There are rumors that Harding was a member, but given his record of supporting equal rights that is unlikely. There is a record of Harry Truman joining, but he was never active and there is evidence that his joining was nothing more than a pro forma requirement of being in politics in Missouri during the 1920s and 30s: he is on substantial record of objecting much of the Klan's ideology.
Sounds like he said "Keep America America" not "Keep America American" which has a totally different connotation. Don't get me wrong I think he's an asshole, but come on.
Truman almost did but Pendergast told him that the Klan was anti-Catholic and that was a huge problem for a Democrat at the time (and still is for that matter).
Geez, stop the s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g. If Obama looses, Romney will be lot easier to take than a Gingrich presidency. Newt is the one that will impose oppression on Americans, not Mitt.
@8 I have to agree with you. Though it would be interesting if Huntsman suddenly surged and starting to win primaries. If the GOP was still rational that would be the candidate who would blow Obama out of the water in November.
Watch the video. He says "Keep America America", not, "Keep America American." Both literally different and with a clearly different meaning (unless you want to play dumb).
Hate to break it to you, Dan, but as people have already pointed out, we've had multiple presidents already who were in the Klan. Woodrow Wilson even wrote a forward to Birth of a Nation extolling its virtues.
the gop is the gop. it doesn't matter who their candidates are. if they win, they will all govern the same way. stop deluding yourselves that one candidate is better or worse than the other. the party is what you are electing.
Surely the reason the mainstream media treats this type of accusation coming from the left with a yawn is that it's transparently obvious that liberals don't believe total nonsense, whereas conservatives are paint-chip-chewing nuts.
I don't think anyone is seriously concerned that Mitt is a Klansman. The point is that "kooky" allegations like these against Obama are treated as reasonable discourse.
Mitt is no more a Klansman than Obama is a Kenyan, but until people [and the MSM] laugh in the face of birthers, I call shenanigans.
@12, what exactly is the difference in meaning between those to phrases? I fail to see much of a difference. How exactly would you literally fail to keep America America, in the absence of an imperial threat? It's a definition of identity. And the implication is that Mitt's definition of America is what he wants to keep, which is exactly the same as saying Mitt's definition of American is what he wants to keep. The problem is the same: a chauvinistic definition of "American" meaning "People with whom Mitt Romney identifies", which is not a far departure from "People with whom the KKK identifies".
Much as I dislike Romney, I don't think your connection with slogans is enough to state that he's a Klansman. That's just sloppy journalism, stating something as a fact when all you have is a tenuous correlation.
From a paper that bills itself as "Seattle's Only Newspaper", I am surprised that the blog team isn't more careful adhering to journalistic standards. I see this kind of sloppy logical fallacy a lot here - ultimately your messages about social trends, politics, etc. woudl be better served by more accurate writing and fewer alarmist appeals to emotion. There's plenty to discredit Romney without resorting to this kind of thing.
I would be truly shocked if Mitt knew that he was repeating a Klan slogan. He'd be a terrible president, but I don't beleive for a second he's a Klansman
Oh please. If this makes Romney a Klansman then so are Dan Savage and myself for harsh and relenting criticism of the Roman Catholic Church - which was also a historical hallmark of the Klan's rhetoric.
Romney is more than enough of an assclown without resorting to this kind of Godwinning.
did you see that MSNBC has apologized
for the slanderous piece of shit Romney/KKK piece you vomited up on Slog?
Will you be apologizing?
Asshole.
>>>MSNBC has apologized to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign for airing a segment that connected Romney's use of the expression "Keep America American" to the Klu Klux Klan.
"During the 11AM hour on MSNBC, we reported on a blog item that compared a phrase used by the Romney campaign to one used by the KKK in the 1920s," Chris Matthews said on Wednesday. "It was irresponsible and incendiary of us to do this and showed an appalling lack of judgment. We apologize, we really do, to the Romney campaign."
Wilson
Harding (possibly)
Coolidge
Truman (though he left quickly)
wow.
You girls got waaaaay less than nuthin.....
Every time he hits 'send' he reveals what an Ignorant Fuck he is.
Yeah, plenty of Klansmen already have been President and
whoops!
its not the same slogan anyway.
Oh Shit.
(but what can we expect from a boy who gets ALL his "news" from Faggot Gossip Blogs?.....)
>>have to do a rewrite on the title of this post......
"Danny Show the World Just How Smart He Are"
Mitt is no more a Klansman than Obama is a Kenyan, but until people [and the MSM] laugh in the face of birthers, I call shenanigans.
From a paper that bills itself as "Seattle's Only Newspaper", I am surprised that the blog team isn't more careful adhering to journalistic standards. I see this kind of sloppy logical fallacy a lot here - ultimately your messages about social trends, politics, etc. woudl be better served by more accurate writing and fewer alarmist appeals to emotion. There's plenty to discredit Romney without resorting to this kind of thing.
Romney is more than enough of an assclown without resorting to this kind of Godwinning.
(I suspect this keyboard is working for the Klan.)
did you see that MSNBC has apologized
for the slanderous piece of shit Romney/KKK piece you vomited up on Slog?
Will you be apologizing?
Asshole.
>>>MSNBC has apologized to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign for airing a segment that connected Romney's use of the expression "Keep America American" to the Klu Klux Klan.
"During the 11AM hour on MSNBC, we reported on a blog item that compared a phrase used by the Romney campaign to one used by the KKK in the 1920s," Chris Matthews said on Wednesday. "It was irresponsible and incendiary of us to do this and showed an appalling lack of judgment. We apologize, we really do, to the Romney campaign."