Candidate For RNC Chair Was Member Of Whites-Only Country Club
Now here's a good way for the GOP to make the case that it hasn't been reduced to a southern regional rump party that's held hostage by intolerant crackpots: Elect as the new chairman of the Republican National Committee a southerner who just resigned a longtime membership in a whites-only country club.
Katon Dawson, the South Carolina GOP chairman, announced his candidacy for RNC chair yesterday.
And guess what: Back in September, when Dawson was first quietly laying the groundwork for his RNC run, The State newspaper reported that he resigned his membership in the nearly 80-year-old Forest Lake Club. Members told the newspaper at the time that the club's deed has a whites-only restriction and has no black members.
Dawson claimed to the paper that he'd actually been working since August to change the club's admission practices after reading about them in the press. Nonetheless, his membership could become an issue in the RNC chair race.
After all, the paper says he was a member for 12 years, so it seems like a pretty fair question to ask whether he started working to change the club's rules this summer, and then resigned, in preparation for his RNC chair candidacy.
That seems like a particularly relevant question when you recall that the case some GOPers made against Obama over his ties to Reverend Wright was that his supposed silence in the face of Wright's rantings should raise questions about Obama's patriotism.
What's more, The State said that Dawson resigned the club after it became known that the paper was getting ready to report his membership.
Either way, it's hard to see how it sends a winning message for the GOP to pick as its chief strategist and public face someone who was a member of a club where the first African American president in history apparently need not apply. Ah, those good old Repubs.
OT: Bush is f**king nuts. He has gone bye-bye. Read his statement on the Iraq War:
President George W. Bush believes the Iraq war was a success and is "very pleased" with what is happening there, he said in a pre-recorded interview broadcast on a Japanese television network Sunday.
"I think the decision to remove Saddam Hussein was right," Bush told the Sunday Project programme of the private Asahi network.
Saddam was an enemy of the United States and a lot of people thought he had weapons of mass destruction, Bush said, adding "remarkable" progress had been made in Iraq since the late dictator was toppled in 2003.
"People have been able to take their troops out of Iraq because Iraq is becoming successful. I'm very pleased with what is taking place there now," he said, adding there still is "a lot of work" to be done.
"We are bringing troops home because of the success in Iraq.
November 24, 2008 12:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
He wears his hat on his ass and his shorts on his head. In his retirement he will pass his time fingerpainting and conversing with Barney.
November 24, 2008 3:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
But will Barney deign to speak back?
After taking a piece out of that reporter a couple weeks back, it doesn't sound like the dog is any happier than the rest of us.
November 24, 2008 4:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you're going to make an OT first post, perhaps you should consider writing your own blog.
December 26, 2008 4:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Take a look at that gravatar! When a woman is as cute as all that she can say whatever she wants, whenever she wants. Don't get mad at me, I don't make the rules. Cheeks like alabaster, hair like the raven's wing, and lips like ripe cherries.
Does prop-8 forbid Moose-gravatar marriages?
December 27, 2008 11:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
How is this a liability for his election? Shouldn't this shoot him to the top of the list in the GOP? Won't he get a standing ovation from the base for his awesome ties?
Oh...well not now that he resigned, he *totally* sold out to the radical left and their "affirmative blaction" and "political correctness". You gotta know your base man, gotta know them.
November 24, 2008 12:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
hah, true enough
November 24, 2008 12:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Shouldn't be a problem. The Republicans lose massivively because too radical-right, so they huffilly move even further to the right.
Shouldn't be long before they wear KKK outfits during the day, and urge investment in the Party of the Swastika.
Things have changed when hiding under a rock omits the rock.
November 24, 2008 6:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
This article is a bit misleading. The deed restriction is absolutely a non-issue--a large chunk of land in the South has similar restrictions, and no one has done anything about them, since they are not enforceable. In fact, many African-Americans have the restriction in the deeds to their houses.
There is no mention of a club policy against admitting African-Americans, or any attempt to prevent one from joining. At worst, this club probably just needs more aggressive attempts to get African-Americans to join.
November 24, 2008 12:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
I know nothing about deed restrictions, but if that's all it is, then:
(a) Why was Dawson trying to change the admission practices, and
(b) Why did he resign?
November 24, 2008 12:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good questions. The story is very incomplete.
