A Southern California councilman is attracting attention and drawing some fire for declaring at an anti-immigration rally that he is "a proud racist" if that means believing that the United States should have only one flag and one language, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. In a long article posted yesterday (and flagged by memorandum), the paper writes that Santa Clarita Councilman Bob Kellar "stood by his remarks" at the Jan. 16 rally, saying they "reflected his frustration with illegal immigration, but weren't intended to express animosity against nonwhites."
"It doesn't mean I'm going to saddle up the horses at midnight," said Kellar, who has served the city north of Los Angeles for 10 years.
Here's some of what the Daily News writes:
At the rally, Kellar first referred to a statement from President Theodore Roosevelt that says the United States only has room for one flag and one language. He said he had quoted it at a past City Council meeting.
"The only thing I heard back from a couple of people was `Bob, you sound like a racist.'
"I said, `That's good. If that's what you think I am because I happen to believe in America, then I'm a proud racist. You're darn right I am."'
The rally, held at the corner of Magic Mountain Parkway and Valencia Boulevard, was attended by members of several groups that are against illegal immigration, including the Santa Clarita Valley Independent Minutemen.
Kellar said he went not as a councilman, but as a resident of Santa Clarita and a concerned American.
In the interview, he said government officials need to stand strong on immigration and good people have been hurt by those who cross the border illegally.
"I'm a conservative," Kellar said. "I have a big problem with illegals. When are we going to stop all this foolishness? I stand by everything I said."