Three is a trend. After one Arkansas Republican lawmaker was recently caught arguing the merits of slavery and another was caught advocating death to naughty children, a third has solidified the fact that, indeed, there is a trend of Arkansas legislators spouting idiotic nonsense.

The man rounding out the trio is Arkansas state Representative Loy Mauch, a "neo-Confederate" with ties to a group on the Southern Poverty Law Center's watch list, according to the Arkansas Times. The Times reports that Mauch has, for years, been writing wildly racist and backwards letters to the editorial section of the Democrat-Gazette newspaper. The letters touch on everything from slavery to the Confederate flag to the idea that Abraham Lincoln was a Marxist "war criminal." A sampling of Mauch's greatest hits are below, our favorite being: "If slavery were so God-awful, why didn't Jesus or Paul condemn it, why was it in the Constitution and why wasn't there a war before 1861?" It's a valid question. If slavery is so bad, why would the wealthy white male drafters of the Constitution have put it in there?

Some of the rest:

Jan. 8, 2009

... If slavery were so God-awful, why didn't Jesus or Paul condemn it, why was it in the Constitution and why wasn't there a war before 1861?
The South has always stood by the Constitution and limited government. When one attacks the Confederate Battle Flag, he is certainly denouncing these principles of government as well as Christianity.

Feb. 15, 2003

Nowhere in the Holy Bible have I found a word of condemnation for the operation of slavery, Old or New Testament. If slavery was so bad, why didn't Jesus, Paul or the prophets say something?
This country already lionizes Wehrmacht leaders. They go by the names of Lincoln, Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Custer, etc. These Marxists not only destroyed the Constitution they were sworn to uphold, but apostatized the word of God. Either these depraved infidels or the Constitution and Scriptures are in error. I'm more persuaded by the word of God.

Oct. 7, 2000

I'm very proud my ancestors stood up to Northern aggression. The Confederate flag to me is not only a symbol of our brief period of independence and our loyalty to the 1789 Constitution, but also a symbol of Christian liberty vs. the new world order.

To read even more of Mauch's ranting, head over to the Arkansas Times website, which has a fairly thorough rundown. Oh, and be careful the next time you're in Arkansas.

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