Can you see what’s wrong with this picture?

Can you see what’s wrong with this picture?

by digby

This is clipped from the Memeorandum site:

Yes, it is a bit disconcerting to see a picture of staunch segregationist Strom Thurmond next to a story about about Congressman John Conyers. In fact it’s downright startling.

However, as weird it looks there at the aggregation site, on the original story it comes up in a slide show about write-in candidates, which is probably how John Conyers will end up running in the election if this ruling holds up. So it’s actually quite a clever juxtaposition — the right wingers are going to scream about voter fraud and what have you, so it’s nice that someone thought to bring up a little history:

In September 1954, incumbent U.S. Senator Burnet R. Maybank died while running unopposed for re-election. A replacement candidate from a rival faction of the Democratic Party was selected by party leaders so Thurmond, the former governor and 1948 States Rights Party presidential candidate, ran as a write-in and served in the Senate until 2003.

If write in candidacies are good enough for long time white supremacist office holders, they’re good enough for long time African American office holders as well.

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