November 24, 2008 12:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Umm, maybe during 12 years there he just didn;t notice there were no blacks. Maybe the blacks were just there shining his shoes and serving him tea. Nothing unusual about that ..... I am sure some of his best friends are black but he just never thought to invite them to 'pal around' in the last 12 years. You are right Texas, this story is very incomplete!
November 24, 2008 12:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
The President Elect should apply for membership, he probably knows a couple of memebers (former Senators) who could sponsor him. Then we will see how solid the color bar really is. Any other similar establishments should get a request for membership from the 45th president.
I would love to see what happens to the white racist crowd when they realize that they just barred THE PRESIDENT!!!
November 24, 2008 1:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
You'd be suprised how little some of these old money rich old white men care. I remember once hearing Tiger Woods (arguably the president of golf) talk about Augusta National's membership policy, they do not allow people of color or women to hold memberships either. He stated when asked that he was not a member but they gave him an honorary right to play the course. Hell, I bet they'd give him a job as the golf pro too. Just wouldn't give him a full membership, since he was half-black.
Sad he won't just refuse to step foot on their course and de-legimitize their event by non-participation. Sadder still that people would want to pay for membership to a club that has policies such as this.
November 24, 2008 3:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
There are many kinds of deeds. As a Texan you are familiar with real-estate deed restrictions which take the place of zoning in Houston. But there are other kinds of deeds, including deeds of association which I assume is the one that created the country club.
Having said that I suspect that the membership isn't likely to vote to rescind that provision of the deed.
November 24, 2008 3:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
What's misleading is the effort to defend the indefensible. There are sufficient facts -- 12 years a member and he hadn't heard that blacks weren't allowed?
Obviously that was the "reality," else he would have been trying to get the policy changed all along, only resigning in frustration after twelve long years of opposition and failure, and just in time to run for head of the RNC as a "stealth" racist intent on maintaining the racism-based position of the Republican Party of "more patriotic than thou".
I'll bet they give free Made in Communist China flag lapel-pins in exchange for one's membership fee check.
Leave it to TX to defend the indefensible as if it were proud evidence of legitimate independence of thought.
As for those deed restrictions not being enforcable, or whatever the term: is that why they remain in the deeds?
November 24, 2008 7:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
I live a mile from the Forest Lake Country Club. The club has had no black members and no Jewish members that I know of. From World War II until the 1980's, the club offered a membership to the commanding general at Fort Jackson. That policy ended when a Jew was appointed to that post.
The Forest Lake Country Club is an embarrassment, and anyone who is a member should be ashamed.
Frog Leg is right that the deed clause is an excuse, because the courts would not enforce it.
By the way, in response to white guy, the historically black colleges here do admit whites. That's why we call them historically black colleges (HBC's for short).
November 25, 2008 6:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe he thought "whites only" was the dress code.
November 24, 2008 12:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Gee, what a shock. However, the republicans have much bigger problems than club membership. They need to look at their party's platform and what their party stands for. Club membership is meaningless.
November 24, 2008 12:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Club membership is meaningful when it sustains racism in the party elite, and thus in the party. It has, that is, public consequences.
November 24, 2008 7:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Karma has not been laid off.
November 24, 2008 12:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Another day another Repignican story. Funny thing is they all look and sound the same - only the person pulling off the story changes.
November 24, 2008 12:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Isn't this the type individual the RNC wants to lead their religilous, bigoted party? All Republicans are not religious nuts or bigoted but enough are to elect an a$$hole like this guy. He and Chambliss would make a good pair to bring the Republican brand lower than it is now.
November 24, 2008 12:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
I thought this was going to be about Ned Lamont
November 24, 2008 1:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why i am not surprised that one of the RNC Chair candidates once belonged to a Whites-only club.
November 24, 2008 1:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
The question is...why is there a Whites-Only Country Club still in operation today? I'll give you a hint...there's more of them.
It amazes me that people of color would claim to be members of the GOP and not have a clue they're only a member because they will vote a straight republican ticket without looking under the hood.
November 24, 2008 1:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Looking under the hood" is exactly right.
November 24, 2008 4:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fitting, seeing how the RNC chair IS a whites only club.
November 24, 2008 1:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
...not for long, Michael Steele will fix that.
November 24, 2008 1:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ah-ha! You're back! Sorry I have to take this moment to rub it in. "I'm not worried about OH, NC, or FL", remember those words of wisdom? Hahahahahahaha. Ok I'm done, good to see you.
