The Lady Who Brought Down David Duke

Jillian Bandes | September 16, 2009 9:19 AM

David Duke founded the Louisiana State KKK, was an avid neo-Nazi, and active Jew-hater throughout his life. Despite this, he managed to get elected to the Louisiana State House of Representatives, which Quin Hillyer at The Washington Times explains this way:

It is hard to believe, unless you were there, just how effective Duke was at manipulating the media. He was telegenic and glib, with a preternatural ability to turn any hostile interview to his advantage while hitting populist hot buttons again and again. And Louisiana was a poor state, with a poor educational system. Demagoguery worked. It would take savvy planning to stop him.

The woman who undertook that savvy planning was one Beth Rickey, who died last Friday in pain and obscurity, before financial help could arrive. It's worth everyone's time to take a look a her eulogy.