Curtis Thompson
Jefferson City
Dear Editor:
On June 19, the News Tribune printed an article that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered the removal of portraits of four former speakers of the House because each had served in the Confederacy. The article is silent as to which political party these four former speakers belonged. I wonder why the article is silent as that important fact. Could it be once again the mainstream media (the article is an Associated Press one) is protecting the party of slavery, KKK, Jim Crow laws, segregation, and hatred of Israel?
A quick search discovers that Robert Hunter, of Virginia, was originally a Whig but later became a Democrat, served in the Confederacy and was appointed by Democrat President Cleveland to a federal position, years after his service in the Confederacy. James Orr, of South Carolina, served as a Democrat speaker immediately prior to the Civil War. Howell Cobb served as a Democrat speaker of the House before being elected as Democrat governor of Georgia and then secretary of the Treasury under Democrat President Buchanan. Charles Crisp served as speaker during the 1890s as a Democrat.
The foregoing shows why the AP did not identify the political party for which these four served. One of the purposes of tearing down statues and replacing portraits is to alter the historical fact that the Democrat Party is the party of slavery and all of its ramifications. But, what is even worse is an effort to wipe out history. All the former speakers of the House have portraits and removing some of them 120 years or more after their terms is eerily reminiscent of the changing of history as described in Orwell's book "1984." The portraits should not be removed. None of those men's portraits are hanging in the Capitol because of their Confederate roles. The portraits do not celebrate their actions in favor of slavery, but to place them with all other speakers of the House.
The statue of Republican President Teddy Roosevelt has been ordered removed in New York City, even though as president he hosted Booker T. Washington for dinner, much to the chagrin of the racist Democrats in 1901. Lincoln's statue celebrating emancipation may be removed. Once again it is an effort to destroy our country by destroying its history. The tearing down of statues and removing portraits reminds me of what the Taliban and ISIS do when they conquer territory.