KKK endorses Ward Connerlys initiative

Connerly criticized for Klan comments

The Associated Press

Published 6:25 pm PST Saturday, November 4, 2006

DETROIT (AP) - Opponents are criticizing a key backer of a ballot initiative to end public equal opportunity programs in Michigan after he made comments that appeared to welcome the Ku Klux Klan's support.

Ward Connerly, a California businessman who is pushing the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative and helped to get similar measures passed elsewhere, was quoted in a documentary examining equal opportunity. The measure on Tuesday's ballot would ban the use of race and gender preferences in state government and university admissions.

In a video posted to the Web site YouTube.com, Connerly is shown saying, "If the Ku Klux Klan thinks that equality is right, God bless them. Thank them for finally reaching the point where logic and reason are being applied instead of hate."

Connerly, who is black, defended his remark, saying he accepts support for banning equal opportunity wherever he finds it.

"Throughout my life I have made absolutely clear my disdain for the KKK," Connerly said in a written statement Friday. "However, like all Americans, I hope that this group will move beyond its ugly history and agree that equality before the law is the ideal. If they or any group accepts equality for all people, I will be the first to welcome them."

David Waymire, a spokesman for the One United Michigan coalition, which opposes the ballot proposal, said the comment is telling.

"It really shows the extremism of the supporters of Ward Connerly and is an especially interesting contrast to the mainstream organizations that oppose Proposal 2," he said. A message was left Saturday night for Doug Tietz, the campaign manager for the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative.

WLNS-TV CBS 6 Lansing (MI):
Read Story
Major Anti-Affirmative Action Figure Taking Heat

Nov 5, 2006 07:45 AM EST
A major supporter of an anti-equal opportunity ballot initiative is taking some heat. Ward Connerly appears in a documentary posted online making comments about the Ku Klux Klan. He's heard saying, "If the KKK was endorsing equal rights, God bless them."

If voters approve proposal two, some forms of equal opportunity would be banned in Michigan. Connerly says he despises the KKK, but accepts the support.