McCain's Bob Jones University?

Washington, DC - Despite criticizing President Bush for campaigning at Bob Jones University in the 2000 Presidential campaign, Arizona Republican Senator and potential 2008 presidential candidate John McCain will begin his Thanksgiving recess today in Alabama endorsing a candidate who has addressed, and even praised, a prominent white supremacist organization.

McCain is throwing his weight behind Alabama Lt. Governor candidate George Wallace Jr., a man who has given four speeches to the racist Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), most recently in June 2005. [Southern Poverty Law Center, Intelligence Report, Summer 2005]

The CCC was created from the mailing list of the old White Citizens' Councils set up in the 1950s and 1960s to resist efforts to desegregate southern schools. The late former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall once referred to the CCC as the "uptown Klan." According to its website, the CCC's mission is to "oppose all efforts to mix the races." [http://www.cofcc.org/manifest.htm]

Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Josh Earnest today called on Senator McCain to use his appearances in Alabama to condemn the racist beliefs of the CCC:

"In a sad commentary on the state of Republican presidential politics, Senator McCain has sacrificed his commitment to social justice and equality on the altar of his own political ambition. Senator McCain's endorsement of George Wallace Jr. without specifically denouncing his connection with the Council of Conservative Citizens is as wrong today President Bush's decision to exploit the bigotry and racism of Bob Jones University was during the 2000 Presidential campaign.

"Americans deserve better than Republican politicians with presidential ambitions who pander to racist organizations and their apologists. Senator McCain should use today's appearances to specifically denounce the racist views of the CCC and join Democrats in fighting to protect the rights and freedoms of all Americans."