John Tower

Given the horrors of the modern Republican Party, we can easily forget how classy they were in the past. For example, take former Texas Senator John Tower, the first Republican senator from Texas since Reconstruction. He's probably best known today as George H.W. Bush's rejected Secretary of Defense nominee. But let's not forget about his racism. For instance, this quote I've just run across concerning the 1981 Justice Department move of Haitian refugee detainees to Big Spring, Texas:

Max Friedersdorf, White House head of Congressional Relations warned Reagan administration officials of Tower's anger and complaints that "you have tripled the black population of Big Springs, Texas, and not even advised me in advance."

Nice.

From Thomas R. Maddux, "Ronald Reagan and the Task Force on Immigration, 1981," Pacific Historical Review May 2005, 214-15.