Legalectric

Doing some research as I try to wrap my head around how it is that in Goodhue County, Senate District 20, House District 20A, we elected “America First” election deniers, and that in this part of the world, the Goodhue County Republicans wound people up about January 6. Digging on America First (then and now in a number of permutations) and I remember reading about it it at the Lindbergh Museum in Little Falls.

On a similar vein, long ago I got “The Ku Klux Klan in Minnesota,” which has a lot of good factoids and references but the writing is almost unbearable to read. I’d not gone further.

Learning about this is excruciating. Jawdropping, the numbers jumping on these bandwagons, then, and now, and getting the details down, whew. Eye strain and brain strain reading all this… But it’s necessary. This election got me thinking about it again because of the similarity of positions, and how did we get to where we are today — thinking about intellectual/moral heirs to America First and Ku Klux Klan.

Let’s go back about 100 years… and check out the Klan activity here in Minnesota, and specifically in Red Wing, and around Goodhue County too:

More coming soon… there’s a LOT to this. The themes, and the local papers, but that means a trek to the library. SOON!

And here’s some more: