Ward Connerly: Traitor to his Own Kind...
I was about to turn off my PC when I came across this crap:
Ward Connerly, the California man leading a ballot measure to end most affirmative action in Michigan, accepts Ku Klux Klan support for his position in a video clip posted this week on the Internet.
I thought it was a joke, but sadly it wasn't.
Story courtesy of The Detriot News.
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KKK backing welcomed
Prop 2 leader says he'll take support wherever he can get it to end affirmative action.
Ronald J. Hansen / The Detroit News
Ward Connerly, the California man leading a ballot measure to end most affirmative action in Michigan, accepts Ku Klux Klan support for his position in a video clip posted this week on the Internet.
Connerly on Friday defended his remark in a statement, saying he accepts support for banning affirmative action wherever he finds it. He said he does not support hateful activities. But opponents of Connerly's Proposal 2 immediately seized on the clip as a sign that it would satisfy hate groups, not ensure equality.
In the 39-second clip posted on YouTube.com, Mark Bernstein of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission says Connerly's group has no support from notable civil rights groups.
"In fact just to illustrate how extreme and radical this group is," Bernstein says, "the only large organization that's endorsed the MCRI is the Ku Klux Klan."
Then the clip cuts to Connerly.
"If the Ku Klux Klan thinks that equality is right, God bless them," Connerly says.
"Thank them for finally reaching the point where logic and reason are being applied, instead of hate."
The clip is taken from an interview for the forthcoming video "Arise: The Battle Over Affirmative Action" by Firelight Media, which has examined and advocated for civil rights in its earlier works. Firelight, which operates in New York and California, said it didn't know how the clip was obtained.
"Every day I average about 12 media interviews," Connerly said in a statement. "During each of these interviews, my message stays the same. Equality before the law should not only be the ideal but the practice of our government regardless of race. "Throughout my life I have made absolutely clear my disdain for the KKK. However, like all Americans, I hope that this group will move beyond its ugly history and agree that equality before the law is the ideal. If they or any group accepts equality for all people, I will be the first to welcome them."
David Waymire, a spokesman for One United Michigan, which supports affirmative action and opposes Proposal 2, doesn't accept Connerly's explanation of his statement. "Do you think anybody really believes the Ku Klux Klan supports equal rights?" Waymire said. "The Klan deserves to be rejected at every turn, not embraced. They have been playing the race card from Day One."
The video clip is only the latest incident linking Connerly or his group, the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, to racial extremists.
Last month, the Grand Rapids Press reported about a photo showing Connerly shaking hands with John Raterink, chairman of the Michigan Council of Conservative Citizens, which is considered a white separatist group.
Connerly said he didn't know Raterink's background when the picture was taken.
"I have nothing but contempt for separatist groups based on race that have done so much to hurt black people throughout American history. Proposal 2 is about equality and fairness, not separation and preferences," he said in his statement.
You can reach Ronald J. Hansen at (313) 222-2019 or rhansen@detnews.com.
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For futher proof, here's "Uncle" Ward in his OWN WORDS.
Ward Connerly, the California man leading a ballot measure to end most affirmative action in Michigan, accepts Ku Klux Klan support for his position in a video clip posted this week on the Internet.
I thought it was a joke, but sadly it wasn't.
Story courtesy of The Detriot News.
=========
KKK backing welcomed
Prop 2 leader says he'll take support wherever he can get it to end affirmative action.
Ronald J. Hansen / The Detroit News
Ward Connerly, the California man leading a ballot measure to end most affirmative action in Michigan, accepts Ku Klux Klan support for his position in a video clip posted this week on the Internet.
Connerly on Friday defended his remark in a statement, saying he accepts support for banning affirmative action wherever he finds it. He said he does not support hateful activities. But opponents of Connerly's Proposal 2 immediately seized on the clip as a sign that it would satisfy hate groups, not ensure equality.
In the 39-second clip posted on YouTube.com, Mark Bernstein of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission says Connerly's group has no support from notable civil rights groups.
"In fact just to illustrate how extreme and radical this group is," Bernstein says, "the only large organization that's endorsed the MCRI is the Ku Klux Klan."
Then the clip cuts to Connerly.
"If the Ku Klux Klan thinks that equality is right, God bless them," Connerly says.
"Thank them for finally reaching the point where logic and reason are being applied, instead of hate."
The clip is taken from an interview for the forthcoming video "Arise: The Battle Over Affirmative Action" by Firelight Media, which has examined and advocated for civil rights in its earlier works. Firelight, which operates in New York and California, said it didn't know how the clip was obtained.
"Every day I average about 12 media interviews," Connerly said in a statement. "During each of these interviews, my message stays the same. Equality before the law should not only be the ideal but the practice of our government regardless of race. "Throughout my life I have made absolutely clear my disdain for the KKK. However, like all Americans, I hope that this group will move beyond its ugly history and agree that equality before the law is the ideal. If they or any group accepts equality for all people, I will be the first to welcome them."
David Waymire, a spokesman for One United Michigan, which supports affirmative action and opposes Proposal 2, doesn't accept Connerly's explanation of his statement. "Do you think anybody really believes the Ku Klux Klan supports equal rights?" Waymire said. "The Klan deserves to be rejected at every turn, not embraced. They have been playing the race card from Day One."
The video clip is only the latest incident linking Connerly or his group, the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, to racial extremists.
Last month, the Grand Rapids Press reported about a photo showing Connerly shaking hands with John Raterink, chairman of the Michigan Council of Conservative Citizens, which is considered a white separatist group.
Connerly said he didn't know Raterink's background when the picture was taken.
"I have nothing but contempt for separatist groups based on race that have done so much to hurt black people throughout American history. Proposal 2 is about equality and fairness, not separation and preferences," he said in his statement.
You can reach Ronald J. Hansen at (313) 222-2019 or rhansen@detnews.com.
=========
For futher proof, here's "Uncle" Ward in his OWN WORDS.
posted by Ken B. at 2:53 AM
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