In Alabama this year there is a woman running as a Republican for the state's Court of Civil Appeals. She made a few headlines a week or so ago when it turned out that her family had ties to the Klan. It was diaried by poliscizac
here.
But it was said that she should be judged on her own merits and not by her family's association.
Fair enough.
Turns out, however, that Ms. Willingham has a few ties of her own to a racist hate group.
A Republican appellate court candidate was recently photographed soliciting votes at a meeting of the right-wing Council of Conservative Citizens, considered a racist organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Terri Willingham Thomas, who is running for Position 3 on the Court of Civil Appeals, said she doesn't know anything about the organization and only attended the meeting to hear a history lesson on Robert E. Lee.
She said she thought the meeting was for the Sons of Confederate Veterans, but can't recall exactly how she heard of the gathering.
Ah, yes, that old memory thing. It's amazing how faulty one's memory can be.
She says she didn't know anything about the organization? I have spoken to quite a few organizations and clubs over the years and I always make it a point to at least know who the hell I'm talking to.
Besides, if you are going to a club in Alabama that is presenting a history lesson about Robert E. Lee, that should at least prick your skepticism.
Heidi Beirich, who helps track hate groups for the SPLC, said the National Republican Committee condemned the Council for its racist views in the late 1990s.
"Her own party has condemned this group," Beirich said. "It's been widely reported how racist this group is -- and I'm talking crude racism."
The Council is said to be the successor group to the old White Citizens Councils that sprang up after desegregation and established a number of segregated private schools in the South.
But the Council is rather aghast that it has been labeled a hate group.
Wilson, who donated $100 to Thomas' campaign this year, has said his organization is not a hate group but gets a bad reputation from groups like the SPLC.
"The Southern Poverty Law Center is the biggest hate group in the country," said Wilson, who also serves as the commander of Alabama Sons of Confederate Veterans.
Now, maybe I'm just different, but if I were running for office and a guy who runs the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Council of Conservative Citizens donated $100 to my campaign, I'm pretty sure I'd take the time to figure out who the hell he is and whether I really wanted his money.
And I sure as hell wouldn't make up stories about how I thought I was at a meeting to hear a history lesson.