Majority of Republicans polled think Trump better than Lincoln

[Cow Poke]

And how about the numerous race crime hoaxes that have cropped up in recent years?

Absolutely - it's like there isn't enough racism, so the race police have to invent racist cases.

[Teallaura]

No, they are not that big anymore. But they were never all that big, yet they still managed to gain influence, because of the number of "fellow travelers" or those sympathetic to its ideas and ideals. In the same way, the overt racism of the klan has largely disappeared, yet racism has not.
or

Are you nuts? The Klan was huge in the early 20th century - across the country.

[Teallaura]

The Klan is alive and well in North Carolina.

Getting the WP to prop them up as a boogie-man doesn't make them actually important - or less of a joke.

[shunyadragon]

Getting the WP to prop them up as a boogie-man doesn't make them actually important - or less of a joke.

The KKK is only one organization that advocates racism, secession, and the heratage of the Confederate flag together. There is the Sons of the Confederate Veterans, and the Daughters of the Confederate Veterans, both wide spread and influential groups. Of course there are more racist and more radical groups that believe the Confederate flag is a legitimate representation of the heritage of the South. One thing they all have in common is they try to rewrite history to say that the Civil War is not about slavery, and of course hate Lincoln, and by the way glorify Trump.

Of course there are blacks who fought in the Confederate army, but by far most served with their slave masters.

[rogue06]

Are you nuts? The Klan was huge in the early 20th century - across the country.

They were pretty popular in the upper MidWest back then and even had branches in Canuckistan.

[simplicio]

Are you nuts? The Klan was huge in the early 20th century - across the country.

Yes they were big, but the number of actual members was dwarfed by the number of those either sympathetic or unwilling to offer even token opposition. That is what I referred to by fellow travelers.

Movements gain power through having many either allied to their ideas or sympathetic. Just how big are the alt right groups like the klan today or in 2017 (Charlottesville Unite the Right)? They were small, but their rallies had a string of successes that summer.

That summer also coincided with record sales of those flags. They were popular a couple of years ago, proudly flown by many until Charlottesville turned into the fiasco it did.