Mitch McConnell: Remove Jefferson Davis Statue from Kentucky Capitol

AP Photo/Ed Reinke
AP Photo/Ed Reinke

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has joined calls to remove a statue of Kentucky-native Jefferson Davis from the state capitol building.

The statue of Jefferson Davis has been in the rotunda of the Kentucky Capitol building since 1936, but it has come under fire by McConnell, GOP Gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin, and “top Republicans in Kentucky’s House and Senate.”

According to WAVE 3, McConnell gave a measured response to questions about removing the statue, saying, “Maybe a better place for that would be the Kentucky History Museum, which is also in the state Capitol.”

GOP Gubernatorial candidate Bevin took a similar tack, saying, “It is important never to forget our history, but parts of our history are more appropriately displayed in museums, not on government property.” And Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers (R-Dist. 25) said, “You have to wonder why we have that in the rotunda.” Again, the statue has been there since 1936, so it appears there has not been a lot of “wonder” over it for quite some time.

Once South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (R) capitulated to Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, and those who blamed the Confederate flag for the actions of the alleged Charleston gunman Dylann Roof, other Republicans around the country began to fold in a bizarre game of blame the flag or—as McConnell, Bevin, and Stivers are playing it—blame the statue.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

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