Lynchings targeted ‘Republicans,’ not black people, Colorado Rep. insists after MLK day controversy
Republicans were the ‘true targets’ of Reconstruction era lynchings: that’s not a conspiracy theory, but a deeply held belief of Colorado lawmaker Lori Saine, who’s doubled down on the argument by accusing the Dems of segregation.
“We have come a long way [...] since Reconstruction, since whites and blacks alike were in nearly equal numbers lynched for the crime of being Republican,” the Colorado state representative proclaimed during a speech on Capitol Hill last Friday, where lawmakers had gathered to mark a federal holiday in honor of the revered civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King jr.
The eyebrow-raising comments caused an uproar, with people reminding Saine on Twitter that the rise of the Klu Klux Klan, the Black Codes and the Colfax Massacre all took place during the period she referenced. Democrats from Colorado’s Black Democratic Legislative Caucus called the comments were “out of touch” and “inappropriate.”
Pretty much any junior high school history teacher: The first Ku Klux Klan's tactics of violent intimidation and enforcement of the Black Codes based on the former Slave Codes included the lynching of many black former slaves.Lori Saine: ALL LIVES MATTER, ALL LIVES MATTER https://t.co/y1LeHsFlMW
— Eric Atcheson, freelance maker of artisanal heresy (@RevEricAtcheson) January 21, 2019
As bad as the Democratic Klan was, this isn’t even close to true. Smh at the inability of ppl in 2019 to say “lynching was bad.” Getting on their bellies to crawl under a low bar. Rep. Lori Saine says blacks, whites lynched in ‘nearly equal numbers’ https://t.co/fuVP678a0n
— Seth Kotch (@sethkotch) January 22, 2019
Despite the controversy, Saine has been anything but repentant. She published a video of the speech on her Facebook page the following Monday, claiming her comments were motivated by unnamed “representatives in our state capital.” She said they allegedly told Colorado Rep. Perry Buck she couldn’t introduce a state resolution honoring Dr. King because King “didn't represent her heritage,” i.e. because she is white. The Democrat who did introduce the resolution, Leslie Herod denied the claim and questioned who told Buck so.
Doubling down on her theory, Saine on Tuesday implied that Democrats were opposing “King’s dream” while speaking to a radio talk-show host Jimmy Lakey. The host claimed that the Dems had turned Colorado into a “segregated state,” with which she agreed – causing more not-so-supportive comments.
Rep. Lori Saine confirms it. She tried to make MLK Day about the oppression of white people. And radio host Jimmy Lackey refers to Gov. Jared Polis as "our gay, Jewish governor." https://t.co/4kP7FPC2Om
— Quentin Young (@qpyoungnews) January 23, 2019
This is not the first time Saine has attracted the wrong kind of national attention. In 2013, she made the questionable gesture of openly eating fried chicken during a meeting for a poverty reduction task force. In 2017, Saine was arrested when she brought a loaded handgun to the airport.
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