National Public Radio: on Civil Rights

Corky Messner: Black Lives Matter is revolutionary, don't defund police

Messner: The first thing I would do is I would bring together a group of people to broadly discuss issues around race in this country, and I would bring together people from various factions, including those African-Americans who view the race issue in a different way than what we hear from the left.

Q: Do you support the Black Lives Matter movement?

Corky Messner: I do not. I think the Black Lives Matter movement is a revolutionary movement. For example their support of defunding police, I do not support. Safety and security is important. Are there certain reforms that need to be made to law enforcement? Absolutely. But the idea of totally defunding police, I do not support. We need law and order. We need safety and security.

Pat Buchanan: Opposes gay rights agenda in its entirety

A: I don’t apologize for my views with regards to gay rights. I oppose the gay rights agenda in its entirety. I was saying that tongue-in-cheek. Third, I did say that AIDS is in effect what happens to people as a consequence of unnatural and immoral sex. And, as you know, homosexual conduct is the primary--or was the primary way by which AIDS was spread. It was a truthful statement.

Pat Buchanan: First to demand government deal with AIDS epidemic

Pat Buchanan: Admired civil rights movement, but MLK was “divisive”

A: [I said that in] a memo in 1969 whether we should recognize the day or go down and see Mrs. King, and I suggested we not see Mrs. King. I said, ‘Martin Luther King was one of the most divisive men. Some see him as the messiah of the nation, others think he’s a dreadful person. He is a divisive figure.’ Look, I knew Martin Luther King. I am the only candidate who was at the march on Washington. I was in the Lincoln Memorial. I was in Mississippi covering the civil rights demonstrations.

Q: And what were your views when you were covering the demonstrations?

A: There were things about the civil rights movement I greatly admired. There were things that went on [that] I thought were appalling. It had moments of greatness. Like every great movement, the civil rights movement had things that were attractive and things that were not. And for my history, friends, we make no apologies.

Pat Buchanan: All lifestyles are not equal; some ideas are wrong

A: On your point about all Americans are equal, there’s no doubt all of us have the same constitutional rights. I agree. However, I think a real problem America has is we’ve taken this idea of equality and extended it so beyond where it belongs. All lifestyles are not equal. All ideas are not equal. Some are wrong; some are right. And this is what America needs more than anything else; it needs truth. Now when it comes to myself and the leader of the gay rights movement nationally, [we] have identical constitutional rights. But I do not believe their ideas are equal to mine, or that lifestyle is equal to a traditional married lifestyle. And we’ve gotta stand up for truth even when it’s unpopular and even when it’s painful. Otherwise, your society breaks down.