Allen's Confidant Tom Tancredo Addressed Hate Group on 9-11

http://www.splcenter...

 
  COLUMBIA, S.C. | Sept. 11, 2006 -- For a college football game day, the South Carolina State Museum in downtown Columbia was a busy place on the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 9.

On the ground floor, a United States Army brass band commemorated the victims of 9/11. One level up, not far from the museum's permanent Confederate Army exhibit, the state chapter of the League of the South (LOS), a neo-Confederate hate group, hosted a barbeque in honor of Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, head of the House Immigration Reform Caucus and likely contestant in the 2008 GOP presidential primary. Proceeds from the $15 per-plate fundraiser went to Americans Have Had Enough!, a South Carolina-based non-profit coalition for which Tancredo serves as honorary chairman.

While Tancredo's hard-line "deport 'em all" stance on immigration has made him a favorite politician of white supremacists, this marked the first time the congressman has appeared at a hate group event.

Dressed casually in a yellow t-shirt, Tancredo addressed the standing-room audience of 200-250 from behind a podium draped in a Confederate battle flag. To the congressman's right, a portrait of Robert E. Lee peered out at the crowd of Minutemen activists, local politicians, and red-shirted members of LOS and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The Confederate trappings of the event found a mismatch in Tancredo's standard nativist polemic, which stayed clear of references to Southern heritage or direct plaudits for the LOS, a Southern white nationalist organization dedicated to "Southern independence, complete, full, and total."

Tancredo's appearance was part of a five-day sweep through conservative South Carolina, which hosts an early GOP primary and has seen the Southeast's largest percentage gain in foreign-born residents since the 2000 Census. Rising to his friendly audience, Tancredo blasted South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham for being too soft on immigration and basked in the long applause that followed his harangues against illegal immigrants and "the cult of multiculturalism" that glorifies disunity and refuses to acknowledge the "Christian principles enshrined in the U.S. Constitution." ***

At the close of Tancredo's speech, several men in confederate-themed clothing stood up and bellowed the first notes of "Dixie," the Confederate anthem. They were soon joined by voices from throughout the large hall, which was now entirely on its feet. Tancredo, a second-generation Italian-American from Denver, appeared confused by the sudden burst of strange song. He quickly worked his way toward the exit with his staff.

Trancredo's encounter with the League of the South continued outside. On the steps of the museum, Tancredo held court with LOS officials and supporters in Confederate clothing. He held a batch of the materials being distributed at the barbeque, among them a copy of the The Citizen's Informer, the newspaper of the Conservative Citizens Council, the racist organization that grew out of the segregationist White Citizens Councils of the 1950s. When questioned about the newspaper, Tancredo responded that he did not know its history.

You can read the rest of the site for additional information.

According to Wikipedia, in addition to seeking secession:

The League of the South has been attacked as racist,[21] a charge the League denies.[22] Critics, most notably the Southern Poverty Law Center, argue that it seeks to create a theocracy.[23] J. Michael Hill, the League's president, has called slavery a "God-ordained institution" and opposes interracial marriage. Hill opposes "universal 'human rights", calling it an "evil genie", impossible to put back in the bottle, since "rights for women, racial and ethnic minorities, homosexuals, pedophiles, etc., can be manufactured easily."[24] Jack Kershaw, a board member, has said "somebody needs to say a good word for slavery. Where in the world are the Negroes better off today than in America?"[25] The SPLC has noted that some prominent members of the League are members of racist and neo-Nazi groups. For instance, the North Carolina branch of the League has Steven Barry as an "advisor", who is a member of the neo-Nazi National Alliance.[26][footnotes available on Wikipedia site]

Here's George Allen's link to Tom Tancredo.  According to various political columns such as
  http://www.bloomberg... the following meeting occurred, in, I believe, September 2005:

  Tancredo said he hopes one of the more establishment candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 will adopt his anti-immigration stance. He recently met with Republican Virginia Senator George Allen, a possible presidential aspirant, to discuss immigration and said he came away mildly encouraged.
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A spokesman for Allen's office had no comment on the meeting between Tancredo and the senator.

According to Max Blumenthal:

Senator George Allen of Virginia met privately with Tancredo in September to seek his blessing and advice.

Does anyone think George Allen will denounce Tancredo's appearance?  What did Allen say to Tancredo that encouraged him? 

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