November 24, 2008 1:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wouldn't feel too guilty about rubbing it in. Wallace made similar triumphalist predictions on this site in 2006.
Either:
-it must not hurt him that much to see his party lose its ass,
-or-
-he's just not capable of learning from his mistakes.
November 24, 2008 4:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
So what. The issue is the platform, not the racial make-up of the spokesperson, who would obviously be a figurehead if its steele. Again, short-sighted as always.
November 24, 2008 1:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Steele would be such an obvious JOKE! I thought the repubs didn't like affirmative action?
November 24, 2008 1:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
They do, but only in terms of divide-and-conquer. And tmporarily. Republican Clarence Thomas was for affirmative action when it met his needs. After he didn't need it any more he pulled up the ladder -- from above it.
November 24, 2008 7:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Please...What world are you living in? the rethugs don't want Lt. Gov. Steele has the new face of the republican party.
November 24, 2008 1:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just like Sarah Palin fixed your problem with the women's vote. LOL
January 30, 2009 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Lets give credit where credit is due. 45+ years ago, it was the Dixiecrats who were members of whites-only clubs. The Republicans were not nearly as racist as the Democrats up until that point and the US military has led the way for "color-blindness" so there's still a strong Republican tradition of equal opportunity...
Just not in the halls of power.
November 24, 2008 2:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Democrats changed with the times. Republicans filled the void left when the racists left the Democratic party over the civil rights act. It's a sad shame what happened there because the actions of the Republican party right after the civil war were admirable to a fault. The people who risked their lives and often times died within the Republican party to bring about freedom for blacks during this time would be damned ashamed of the people running their party now. I'm sure the racist old Dixiecrats would be ashamed of the modern Democrats too. Hell they'd probably want to split from the union again, I guess thats why you see all the old racist states vote red now. As a resident of a southern state I am ashamed of the racists that live in my state, but the only thing we can do is educate young people and hope to outlive these nasty excuses for human beings.
November 24, 2008 3:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Shorter version: the Democrats changed with the times. Racist Democrats, though, changed parties.
November 24, 2008 4:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Republican Party gained its supremacy in the South and became a force in national politics again when Richard Nixon struck a deal with Strom Thurmond and the Dixiecrats after Pres. Johnson went after the KKK and signed the Civil Rights Act. The Republican Party was dead after being wiped out in the election of 1964 until it was revived by Nixon's "Southern strategy", which was nothing more than a thinly-veiled out-reach to the Dixiecrats.
The "states' rights" and "strict constructionist" planks that have been central to the Republican Party's platform since 1968 have always been essential elements of the Southern seggregationists' arguments in support of first slavery and then "Jim Crow". While the national media has chosen to ignore this, that is precisely how they should be seen (after all, from their perspective, Southern states fought the Civil War over "states' rights" and the "Dred Scott decision" by the Supreme Court was their idea of a "strict constructionist" decision by the Federal courts), how they were/are perceived by many racist whites, and why they have been adopted as central elements in the Republican Party's populist version of "conservatism".
If you look at the old news reels and TV news reports from Little Rock, the marches in Birmingham and Selma, etc., and of James Meridith entering Ole Miss, etc., you will see a lot of young white kids and teens screaming and yelling all kinds of racist filth. Those folks didn't suddenly die off or disappear. They grew up and had families and are in their 50s, 60s and 70s now. And, while some have undoubtedly changed or moderated their views on race over the years, the sad truth is that many have not and have tried to inculcate those views in their children and grandchildren.
This isn't just limited to the South (and it should be noted that there is a growing minority of open-minded whites in the South as well). As I know only too well from my own personal background and experience, there were and are plenty of folks in the North, especially ethnic blue-collar whites, who were/are threatened by integration and by government efforts to overcome the effects of de jure seggregation. It's just that their influence was diluted to some extent by the exodus of jobs from the Rust Belt and by the labor unions. But, they're still there in substantial pockets: in the South they are kindly refered to as "NASCAR Dad's", in the North, they were/are Nixon's "Silent Majority" and "Reagan Democrats".
It should suprise absolutely no one that the head of the South Carolina GOP and a candidate for head of the RNC was a member of a "white's only" country club. The GOP has been espousing the same political philosophy as the politicians that formed the Confederate States of America did prior to seceeding from the Union. The Dixiecrats helped to make the current Republican Party what it is and some of the key figures who have shaped its policies, Newt Gingrich, Trent Lott, John Ashcroft, etc., have been students of the Civil War.
