Northam reminds me of another Southern politician with a checkered past
In the early 1940s, this politician formed a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in Sophia, WV, with 150 members. He was unanimously elected to the top office in that chapter.
In 1944, he wrote to a Mississippi senator: "I shall never fight in the armed forces with a negro by my side ... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds."
In 1946, he wrote to a Grand Wizard of the Klan, "The Klan is needed today as never before, and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia and in every state in the nation."
In 1952, he announced, "After about a year, I became disinterested, quit paying my dues, and dropped my membership in the organization. During the nine years that have followed, I have never been interested in the Klan."
In 1997, he told an interviewer, "Be sure you avoid the Ku Klux Klan. Don't get that albatross around your neck. Once you've made that mistake, you inhibit your operations in the political arena."
His last autobiography explains he joined the Klan because he "was sorely afflicted with tunnel vision—a jejune and immature outlook—seeing only what I wanted to see because I thought the Klan could provide an outlet for my talents and ambitions."
In 2005: "I know now I was wrong. Intolerance had no place in America. I apologized a thousand times ... and I don't mind apologizing over and over again. I can't erase what happened."
Yes, we're talking about Robert Byrd - who eventually earned a 100-percent rating from the NAACP and became a very strong supporter of civil rights.
High school is where you're supposed to be an idiot. Is it possible Northam has grown up and repudiated his racism?
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