Georgia state representative believes KKK wasn't racist, 'made a lot of people straighten up'

[struggle4progress]

7. Georgia lawmaker’s chairmanship targeted after Klan comments

Chris Joyner
January 29, 2016

... “Benton is backwards, out of touch and wrong. Speaker Ralston can do something about it,” Bryan Long, executive director of the progressive activist group Better Georgia, said in a robocall targeted for Ralston’s Blue Ridge district.

Through his spokesman, Ralston declined to comment.

In a statement issued Thursday, Democratic Party of Georgia First Vice Chairman Nikema Williams called Benton’s comments “deplorable” and questioned whether the retired middle school history teacher belongs in the House.

“Benton is either an ill-informed student of history, or he has no conscience,” Williams said. “For over a century, the KKK has operated as a terrorist organization responsible for some of the most unimaginable violence in the country. In an era where communities are working together to bridge divides, Tommy Benton seems content with spewing the kind of half-witted hatred that divides. Benton should be ashamed and his party should denounce him” ...

http://investigations.blog.ajc.com/2016/01/29/georgia-lawmakers-chairmanship-targeted-after-klan-comments/