It shouldn't have taken this long for the American people to see the "neo-Confederate" wing of the Republican Party for what it is, but, hopefully, something like this will help to bring about that long-overdue recognition.
November 25, 2008 4:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
These are the same people who today disown their children for dating people of other races, won't give people of a different race a job, and otherwise do things that turn most younger people in the same area's stomach. Its worse the more south and more rural you get. That's the reason you see Black Americans living in urban areas in the south at a much higher % than rural. You hear people joke here about the possibility of Obama being assassinated before he can be inaugurated. Again, thankfully most of these people will die sooner rather than later. Racism is, for the time being, still alive and "well" in the Old South. Sadly.
November 25, 2008 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
not in the halls of power, not in the private clubs
where exactly? and when exactly, this grand tradition of equality?
and don't give me that Lincoln crap. he didn't free the slaves for love of equality -- it was to break the back of the secessionist south. besides, that was a hundred and fifty years ago.
really, are you being facetious or what??
November 24, 2008 3:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
the US military has led the way for "color-blindness"
_____
"Led" the way for "color-blindness"? I suggest you look into the history of the efforts to integrate the military post-WW II under Truman.
November 24, 2008 7:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Candidate For RNC Chair Was Member Of Whites-Only Country Club
He'll do!
November 24, 2008 2:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
So, this must mean that Karl Rove is part of the 'progressive wing' of the RNC, since he referred to Obama as 'that guy at the country club!'
November 24, 2008 2:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
1. Now that is ironic.
2. You think that rove was playing on the irrational fears of the whites only country club set with his comments? Yep, that makes sense.
November 24, 2008 3:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
40 years (at least) in the political wilderness for these clueless elephants! I look forward to seeing them relaunch with a catchy slogan. Maybe "Turn Right, Stay White".
November 24, 2008 3:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
easy enough and quick to change admissions policy...
File a lawsuit...
the filing alone would cause the change...
Of course this would only happen if you actually DID want it to change...
November 24, 2008 3:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I could be wrong, but unless they receive government money they cannot be forced into the 20th century (yes, 20th), even by lawsuit. private groups can discriminate, like the boy scouts booting anyone who's openly gay or a religious group not hiring atheists
November 24, 2008 3:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
They'll find one African-American and give him or her free admission as a PR stunt. So what? I hope they keep the same policy and hold all the RNC meetings there. I hear Ted Stevens, Libby Dole and George Allen have time on their hands.
November 24, 2008 4:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here's the part that is odd:
Dawson claimed to the paper that he'd actually been working since August to change the club's admission practices after reading about them in the press.
So he is a member of this club for a dozen years and he claims that he didn't know the white-only policy until he read it in the paper? Uh-huh.
November 24, 2008 5:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, he is a Republican, and they are the party of I Know Only What I Want to Know Until I Don't Want to Know It Anymore.
November 24, 2008 7:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is the relatively genteel side of the contemporary racial divide. A story on NPR this afternoon said that white supremacy hate groups are on the rise around the country, especially in the low desert of eastern California. The Klan is still active in Louisiana. These folks are panicked about the first African American President.
November 24, 2008 6:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
That increase began at latest when Obama won the primary. What's scary is that they are coordinating with like groups and sharing their resources. Which means with such as Neo-Nazis and arsenals.
November 24, 2008 7:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hummmmmm . . . I dont see NAACP or black only colleges inviting any white folk in. Where's their "Whites Welcome" recruitment drive? And why can't humans choose who to invite into their club? It is a private club isn't it? If whites want to mingle with blacks, then the white can drive over to MLK Drive and mingle all they want . . . pick-up any illegal substance at the same time. And if blacks want to mingle with whites, then they can bus over to the nearest DNC Socialist Club. Hummmmmm, there could be a pattern here.
November 24, 2008 10:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sounds great Whitey but for the last couple hundred years of slavery, apartheid, and discrimination. Otherwise you really have a point. How completely disingenuous of you otherwise. Fascists believe in heaven I guess, a place where even the bullshit tastes like sweet tea.
November 24, 2008 11:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why wouldn't the blacks get their drugs in the white part of town, and not the other way around? As I recall from my youth, it was the white, wealthier kids who could afford a little snort. Was that you, White Guy?
January 30, 2009 3:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wow, these threads are attracting ever more classy commenters as the vote progresses.
