We know how a true leader deals with hatemongers. Weve seen it.

[brer cat]

WAPO Opinion by Douglas Brinkley, professor of history at Rice University, CBS News Historian, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair.

Of all the many slimy things Donald Trump has done, his coddling of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke ranks among the most vile and degenerate.
snip
Trump’s tacit alliance with Duke made me yearn for the bravery of Jimmy Carter after he won the governorship in Georgia. At his inaugural address on Jan. 12, 1971, he boldly declared: “The time of racial segregation is over.” Many in the crowd gasped in disbelief. Carter also ordered that a portrait of the Rev.?Martin Luther King Jr. be hung in the Georgia State Capitol. These courageous acts encouraged Time magazine to put Carter’s portrait on the cover under the banner of “Dixie Whistles a Different Tune.” Carter had national ambitions and didn’t want to be contaminated by the bigotry of his predecessor, arch-segregationist Lester Maddox. But what made the “New South” moment of Carter’s inauguration so extraordinary was that Maddox was standing right behind him on the inaugural stand. Maddox had just become lieutenant governor, and the contrast could hardly have been more stark.
snip
By slapping Maddox down, Carter demonstrated how a true leader deals with hatemongers: crush them and render them powerless. That takes strength, something Trump doesn’t have. Carter didn’t kowtow to racists and he wouldn’t play dog-whistle games for their support. If Trump had an iota of Carter’s moral rectitude and personal strength, America wouldn’t be gasping today, whistling unhappily a very old tune.

[link:https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-know-how-a-true-leader-deals-with-hatemongers-weve-seen-it/2017/08/23/1225f4cc-8697-11e7-a94f-3139abce39f5_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-a%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.33cab2c8086b|

[malaise]

1. Great post

Off to the greatest page

[brer cat]

2. TY

When Lester Maddox won the Democratic nomination, I voted republican for the only time in my life. I had moved from GA to D.C. area when Carter ran and didn't get to vote for him, but I knew a breath of fresh air was about to wash over the state. I wish the entire country had that today.

[mgardener]

3. Wonderful article.

Read the whole article.
Shows how a real leader, uses his power for the good of the people.
Not like the bombastic, moral coward we have in office today.

[Louis1895]

4. Portrait of Andrew Jackson say it all

Right after Trump moved into the Oval Office, he had the portrait of Andrew Jackson moved to where it is seen in almost every photo from there.

Trump is a big fan of Andrew Jackson — but the 7th president has an ugly history

[ATL Ebony]

5. K&R -- Carter is a national treasure.

[Martin Eden]

6. Trump has no moral compass whatsover

He has no interest or desire to smack down racists, especially since they form the core of his base.

[Butterflylady]

8. Yes

He is an empty shell. No brain, no heart, and definitely no soul.

[DFW]

7. Ah, yes, I remember old "Ax Handle Lester"

For some reason neither nor my dad nor I could fathom, Maddox was invited to give a speech at the National Press Club, of which my dad was along-standing member. I was in town, and my dad invited me along. He gave a rambling, barely coherent speech emphasizing his patriotism and not much else. I remember he gave me a particularly dirty look as he exited the room. I had bushy hair and a black beard at the time, and looked like the sort that was not likely to be friendly to his kind (an accurate assessment).