Cox Befriended Right-Wing Hate-Monger

thinkprogress.org
Cox Befriended Right-Wing Hate-Monger

Christopher Cox, Bush’s nominee to be the next chairman of the SEC, wrote the following review of a book entitled Back to Basics for the Republican Party:

The Republican heritage is shared by every American who cherishes universal suffrage, civil rights, and equality before the law. The pivotal role of the Republican party in this achievement - and the racist and sexist past of the Democratic party - are authoritatively presented in this eye-opening book.

Nice review. So what’s the problem? The author. The book is written by an individual named Michael Zak. What’s troubling about Cox’s association with Zak is that Zak has such a far-right, out-of-the-mainstream, hate-filled ideology. The Baltimore Sun today sampled some of his outrageous quotes:


“Mastery over blacks has always been Democratic policy,” the Calvert Recorder quoted Zak as saying during the dinner speech. In the book, Zak calls the Ku Klux Klan the “terrorist wing” of the Democratic Party.

Instead of rejecting this ideology, Cox has put his stamp of approval on it. In an 11/19/04 article by Congressional Quarterly Today entitled, Cox Liked This Book So Much, He Hired the Author and Commissioned a Calendar, Cox is reported to have so enjoyed reading Zak’s hate-mongering that he invited Zak to lunch, showered him with complements, and even offered him a job.