Forrest

Huh. Ted Poe (R-TX) thinks it’s appropriate to quote Nathan Bedford Forrest on the floor of the House of Representatives. Forrest, a major figure in the early KKK, also led the massacre at Fort Pillow in 1864.

Now, in mild defense of Ted Poe, I have occasionally used the Herman Goering “when I hear the word culture, I reach for my revolver” in a variety of different contexts. Referring to a memorable quote doesn’t necessarily imply a recommendation of the speaker (“How many divisions has the Pope”, for example). However, everyone knows when I refer to the Goering quote that I’m neither a Nazi nor sympathetic to Nazi aims. I don’t know enough about Poe’s politics, but I’d be quite curious as to his attitudes on the Confederacy and on Texas’ participation in the Treason-in-Defense-of Slavery War. The second one, that is; Texas is, of course, notable for seceding from two different countries in order to defend slavery…

UPDATE: Anderson points out that the quote above actually belongs to Hanns Johst, the wrong Nazi. Also, I misspelled Hermann.