Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Interview with Daniel Levitas

Aired December 23, 2002 - 14:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Rightly or wrongly, the last few weeks have sparked a new look at how the Republican Party courts votes in the South. Some accuse the GOP of pandering to bigots. Others say the charge itself is an undeserved slur against a whole region, and the Republicans.
Joining us to talk more about this, Daniel Levitas. He is the author of "The Terrorist Next Door," a book about the militia movement -- Daniel, thanks for being with us.

DANIEL LEVITAS, AUTHOR, "THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR": Good afternoon.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about the racial tensions. Are they heightened in the South? I mean, if you look back at history, the civil rights movement, Civil War, what's your take when you look at the times right now?

LEVITAS: Well, certainly, we've come a long way since the 1948 segregationist platform of Strom Thurmond that was endorsed by Senator Lott. But even though we've made tremendous progress in this country, sadly, racism is alive and well, not just in the South, but across the country, and it's my belief that the Republican Party certainly has pandered to the racial fears of white people in an attempt to gain votes, and also they've been successful in doing so.

PHILLIPS: Would you say it's stronger in the South than other regions?

LEVITAS: Well, the South does have a distinction, obviously, the legacy of slavery and its massive resistance to integration, and to the civil rights movement. But the North is not immune from racist tendencies as well. I would say it's a national problem. Clearly, the South is unique, though, and has a more acute sensitivity to the issue, as it should.

PHILLIPS: For example, in the South, I mean, you've got the Confederate flag controversy, the banning of mixed marriages. I mean, there have been a lot of issues at hand in the South that really haven't been an issue in other parts of the country.

LEVITAS: Well, just take the issue of mixed marriages, so- called. It wasn't until two years ago that voters in Alabama repealed their so-called race mixing statute. It was actually part of the constitution of the state of Alabama that white people couldn't marry black people, and amazingly, 40 percent of all Alabama voters voted to keep that in the Alabama constitution in the year 2000. That was 540,000 voters. If that's not an indication of the persistence of racism, I don't know what is.

PHILLIPS: And let's talk about the Council of Conservative Citizens, and explain to me the difference between the KKK and the CCC.

LEVITAS: Well, in point of fact, there's very little difference from its ideological stance. I'm looking here at a newsletter article from the Council of Conservative Citizens newsletter which talks about black people as a subspecies of homo sapiens. It's an organization that refers to the problem of -- quote-unquote -- "brown glop invading America."

It is the Ku Klux Klan by any other name in terms of its negative, hateful views towards black people, yet it is a group that got the endorsement of Senator Trent Lott, of Congressman Bob Barr of Georgia. The endorsement of 50 state elected officials in eight states across the South.

PHILLIPS: You know if there wasn't a legal system that has evolved protecting equal rights, it's sort of scary to think what could happen in a region where groups like this are thriving.

LEVITAS: Well, this is really where a lot of the issues around Lott arise. The triumph of the civil rights movement was that it removed the legal practices of segregation, which made black people second and third-class citizens. We can't change the hearts and minds of people through legislation, but we can at least outlaw unconstitutional behavior. And what Senator Lott and the other politicians, Bob Barr and others included, say when they endorse the segregationist platform of Strom Thurmond is that they believe that those policies enshrined in law would have still been a good thing, and that's, frankly, a very disturbing notion in 2002.

PHILLIPS: And looking at those disturbing notions, looking at these realities, I've got ask you this question -- how do you look ahead and think about diversifying the Senate? I mean, still, there aren't any options right now. It's still a white male that's going to be appointed as majority leader. What are your thoughts on that?

LEVITAS: Well, it's a good point. There are no African- Americans in the United States Senate, despite the fact that they make up more than 12, 13 percent of the population in America today.

That is one of the legacies of slavery, and the deprivation of black voting rights, and it continues to be a problem. The lack of enforcement of appropriate voting rights to guarantee equal representation. I don't have an easy solution to that problem, but clearly, our laws that guarantee equal protection and voting rights have to be more vigorously enforced.

PHILLIPS: Daniel Levitas, author of "Terrorist Next Door." It's a book about the militia movement. It is always great to interview you. You have great insights, especially on a subject like this. Daniel, thanks so much.

