Sons of Confederate Veterans' Stewart: Plates Commemorating KKK Leader Not About Slavery
After Governor Haley Barbour refused to denounce the proposed Mississippi license plates commemorating a former KKK leader and Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, John King decided to bring in Sons of Confederate Veterans' Greg Stewart to defend his group's effort. And of course Mr. Stewart said this has absolutely nothing to do with slavery, or the Klan or racism. They're just wanting to honor this former Klan leader because of his military record in the Confederate Army.
That might be a little easier to swallow were it not for his group's recent history. David Neiwert wrote this about them after he found out that Joe "You Lie!" Wilson was a member -- Obama heckler Joe Wilson a member of neo-Confederate SCV, fought to keep Dixie flag flying in South Carolina:
Looking into the background of Rep. Joe Wilson, R-South Carolina, after his heckling of President Obama last night, I came across this:
Joe also has been a member of the Columbia World Affairs Council, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Sinclair Lodge 154, Jamil Temple, Woodmen of the World, Sons of Confederate Veterans, ....
This is an organization that, as the SPLC has detailed assiduously, has been taken over in the past decade by radical neo-Confederates who favor secession and defend slavery as a benign institution. Leading the takeover is a radical racist named Kirk Lyons, who's been an important legal figure on the far right for some years.* [More below]
Full transcript via CNN below the fold.
