Community Corner

Rand Paul Staffer Is Outspoken SC Pundit

A story in the Washington Free Beacon has identified comments of Jack Hunter, known to many politicos in South Carolina as The Southern Avenger, as being "neo-confederate" and "pro-secessionist."

According to the story (viewable here), Hunter has made a number of controversial comments, including one from 2004, when he said that John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln, had his "heart in the right place."

In a 2006 monologue marking the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, Hunter said that George W. Bush, the president at the time, was "the Johnnie Cochrane of American presidents" for the way he conducted the aftermath of 9/11. 

The Free Beacon also reported that Hunter was the chairman of the League of the South, an organization called "implicitly racist" by the Anti-Defamation League.

When confronted about his past remarks by the Free Beacon, Hunter said they have changed and implied that they might have been made for shock value.

Hunter is receiving increased scrutiny for his relationship with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. Paul is thought to be considering a run for president in 2016 and visited the Palmetto State earlier this month. 

Hunter wrote a book with Paul called The Tea Party Goes to Washington, which was published in 2011.

On his website, Hunter addressed the controversy saying, in part, "I am embarrassed by some of the comments I made precisely because they do not represent me today."


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