| 'Racing'
for the Governor's Mansion in Mississippi by
C.W. Roberson This
is about all those Mississippi politicians of today and yesteryear who attend
rallies put on by organizations promoting racism, accept money and/or support
from these organizations, and allow themselves to be used to legitimize said organizations. There
was a time in the past when politicians felt they had to have the support (or
at the very least, not have the enmity) of racist groups if they wanted to be
elected in Mississippi. Few blacks had the vote and the minority of whites who
hadn’t been brainwashed into believing in the politics of race were afraid
to go against them either. Things
have changed (or have they?)
In recent years, a number of Mississippi
politicos have gotten in hot water when their activities with organizations like
the Council of Conservative Citizens were revealed publicly, yet, only four years
ago, the CofCC claimed to have 34 members in the Mississippi state legislature,
5,000 members in Mississippi and 15,000 members nationwide. I might guess that
those numbers are inflated, but I have no way of knowing for sure. So,
What is The CofCC?
The CofCC (Council of Conservative Citizens)
has proved to be a persistent and omnipresent group that was founded by several
former members of the now-defunct Citizens Councils of America, better known in
some circles as the white collar klan. The CofCC web page that is up while I am
writing this (October 14, 2003) has a link on the front page to an article entitled
“In Defense of Racism," and it is just that (although the author is arguing
that it's the rest of us who are racist). It contains at least one backup reference
link to the Stormfront site (a violent white supremacist group). A fairly complete
and factual rundown on the background of the CofCC can be found on this site (minus
the rhetoric found on some others I pulled up): http://www.newcomm.org/bdi/Backgrounders/CofCC/index.htm
.
Here is another interesting article the Washington Post printed on
them: Controversial
Group Has Ties to Both Parties in South . Long
before Trent Lott’s Strom Thurmond problem, he had a CofCC problem. This
is how it came down then, according to the Institute for the Study of Institutional
Racism: ( http://www.ferris.edu/isar/Institut/CCC/disavow.htm
): [[He
initially denied any "firsthand knowledge" of the group's agenda and added through
his spokesman that he didn't consider himself a member (Lott's uncle says he paid
his nephew's dues). A week later, Lott's office was told of a 1992 CCC newsletter
that pictured the senator delivering a speech to the group's national board in
Greenwood, Miss.: "The people in this room stand for the right principles and
the right philosophy." At
that point, Lott renounced the group but continued to decline interviews on the
subject. The group claims 15,000 members nationwide and its largest following
is in Lott's home state. Lott had his spokesman explain that he wasn't aware of
the CCC's views on white supremacy, that he deplored those views and that he wouldn't
have anything to do with the group now or forever more. In January, Lott put out
a two-sentence statement saying that use of his name by the CCC "is not only unauthorized
-- it's wrong." Recently he sent the Anti-Defamation League a letter of further
clarification: "I
think of these matters in personal, not political, terms. I could never support
-- or seek support from -- a group that disdained or demeaned my friends, my neighbors,
my staffers, or my constituents because of their race or religion. I grew up in
a home where you didn't treat people that way, and you didn't stand with anyone
foolish or cruel enough to do so." Receiving
CCC leaders in his office, the letter continued, was an innocent act. "I have
always made a point of seeing, however briefly, as many of my home-state visitors
to Washington as possible. . . . It's just not possible to research the backgrounds
of all these folks, and I don't think anyone would want me to." ]] Georgia
Senator Bob Barr was a speaker for the CofCC as well, and received the same spate
of bad publicity that Lott did. Ex-Governor
Kirk Fordice found time to speak at CofCC functions (between on-camera temper
tantrums, efforts to publicly end his 44-year marriage to wife Pat, and other
even more memorable but less mentionable public embarrassments) . He not only
spoke at their functions, but defended the CofCC and gave no sign of regret over
his ties with them. With the infamous Fordice temper and runaway mouth, perhaps
he just painted himself in a corner his pride wouldn’t allow him to leave.
Or he sincerely believes they should be defended. Second
Thoughts
In
the year 2003, you would think that, if nothing else, the experiences of the last
5 years or so would make the political crowd a little more cautious about groups
which have netted other politicos so much bad publicity (and at least helped bring
the fall from power of no less a personage than the former Senate Majority Leader,
Trent Lott). Think
again. A check of the CofCC
site right now shows a smiling Haley Barbour (“L-R: Chip Reynolds, State
Senator Bucky Huggins, Ray Martin, GOP gubernatorial nominee Haley Barbour, John
Thompson, and Black Hawk Rally emcee and C of CC Field Director Bill Lord isright”)
[sic], just inches above the link to the article entitled “In Defense of
Racism” (the article which has the link to Stormfront)..
Just in case they take it down, I did a screen shot (and reduced it so it wouldn't
take so long to load. Here it is: Screenshot According
to the Clarion-Ledger (
http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0310/01/m03.html ), when Barbour was asked
about it, he only said “he doesn't know anything about the council.”
That’s
it? No expression of outrage that they would be using his picture, no questions
about who they are (if he truly doesn’t know, why isn't he curious)? No
denouncement? Trent Lott had enough sense to denounce them once he was outed.
Back
to the Future?
Has this sort of thing become so accepted again that there is no need to even
go through the motions, however insincere? Is there to be no public shame expressed
for this sort of sorry behavior? I’ve read somewhere (and I can’t
find the reference now) that even some African American politicians attend the
CofCC rallies. What does that say about their integrity? It
appears to me, in my humble status as a plain “citizen” with no power
or money, (but hopefully, half a wit) that anyone who appears at a Council of
Conservative Citizen’s rally (much less speaks there) has to know who they
are with. If they claim not to know (as have both Lott and Barbour), I can only
think of three plausible reasons:
1. They’re
lying and either agree with the CofCC views, or are willing to condone the CofCC
2. They’re too lazy to find out what kind
of organization the CofCC is, even with it spelled out on their website; or
3. They’re too dimwitted to figure out what
the CofCC believes and stands for (our elected officials can read, can’t
they?).
Could there be any other plausible explanation for their appearance
at a CofCC rally, much less for speaking there? An even better question is, does
this state need any elected officials who can't do any better than that?
No-Vote List
I find this whole situation
distasteful and repugnant. For that reason, I’ve been trying to track down
any politician who is known to attend and/or speak at CofCC functions, and I can't
see that culture, color, religion or any other persuasion matters. I want to put
them on my own personal “no-vote” list, and keep them here, with the
light shining on what they are doing, just in case the rest of the state agrees
with me.
I have
a list of politicians whose names I have been able to dig up so far off various
CofCC materials as having been to and spoken at a CofCC function. I know the list
is very incomplete, but I hope some of you will help me out on it: List
of Politicians
I
want to give these guys some exposure. If they can be embarrassed enough to stop
giving this (or any other) race-baiting organization their tacit approval by showing
up at their rally, having their picture made with them, and their names listed
on their website and/or literature, something good has been accomplished. Having
“respectable” names show up lends legitimacy to these groups with
the general public, who may truly not know "what they are about.” Information
Requested
If you know of any other active politicians who have
attended and/or given speeches to groups that defend racism, and you can show
me some evidence of their attendance, please email me and let’s make it
public. Comments
I welcome your comments, whether you love my views or hate them, agree or disagree.
If your comments are not anonymous, I’ll print them (and withhold your name,
if you wish, if I can verify that it’s from a legitimate adult Mississippian).
I will NOT print responses from unidentified sources. I may not print responses
from juveniles or out-of-state responders, unless I find them particularly meritorious,
humorous, or they just strike my fancy. I reserve the right to edit particularly
offensive language, at my own discretion. Comments | 
