A search of TideFans.com reveals that BamainBoston often opined on controversial issues, including race, abortion, perceived federal overreach, and Southern heritage. In one post from February 2011, he defended the honor of the early Ku Klux Klan.
That morning at 9:17 a.m., a user with the handle Bamaro posted a story about a Mississippi proposal to honor Nathan Bedford Forrest by placing his image on a license plate. Who comes up with these ideas? the user asked. Honor someone who served as the first KKK Grand Wizard.
BamainBoston responded an hour later:
Heaven forbid we let the facts get in the way of your righteous indignation, but Forrest, when he decommissioned his men, told them to make peace with the men they had fought and live as good citizens of the United States. It was only after the perceived depredations of the Union army during reconstruction that Forrest joined (it is highly unlikely that he founded or acted as the Grand Wizard) the first KKK, which was entirely different than the KKK of the early 19th Century. When the Klan turned to racial violence, he distanced himself from the organization as he had long supported the reconciliation of the races. In fact, he often spoke to black organizations.
First, he omits the 1864 Fort Pillow massacre, when Forrest led his troops to a mass slaughter of black soldiers. It is unclear whether Forrest explicitly permitted the indiscriminate killing, but he later celebrated it, declaring his hope that these facts will demonstrate to the Northern people that negro soldiers cannot cope with Southerners.
Second, the allegation that the first KKK was entirely different from that of the early 19th Century does not withstand scrutiny... From its inception, the KKK promoted white supremacy and opposed federal efforts to protect the civil rights of freed blacks. The group employed intimidation and violence, including murder, to thwart Reconstruction...
Contrary to BamainBostons assertion, Forrest did likely serve as the KKKs first leader, or Grand Wizard...
BamainBostons account, then, whitewashes the reality that Forrests leadership of the Klan coincided with its early forays into racial violence. It also falsely differentiates the first KKK from its later iteration, perpetuating a pernicious myth that the nascent Klan was noble and benevolent.
Talley has already been voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote. If confirmed, he will enjoy a lifetime appointment to interpret a Constitution whose history he does not appear to understand.