Leavenworth, Kansas County Commissioner Louis Klemp set about digging himself a hole and jumping in Tuesday, when he made a bizarre crack about being a part of “the master race,” to a black woman (who asked not to be identified) who was making a presentation to the County Commission on behalf of a landscape and architectural firm. Klemp is white and apparently he thought he was being quite clever when he said to the woman that they both were members of the master race, because they had a gap between their teeth. Quite the wit, Klemp — half wit, that is. In any event, the remark aroused the ire of another county commissioner, Bob Holland, who made it clear that Klemp did not speak for him or for the county. The Hill:
“What’s this master race?” Holland said, according to KCTV. “None of us are master race. We’re all American and we’re all human beings.”
Holland said Klemp should apologize to the woman and that the county should not be known based on Klemp’s comments alone.
These are not the first controversial remarks by Klemp, according to KCTV, which reported that last year he praised Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
“Oh, God, Robert E. Lee — wonderful part of history,” Klemp said in November 2017, according to the local station.
He also has made comments about his family’s history of owning slaves.
“I’m going to be honest with you, my great-great grandfather had a slave,” Klemp reportedly said.
Yes, Mr. Klemp, and that’s the natural order of things now, isn’t it? Being a member of the master race is what it’s all about, and in this wonderful era of Trump, you can just see yourself on the veranda of the plantation, sipping a mint julep. Just like it’s supposed to be.
Seeing is believing, here this charmer is.
