Bad Joke? Solons Get KKK Junk Mail

And here’s just what Idaho doesn’t need: racist pranksters. The evidence suggests that some cross-burning comics have been sending out Ku Klux Klan membership applications to Idaho legislators. An article in Tuesday’s Statesman focused on Boise Democratic Rep. Cherie Buckner-Webb, the Legislature’s lone African-American, who received this junk mail. The sinister implication is that Buckner-Webb was targeted because of her race, and the first-term lawmaker believes she was singled out. But that might not be the case, although I’m not sure I’d call that a good thing: Similar letters went to other lawmakers, with little regard for party, politics or race. Sadly, because of the neo-Nazi racists who (temporarily) set up high-profile shop in Idaho, these mailings are apt to receive outsized national attention. That’s not just unfortunate for Idaho; in this case, it’s flat-out unfair. The letter to Buckner-Webb had a Harrison, Ark., return address and a Great Falls, Mont., postmark. Idaho shouldn’t have to own the actions of other states’ nutjobs/ Kevin Richert , Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Does Idaho deserve a rep-PU-tation as a state where racists can thrive?