Ted Cruz Slams Tennessee Law Honoring Confederate General, KKK Grand Wizard Nathan Bedford Forest

[catfish1957]

In the first place, there is a good deal of disagreement whether NBF was actually in the KKK at all - And he most vociferously denied any involvement with the KKK...

I spent a lot of headache filled amount of research on this issue many years ago. You are right ....   There is not 100% consensus proof that NBF was a card carrying member of the KKK, but there is enough compelling evidence to suggest that this is true.  As much as I wanted to believee he wasn't , I lean 80/20 that he was.  it is a very complicated mess so to speak.

[roamer_1]

I spent a lot of headache filled amount of research on this issue many years ago. You are right ....   There is not 100% consensus proof that NBF was a card carrying member of the KKK, but there is enough compelling evidence to suggest that this is true.  As much as I wanted to believee he wasn't , I lean 80/20 that he was.  it is a very complicated mess so to speak.

Alright, but that does not jibe with his position after the war.

[catfish1957]

Alright, but that does not jibe with his position after the war.

Absolutely.  (generally 1870's) The KKK went ultra violent, NBF distanced himself at that point,

[corbe]

   Wake me up when he goes after the Mounties with such fervor.

[TomSea]

I believe one can run the risk of dishonoring true Confederate heroes if one exalts others of poor character or other dubious qualities.

Billy the Kid, Pancho Villa, they are the stuff of legend but they were probably not good people. Maybe Jesse James too.

Apparently, TN already celebrates 2 other Confederate holidays, b-day of Jefferson Davis and some other one.

[Wingnut]

You don't need to be "woke" to think Nathan Bedford Forrest was a worm.

But you have to be an ass to say that.  Grow up.

[Wingnut]

He's playing to voters.  Pandering.

Which voters is he pandering to?  Mexies  don't know US history.

[Bigun]

Absolutely.  (generally 1870's) The KKK went ultra violent, NBF distanced himself at that point,

The KKK was founded as a benevolent organization but went rouge within a shot period.

[Sanguine]

I have been away and haven't read all of the responses, but there aren't any statues being torn down are there, or any history being rewritten?  Just a suggestion that NBD not be honored on a yearly basis?  Maybe I misunderstood?

[Formerly Once-Ler]

So what?

Does that justify someone being slandered and having lies propagated about their life, because they were a Democrat?

I can't think of a better reason.

[The_Reader_David]

Actually, it depends on what part of his life one looks at.  Late in life Nathan Bedford Forrest ordered the disbanding of the KKK, offered to help hunt down those who had lynched some freed blacks, and was honored as a beneficiary of free blacks by the oddly named Independent Order of Pole-Bearers Association, an organization of freed slaves, and vilified by southern racists for his views on black advancement.

[Wingnut]

Actually, it depends on what part of his life one looks at.  Late in life Nathan Bedford Forrest ordered the disbanding of the KKK, offered to help hunt down those who had lynched some freed blacks, and was honored as a beneficiary of free blacks by the oddly named Independent Order of Pole-Bearers Association, an organization of freed slaves, and vilified by southern racists for his views on black advancement.

History is lost on the "woke" 

[kevindavis007]

I believe one can run the risk of dishonoring true Confederate heroes if one exalts others of poor character or other dubious qualities.

Billy the Kid, Pancho Villa, they are the stuff of legend but they were probably not good people. Maybe Jesse James too.

Apparently, TN already celebrates 2 other Confederate holidays, b-day of Jefferson Davis and some other one.

As someone who had ancestors who fought for the traitorous CSA, there is nothing heroic about the people from the CSA.

[Hoodat]

I applaud anyone who calls out Democrats for their racist past.  Cruz is correct.  Nathan Bedford Forest, while perhaps one of the greatest cavalry commanders ever, was also a primary founder of the KKK.  His participation was short-lived, and the Klan of Reconstruction days was not the same Klan that President Woodrow Wilson help resurrect.  But it has always been inappropriate for politicians like Algore to criticize States like South Carolina and Mississippi for celebrating their Confederate heritage, yet remain silent on Tennessee's celebration of Forest.

