reprints of Pierre’s essay from The New American, P.O. Box 8040, Appleton, WI 54913. (January 13, 1986.) Sincerely, Sterling D. Allan, Fountain Green, UT
and Brian Gibson, Provo, Utah
That’s MLK, there in front row.
It is a perverse sign of progress that they are now claiming him rather than turning him into a communist. But it is also a sign of their sick and twisted Manichean view of the world that one can only be a communist or a right wing conservative. Even though I know it’s probably better that they appropriate him rather than vilify him I confess that it makes me livid since I lived through the time they were calling him the most vile names in the world — and applauding his death.
Indeed, it was only a five years ago they made spectacles of themselves over Coretta Scott King’s funeral:
Here’s a sampling of their cute caption contest:
“I would like another roll with dinner please.”
“Two classy people sitting behind a pile of trash.”
Lowery: And yesim, we’s be black and we’s be proud. We’s for the gubmit but not Bush’s gubmit. Bush’s gubmit is against us black peoples…
W: “What’s that old saying, ‘Better to be thought a complete race baiting moron than open your mouth and remove all doubt.’”
“Psst…Laura, you sure that ain’t Looter Guy?”
47 posted on 02/07/2006 2:56:13 PM PST by Horatio Gates (Go Seah….uh…Mariners! Congrats to the Steelers. Well done.)Ok. It’s Freeperland. But here we have Red State, commonly thought of as the “thoughtful” right wing community. They aren’t quite as crude, to be sure. But they share many of the same impulses:
If the truth be told, it was an extortion scam to enrich themselves. Mrs. King carried on this tradition. Anytime you wanted to use anything that was MLK, Jr. you had to pay Mrs. King.
Don’t forget who the pupils were of this scam; Jesse Jackson, Joesph Lowery, and Hosea Williams. They practiced this extortion of Corporations all of their lives and some are still doing it.
So lets be honest, praise Mrs. King for the loss of a husband and who had to raise her children by herself, but don’t latch on to a myth and try to make it true.
Bush should take back New Orleans money and force these aholes to come begging for it.
I don’t know the makeup of the King funeral attendees but you can bet a large portion were high profile Dems with an even higher concentration of race hustling poverty pimps. It was their show and if they want to defile the King legacy with no-class antics, why shouldn’t it be on TV?
Anyone who didn’t find that, or the Wellstone funeral, offensive, lacks a sense of decorum. If the Afro-American community applauds this funeral, they will make a statement about no one but themselves. And that is just what that group did at the funeral.
Back during the Bush/NAACP speech flap, I thought Bush should have sent in a third-tier official to give a speech explaigning that Bush wasn’t going to cater specifically to them since he could win elections without their vote, and catering to them wouldn’t change their vote anyway.
What is worse political messages at a funeral about a great civil rights leader or people trying to turn those messages as something that the late “Queen” would find offensive.
He was Joseph Lowery, former head of the SCLC. One of the biggest extortinist organization in the country. They used the same tactics that Jesse Jackson uses to extrort money from Corporations. You pay or we picket.
Myth buster, these were pupils of MLK, Jr.
This is Al Sharpton to Howard Dean in 2004:
“Do you have a senior member of your cabinet that was black or brown?”
Dean did not, but apparently, we can take Sharpton’s cue and refer to all non-African dark-skinned people as “brown”…unless he meant Latinos only, in which case we must deploy “sienna” and “umber” in our earth-tone rainbow coalition.
Those who follow leaders like Dr, Lowry deserve to be marginalized.
Funny, but I recall that African-Americans are losing political clout in America, as the Hispanic population increases in size.
So, explain to me again why the NAACP and other “mainstream” African-American organizations should be accorded respect, if they refuse to be respectful– or even polite themselves?
That crowd looked to be heavily Afro-American, and with their response and their applause, they showed themselves to be the same–no class! Just like the Paul Wellstone funeral–the memories of many are going to be long.
This is a crowd that as Karl Rove said, is pre–9/11. Protect the country, forget it. Every chance they get they’ll just want their political ox gored, and their handouts increased.
blah … blah .. blah blah
It’s doubtful that either Coretta or MLK will be standing up for any reason … not anymore.Actually, I can’t wait for the unsealing of the secret FBI King files in 2027 to reveal the truth about MLK and his less than honorable life and legacy (thanks to a liberal judge and the King family they have bought time preventing their release under FOIA… hmm, you think they have something to hide?). In the mean time, the country remains held hostage to the unbalanced and intellectually dishonest legacy of this man and his family. Pardon me if I choose not to worship at their phony altar.
Also, I can see clearly why blacks just love the Democratic party for all its done for them in perpetuating their continued pride in their own sense of victimhood. Bravo!
I’ll try to work on my bad attitude.
In the meantime, I’m going to check out this AFSCME page with pictures of the rallies for inspiration.
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