ThinkProgress noted this week that Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) had quoted a Klu Klux Klan Grand Wizard on the floor of the House. Not everyone found this offensive. A local Texas television station featured an interesting defense of Poe from Rice University Professor Bob Stein:
“It’ll have a two-day run,” Rice Professor Bob Stein said. Stein didn’t think quoting a racist confederate general, even if he was a KKK leader, would kick up much dust.
A nice phrase, but one that appeared in one Web site after another along with whole paragraphs of copy — a quick indication that while they view their sites as the moon and stars over Washington they are mostly products of cut and paste.
“I’ve almost quit reading blogs,” Stein said. [...]
Politically, quoting a Ku Klux Klan leader opens the door for trouble. But stein has known Rep. Poe for years. “He’s no more a racist than any white male,” Stein said.
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