Ted Cruz should be commended for speaking out and fighting a battle that most Republicans are too cowardly to address.  Just last week we saw Joe Biden describing segregationists like Herman Talmadge and James Eastland as being on the other side of the aisle.  And not one Republican corrected him by pointing out that the segregationists were all on Biden's side of the aisle.  God bless Ted Cruz for standing in the way of Democrats rewriting history.  I am sick and tired of hearing liberals who really do believe George Wallace was a Republican, that Republicans opposed the Civil Rights Act, and that the Dred Scott decision was handed down by a Republican Supreme Court.

[Cyber Liberty]

I applaud anyone who calls out Democrats for their racist past.  Cruz is correct.  Nathan Bedford Forest, while perhaps one of the greatest cavalry commanders ever, was also a primary founder of the KKK.  His participation was short-lived, and the Klan of Reconstruction days was not the same Klan that President Woodrow Wilson help resurrect.  But it has always been inappropriate for politicians like Algore to criticize States like South Carolina and Mississippi for celebrating their Confederate heritage, yet remain silent on Tennessee's celebration of Forest.

Ted Cruz should be commended for speaking out and fighting a battle that most Republicans are too cowardly to address.  Just last week we saw Joe Biden describing segregationists like Herman Talmadge and James Eastland as being on the other side of the aisle.  And not one Republican corrected him by pointing out that the segregationists were all on Biden's side of the aisle.  God bless Ted Cruz for standing in the way of Democrats rewriting history.  I am sick and tired of hearing liberals who really do believe George Wallace was a Republican, that Republicans opposed the Civil Rights Act, and that the Dred Scott decision was handed down by a Republican Supreme Court.

President in 2024?

[Hoodat]

As someone who had ancestors who fought for the traitorous CSA, there is nothing heroic about the people from the CSA.

As one whose family ancestors share four centuries of history in Virginia, I happen to have a different viewpoint on this one.  Virginia was attacked.  Virginia was invaded.  And Virginia defended itself with valor.

[Sighlass]

Cruz is slowly shifting to my untrusted list... What did he have to gain by spitting at someone that the South likes? Most Southerns don't know Nathan's full history and don't care about could-ofs and should-ofs... Sorry, but in my book this was a bonehead move... No Cruz worship here...

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

As someone who had ancestors who fought for the traitorous CSA, there is nothing heroic about the people from the CSA.

How do you feel about the traitorous USA?

[Sanguine]

Cruz is slowly shifting to my untrusted list... What did he have to gain by spitting at someone that the South likes? Most Southerns don't know Nathan's full history and don't care about could-ofs and should-ofs... Sorry, but in my book this was a bonehead move... No Cruz worship here...

That the South likes?  I lived in Memphis for years and opinions were all over the place regarding Forrest.

[Wingnut]

I lived in Memphis for years and opinions were all over the place regarding Forrest.

Bull shit.    When did you live in Memphis

[Sanguine]

Bull shit.    When did you live in Memphis

We're not having this conversation.

[verga]

True.  None of our historic figures were perfect.  Many of them were slave owners, for example.  But I detest this effort to remove them from our history.  History is history, warts and all, and when we try to remove all trace of chunks of it, we do ourselves and particularly our younger generations a great disservice.

First you ignore it, then you erase it, next you forget it,and finally you repeat it.

“Ignorance and its denial will, sad to say, lead us down the same road as it did in all past history.”
― Jordan Maxwell, Symbols, Sex, and the Stars in Popular Beliefs

[Wingnut]

We're not having this conversation.

Of course not.  We never have a real conversation anymore.  Carry on.

[catfish1957]

As someone who had ancestors who fought for the traitorous CSA, there is nothing heroic about the people from the CSA.

So the non-slave owning men who rose to defend their homes and way of life from a northern invasion were not heroic in their response?

OTOH...never mind.  You aren't  worth the breath to respond to. 

[catfish1957]

How do you feel about the traitorous USA?

Good point.  This individual should spit on Washington, Jefferson, and Adams while he is at it.