LEVITAS: Thank you very much. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 23, 2002 - 14:17   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Rightly or wrongly, the last few weeks have sparked a new look at how the Republican Party courts votes in the South. Some accuse the GOP of pandering to bigots. Others say the charge itself is an undeserved slur against a whole region, and the Republicans.
Joining us to talk more about this, Daniel Levitas. He is the author of "The Terrorist Next Door," a book about the militia movement -- Daniel, thanks for being with us.

DANIEL LEVITAS, AUTHOR, "THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR": Good afternoon.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about the racial tensions. Are they heightened in the South? I mean, if you look back at history, the civil rights movement, Civil War, what's your take when you look at the times right now?

LEVITAS: Well, certainly, we've come a long way since the 1948 segregationist platform of Strom Thurmond that was endorsed by Senator Lott. But even though we've made tremendous progress in this country, sadly, racism is alive and well, not just in the South, but across the country, and it's my belief that the Republican Party certainly has pandered to the racial fears of white people in an attempt to gain votes, and also they've been successful in doing so.

PHILLIPS: Would you say it's stronger in the South than other regions?

LEVITAS: Well, the South does have a distinction, obviously, the legacy of slavery and its massive resistance to integration, and to the civil rights movement. But the North is not immune from racist tendencies as well. I would say it's a national problem. Clearly, the South is unique, though, and has a more acute sensitivity to the issue, as it should.

PHILLIPS: For example, in the South, I mean, you've got the Confederate flag controversy, the banning of mixed marriages. I mean, there have been a lot of issues at hand in the South that really haven't been an issue in other parts of the country.

LEVITAS: Well, just take the issue of mixed marriages, so- called. It wasn't until two years ago that voters in Alabama repealed their so-called race mixing statute. It was actually part of the constitution of the state of Alabama that white people couldn't marry black people, and amazingly, 40 percent of all Alabama voters voted to keep that in the Alabama constitution in the year 2000. That was 540,000 voters. If that's not an indication of the persistence of racism, I don't know what is.

PHILLIPS: And let's talk about the Council of Conservative Citizens, and explain to me the difference between the KKK and the CCC.

LEVITAS: Well, in point of fact, there's very little difference from its ideological stance. I'm looking here at a newsletter article from the Council of Conservative Citizens newsletter which talks about black people as a subspecies of homo sapiens. It's an organization that refers to the problem of -- quote-unquote -- "brown glop invading America."

It is the Ku Klux Klan by any other name in terms of its negative, hateful views towards black people, yet it is a group that got the endorsement of Senator Trent Lott, of Congressman Bob Barr of Georgia. The endorsement of 50 state elected officials in eight states across the South.

PHILLIPS: You know if there wasn't a legal system that has evolved protecting equal rights, it's sort of scary to think what could happen in a region where groups like this are thriving.

LEVITAS: Well, this is really where a lot of the issues around Lott arise. The triumph of the civil rights movement was that it removed the legal practices of segregation, which made black people second and third-class citizens. We can't change the hearts and minds of people through legislation, but we can at least outlaw unconstitutional behavior. And what Senator Lott and the other politicians, Bob Barr and others included, say when they endorse the segregationist platform of Strom Thurmond is that they believe that those policies enshrined in law would have still been a good thing, and that's, frankly, a very disturbing notion in 2002.

PHILLIPS: And looking at those disturbing notions, looking at these realities, I've got ask you this question -- how do you look ahead and think about diversifying the Senate? I mean, still, there aren't any options right now. It's still a white male that's going to be appointed as majority leader. What are your thoughts on that?

LEVITAS: Well, it's a good point. There are no African- Americans in the United States Senate, despite the fact that they make up more than 12, 13 percent of the population in America today.

That is one of the legacies of slavery, and the deprivation of black voting rights, and it continues to be a problem. The lack of enforcement of appropriate voting rights to guarantee equal representation. I don't have an easy solution to that problem, but clearly, our laws that guarantee equal protection and voting rights have to be more vigorously enforced.

PHILLIPS: Daniel Levitas, author of "Terrorist Next Door." It's a book about the militia movement. It is always great to interview you. You have great insights, especially on a subject like this. Daniel, thanks so much.

LEVITAS: Thank you very much. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com