Favorite Southern Democrats?

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Forgot about Hugo Black.

Ngl, another I'm surprised is a favorite of yours considering his involvement with the KKK & anti-Catholicism.

Mostly because of his Supreme Court tenure, especially in advancing the civil rights from the bench.

Black is a weird case. He wasn't much of a racist himself, and during his service as a prosecutor in Birmingham, he took a remarkably strong line in prosecuting white-on-black crimes (he actually seek a death penalty against a cop who killed an unarmed black youth. He succeeded in convicting, but the jury gave that guy a lengthy sentence instead), as well as to combat prison overcrowding and forced confession, that affected disappropriate number of black prisoners. His anti-catholic views are more problematic and I'm not excusing him. I'm also not excusing him from joining the KKK, even though it was obvious he wanted to use the Klan's organization to get elected. However, once he got there, and on the court, his record was pretty stellar. There's a delicious irony in the former Klansman becoming a champion of civil rights and liberties.

It's quite telling the Alabama legislature actually passed a resolution to declare Black should never be buried in the "sacred soil of Alabama" due to his activities on that field.

[brucejoel99]

Forgot about Hugo Black.

Ngl, another I'm surprised is a favorite of yours considering his involvement with the KKK & anti-Catholicism.

Mostly because of his Supreme Court tenure, especially in advancing the civil rights from the bench.

Black is a weird case. He wasn't much of a racist himself, and during his service as a prosecutor in Birmingham, he took a remarkably strong line in prosecuting white-on-black crimes (he actually seek a death penalty against a cop who killed an unarmed black youth. He succeeded in convicting, but the jury gave that guy a lengthy sentence instead), as well as to combat prison overcrowding and forced confession, that affected disappropriate number of black prisoners. His anti-catholic views are more problematic and I'm not excusing him. I'm also not excusing him from joining the KKK, even though it was obvious he wanted to use the Klan's organization to get elected. However, once he got there, and on the court, his record was pretty stellar. There's a delicious irony in the former Klansman becoming a champion of civil rights and liberties.

It's quite telling the Alabama legislature actually passed a resolution to declare Black should never be buried in the "sacred soil of Alabama" due to his activities on that field.

Fair enough. Thanks for the explainer!

[Sumner 1868]

Current: We still have those?

Past: Ralph Yarborough is the best of them, but even he voted for the Gulf of Tonkin Act and the oil depletion allowance.

Estes Kefauver was fairly good as well, but his Tipper Gore crusades would have made him a nuisance to have in the White House.

[smoltchanov]

Current: We still have those?

Past: Ralph Yarborough is the best of them, but even he voted for the Gulf of Tonkin Act and the oil depletion allowance.

Estes Kefauver was fairly good as well, but his Tipper Gore crusades would have made him a nuisance to have in the White House.

I can't blame almost none of them. When 90+% of your district voters oppose something - it's unlikely, that you will vote "for", unless you have politically suicidal tendencies..

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I feel like a moron for omitting Yarborough. Frank G. Clement is worth mentioning too, his extreme hyperbole displayed at the 1956 convention notwithstanding.

The civil rights issue is of course a giant albatross when it comes to discussing historical southern Democrats, though there were quite a few to buck the trend, including those I've mentioned earlier. If I had to choose a favorite southern Democrat who was also a segregationist, I'd probably go with Lister Hill (many other positive legislative contributions) or Henry Stegall (the eponymous act).

Interestingly, another Alabama Democrat Frank Boykin, while a segregationist, developed a reputation for his willingness to assist his Black constituents, even though mosy of them couldn't vote (there actually was a small number of registered Black voters in the Dixie), and establishing ties with the Black community leaders in Mobile.

[smoltchanov]

I feel like a moron for omitting Yarborough. Frank G. Clement is worth mentioning too, his extreme hyperbole displayed at the 1956 convention notwithstanding.

The civil rights issue is of course a giant albatross when it comes to discussing historical southern Democrats, though there were quite a few to buck the trend, including those I've mentioned earlier. If I had to choose a favorite southern Democrat who was also a segregationist, I'd probably go with Lister Hill (many other positive legislative contributions) or Henry Stegall (the eponymous act).

Interestingly, another Alabama Democrat Frank Boykin, while a segregationist, developed a reputation for his willingness to assist his Black constituents, even though mosy of them couldn't vote (there actually was a small number of registered Black voters in the Dixie), and establishing ties with the Black community leaders in Mobile.

Well, many of them had rather good personal relations with Black people (William Rainach himself said that, and he was an "ultra" even by segregationist's standards), but very few would consider them "equal". Such was the time...

[VPH]

Past
-Estes Kefauver
-Wesley Clark
-Lloyd Bentsen
-LBJ
-Rick Boucher
-Barbara Jordan
-Blanche Lincoln
-Jim Webb
-Sam Nunn
-Ralph Yarborough
-Jim Hightower


Current
-John Bel Edwards
-Terri Sewell
-Joe Cunningham
-Doug Jones
-Jim Cooper
-Randall Woodfin
-Brandon Presley
-Jim Hood
-John Lewis
-Mandy Powers Norrell
-Jim Clyburn
-Walt Maddox
-Katrina Jackson
-Mitch Landrieu

[brucejoel99]

-Terri Sewell

Oh dang, completely forgot about her.

[Skunk]

Lee Carter, Stacey Abrams, Wendy Davis, Danica Roem, and Connie Johnson.