In 1964, Christians Defended Racist Gov. George Wallace by Discussing His Faith

George Wallace, the former governor of Alabama, was perhaps most famous for his opposition to civil rights.

He was once called “the most dangerous racist in America.” He hired a KKK leader to write his speeches and delivered one with the infamous line, “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.”

He died in 1998 from a cardiac arrest in the part of his body where I assume he once had a heart.

I bring him up because author and preacher Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove posted something worth remembering: When Wallace was in his prime, he was defended by white Christians.

Their argument wasn’t a defense of racism. Rather, they claimed to know him. They knew his heart. They knew his faith. They knew he was a dedicated family man. They believed him to be a decent, fair person. Nothing Wallace said ever swayed them from their conviction that he was a good man.

That ad ran in newspapers in 1964 when Wallace was running for president on the Democratic ticket. He eventually lost the primary to Lyndon B. Johnson.

It’s all the same tripe the same kind of people are now using to defend Donald Trump. No amount of reason — and no blatant actions or words from Trump himself — will convince them he’s anything but their savior.

The script is the same. The bigotry is the same. The use of religion to justify awfulness is the same. All that changed are the names.

(via John Fea)