January 30, 2009 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Member of a whites only club huh. This country would be nothing without the efforts put forth by immigrants. It was scientists from Germany who helped invent the Atom bomb. Immigrants from India started Sun Microsystems. There are countless examples to be made of immigrants of all colors and denominations that helped America become great, not to mention slave labor. The idea of whites-only establishments in modern America serves a good purpose though, one that helps us know without doubt where some people stand so we don't have to guess. The funniest thing I saw a while back was the lone black guy in the audience at one of Sara Palins rallies, probably a distant cousin of Clarence Thomas. Racists come in all flavors. There are some blacks who descriminate against other blacks because they don't see themselves as black, even though they are. America has an array of really sick individuals who are a danger to themselves and others around them. Since they don't really fit in with normal people, they seek refuge with other misfits of society who too are disconnected from the human family. There are two sides of us, negative and positive. The question is, which side will win.
November 24, 2008 10:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Funny...this kinda reminds me of Obama and his church for some reason. Don't y'all get the same vibes?
November 24, 2008 11:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well again sweetheart if those white country clubbers were the grandchildren and great grandchildren of actual white slaves then that would be SUCH a good point! But seeing as the horrific enslavement of rich white fucks is not what we are seeking equivalency for ...... your point is ass gas.
November 24, 2008 11:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh my...can't we twist things to make a point? Was Obama a slave? Nope, don't think so, so how can that be relevant except in your narrow little mind. And if he can get away with listening to that crap for 20 years (well, maybe he didn't listen) and not being affected then why would Dawson be affected by belonging to a whites only club.
And if my point was "ass gas" I'm glad you had your nose close where you could smell it.
November 25, 2008 8:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Seems like they allowed white people to attend Obama's church.
November 25, 2008 1:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Do they allow whites to participate in "Miss Black America" contests?
November 25, 2008 8:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
Do you really care? Are you mailing your comments into TPM Election Central or are you actually connected to the Internet?
November 25, 2008 11:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
I called and asked, they stated that there is no rule that caucasian americans cannot participate in their contest, but it was supposed to be a celebration of black beauty and culture.
I am also relitively positive that Obama was not in the Miss Black America contest so I am not sure what this has to do with your origional statement.
November 25, 2008 3:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Let's not forget the last RNC chair Haley Barbour and the Council of Conservative Citizens (AKA The NEW Klan).
November 25, 2008 6:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
This is the 21st century. White only clubs have no place in American society. It is incumbent upon all good Americans to root out this evil. Thank God for the browning of America!
November 25, 2008 8:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
While I agree with you in spirit, the reality is that ANY point of view has a place in a free society. What we don't want is intolernace to become policy, either from well-intentioned folks like yourself, or from racist elites like Dawson.
January 30, 2009 3:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually I applaud the RNC to continue its unabridged quest to become the Confederacy Party. The gains in the 2008 election were remarkable, concentrated in Appalachia through the Ozarks and in rural Midwest areas far outside any metropolitan diverse centers.
White flight and white fear has always been present but what is unmistakable is that it is a social and political dead end.
So let those who believe in the power of vitamin D being synthesized by sunlight and mythological understanding of heritage and genetics become the permanent regional 3rd Party.
November 25, 2008 11:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
The NAACP has many white members.
And there are no "blacks-only" colleges. There are historically-black colleges, all of which admit whites. These colleges were founded for the purpose of educating black students who were barred from attending whites-only colleges. (Up until the sixties discrimination was widely practiced.) It's like Brandeis was founded to serve Jews who were shut out by strict rules among Ivy League colleges limiting the number of Jews who could matriculate in any given year.
Brandeis was historically Jewish, just as Howard was historically black; now both are open to anyone, as are previously discriminatory places like Harvard, Yale and Princeton.
Why not find out the facts before posting obvious falsehoods?
November 26, 2008 4:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
I should have said that Howard and Brandeis ARE open to anyone (not that they NOW are)--I am not certain, but I believe both these universities were always open to all.
November 26, 2008 4:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
Condi Rice, Colin Powell, Ken Blackwell, Alan Keyes must be asked what the song means and whether it is political parody or is it racist. They need to own it.
December 26, 2008 3:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
HEY GREG!
Has the Grand Old White Peoples Party found their Great Hope?
January 30, 2009 2:54 PM | Reply | Permalink