Congressman Ted Poe of Texas spoke in favor of the war in Iraq yesterday, citing Klan founder Bedford Forrest. Forrest was a leader of the Confederate Army and then started the KKK to combat the threat as he saw it against the newly freed slave population. Thanks to him, the Ku Klux Klan started on its mission of torturing and killing African Americans simply because of their skin color.
“Git thar fustest with the mostest," was Forrest's cry when fighting against the Union Army. Ted Poe thought that the quote was an appropriate remark to justify the ongoing escalation of the war in Iraq. How any sane person would say such a thing on the floor of the House of Representatives amazes me.
From Roll Call via Crooks and Liars:
On Monday, Rep. Ted Poe took to the House floor to discuss foreign policy matters. To make a point, the Texas Republican invoked the words of Civil War Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest: “Git thar fustest with the mostest.”
The quotation got some floor watchers’ attention pretty quickly. Forrest is a controversial figure who was one of the Klan’s first grand wizards. Although the Civil War hero (if you were a Confederate, that is) ultimately abandoned the Klan for its violent tactics, he continues to kick up dust.
After you recover from the shock of Ted Poe's knowledge of the old Grand Wizard, it is actually an amusing comparison. The KKK is now considered a radical fringe hate group in the United States and by any foreign observer. Bedford Forrest is known as one of America's worst people to have had an impact on our history. The Civil War itself is a stain upon our past, though it signifies the end of slavery.
Now in 2007, the war in Iraq is becoming increasingly unpopular. Getting there fast and with the most is a losing proposition and the evidence that the surge is a complete failure is becoming clearer by the day as the casualties mount. Ted Poe may know how to quote Bedford Forrest, but that would be like a German politician citing Hitler to advocate for a position in Germany. Congressman Poe, you are my World's Worst Person in the World for yesterday.
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