Politics

John Lewis Defends Biden Amid Segregation Controversy

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William Davis Contributor
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Democratic Georgia Rep. John Lewis is defending former Vice President Joe Biden after the latter made positive comments about hard-line segregationists.

Biden came under fire from many of his fellow Democrats after he praised the “civility” of segregationist lawmakers James Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia, who were both Democrats in office during Biden’s early day’s in the Senate. (RELATED: Biden Campaign Officials Leak To WaPo Amid Firestorm Of Criticism)


“I don’t think the remarks are offensive. During the height of the civil rights movement we worked with people and got to know people that were members of the [Ku Klux Klan],” Lewis said. “We never gave up on our fellow human beings, and I would not give up on any human being.”

A long-time Democratic congressman, Lewis is a civil rights icon, who famously worked with Dr. Martin Luther King to pass civil rights legislation during the 1960’s. (RELATED: John Lewis, Hank Johnson To Boycott Trump’s State Of The Union)

The 76-year-old Biden has been a lightning-rod for criticism over the past few months for his past record on civil rights, as well as for past positions on issues such as abortion, crime and the Iraq War, which are considered out of step in the modern day Democratic Party.

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