Cox: Jocelyn Benson Disqualified Herself from Governor’s Race After Helping Lead Group Accused of Funding Extremist Organizations
LIVONIA, MI — Gubernatorial candidate Mike Cox today said Jocelyn Benson has disqualified herself from serving as Governor after revelations that the Southern Poverty Law Center, where Benson served on the board, is accused of paying at least $3 million to individuals associated with the Ku Klux Klan, the United Klans of America, the National Socialist Party of America, Aryan Nations affiliates, and the American Front.
Jocelyn Benson did not stand near this scandal. She helped lead it.
“Helping lead a group accused of paying Klan and neo-Nazi associates is not a lapse in judgment. It is a disgusting, moral disgrace,” said Cox. “Jocelyn Benson has not merely called her fitness into question. She has proven she is unfit to serve.”
Cox said there are only two possibilities.
“She either knew and was complicit, or she was asleep while this happened under her watch. Both are disqualifying. Both are damning.”
For years Benson has claimed the moral high ground, branding others extremists and lecturing Michiganders about democracy. Now the organization she helped lead stands accused of secretly paying individuals tied to hate groups.
“That is corruption wrapped in sanctimony,” Cox said. “The woman who lectures everyone else about extremism helped lead a group accused of bankrolling people tied to the Klan. You cannot make that up.”
The Michigan press needs to start asking Benson the tough questions:
Why did she help lead an organization accused of paying millions to KKK and neo-Nazi associates?
What did she know while serving on its board?
Why should any voter trust the judgment of someone tied to a scandal this grotesque?
Will she apologize to Michiganders and admit she was wrong?
Cox said this goes beyond politics.
“Helping lead a group accused of paying millions to individuals tied to the KKK and neo-Nazis should end a political career,” Cox said. “No one involved in something this grotesque belongs in the Governor’s office. Jocelyn Benson helped lead it. She disqualified herself. And she should never be Governor.”