Beth Rickey
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Ann "Beth" Rickey (June 11, 1956 – September 12, 2009)
was a Republican
political activist from Louisiana
who exposed the neo-Nazi connections of former State Representative
David Duke
, who ran for the U.S. Senate and for governor of Louisiana in 1990 and 1991, respectively, under the GOP
label though opposed by the party leadership.
to Horace B. Rickey, Sr. (1901–1967), a veteran of World War II
, and the former Flora Ann Womack (1921–1998). Rickey, who was single, had a brother, Robert Harper Rickey and his wife, Karen Elizabeth Rickey, of Devon, England
.
An uncle, Branch Rickey
, was a Major League Baseball
executive who in 1947 signed Jackie Robinson
to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, the first African American
so designated.
Rickey's family was Republican, having supported both Barry Goldwater
in 1964 and Ronald Reagan
in 1980 and 1984 for President
. She received her Bachelor of Arts
and Master of Arts
in government
at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
. She taught government at Southeastern Louisiana University
in Hammond
until she entered Ph.D.
studies at Tulane University
.
, and attending Tulane, Rickey began to follow Duke in 1991 to various appearances across the state and nation and discovered that his continuing involvement with radical groups that he had supposedly repudiated. On more than one occasion, Duke met with Richey to try to convince her that he was a mainstream conservative who could be trusted with political office. Duke called Rickey on the telephone
, took her to lunch, and even introduced her to his two daughters."
Quin Hillyer of the Washington Times in Washington, D.C.
, a personal friend of Rickey's, said that her revelations did the most to stop the election of Duke as governor. With three weeks before the election, Duke was running in a dead heat in public opinion polls against the Democratic candidate, former Governor Edwin Washington Edwards. Hillyer said that "Duke had the momentum. What Duke could never escape, though, was all the evidence that he truly was a neo-Nazi, rather than what he claimed to be: a next-generation Reaganite conservative with a long-ago tawdry Ku Klux Klan past that he had thoroughly put behind him. Much of that evidence was unearthed by Beth Rickey."
Rickey had supported David C. Treen
for governor in 1972, when Treen was defeated by Edwards, and in 1979, when Treen was narrowly elected to the state's highest post over the Democrat Louis Lambert
. She also campaigned for Treen's brother, John S. Treen
, a businessman from Metairie
, who lost the District 81 state representative special election runoff to Duke in 1989. Rickey even left her Tulane studies to work in the Treen campaign. The House seat opened when Republican Charles Cusimano
of Jefferson Parish
resigned to become a state court judge
.
Rickey followed Duke to a national gathering in Chicago
, Illinois
, where she taped him making a racist remark. She released the tape and arranged for detectives to visit Duke's residence and legislative office where he was found selling Nazi books. As a Republican central committee member, she introduced a resolution to censure
Duke, but the move was tabled because the committee has jurisdiction only over its own members, and Duke has never been a member of the state committee. The publicity generated by Rickey hurt Duke among Republican leaders and voters who questioned his Nazi ties. Signs appeared saying, "Vote for the Crook. It's Important", a reference to Edwards' ethical conduct. The campaign was also known as "the election from Hell." Rickey started getting death threats and hired security guards to watch her apartment.
Duke tried to convince Rickey, that he was a mainstream conservative in the post-Reagan era. As their communication developed, Rickey said that Duke told her that Jews were responsible for most of the nation's problems.
Rickey and nine other Duke critics formed a new organization to hound the candidate in the weeks left in the gubernatorial campaign. The Louisiana Coalition against Racism and Nazism included figures from both parties, Christian
ministers, Jewish activists, and various liberal scholars. The coalition prevailed, as Edwards defeated Duke, 61.2 to 38.8 percent. Duke never recovered politically and was later incarcerated for tax and mail fraud. Edwards himself was sent to federal prison in Oakdale
, Louisiana, on a conviction of racketeering.
administration to commute Edwards' prison sentence.
Treen declared that Duke "simply is not believable. He is an opportunist who will say whatever is necessary to gain him votes. . . .To my Republican friends, therefore, I say do not be persuaded in favor of Duke simply because he has adopted the Republican label…. Duke affiliated with the Republican Party for one reason and one reason only: pure political opportunism. It is my judgment that David Duke must be defeated. He can't be defeated by voters staying at home out of disaffection for both candidates for governor.… There are but two names on the ballot: David Duke and Edwin Edwards. To defeat David Duke, one must vote for Edwin Edwards. That's what I will do."
The GOP state convention in the spring of 1991 had endorsed neither Duke nor incumbent Democrat-turned-Republican Governor Buddy Roemer
, but instead conservative U.S. Representative Clyde Holloway of Forest Hill
in Rapides Parish
. Holloway, now a member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission
, finished far behind in the nonpartisan blanket primary. Duke then went into the general election
with Edwards on November 16, 1991. Roemer finished a strong third but was eliminated in the primary.
Rickey said that "some members of the Republican Party are not sure what Duke's views are. My point is there is a difference between being a conservative and being a racist. He's trying to blur that distinction."
". . . Without Rickey, [voters] would never have known how big a fraud and unreconstructed Nazi [Duke] was. The media never had a more prolific and intrepid source [than Rickey]. If you weren't around here at the time, you could hardly credit what a threat Duke posed, although he was best known as a former Grand Wizard in the Klan who had at various times spoken warmly of Adolf Hitler
. Duke's meteoric rise obviously signified that plenty of voters shared, or were at least prepared to overlook, his racist views. But he had been at great pains to create a more moderate persona, appearing in natty suits, and adopting the pose of a mainstream conservative politician who happened to have been a 'rascal"'in his long-ago youth. He was glib and, thanks to his plastic surgeon, quite photogenic.
"With an electorate in a fit over welfare cheats and high taxes, there was no need, at least in polite society, for an explicit, white supremacist spiel. Duke was adept at telling white voters what a lot of them wanted to hear, and that is always the best way to come across as smart and reasonable."
which ruined her health. Thereafter, she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease
and hypertension
. She was a former Presbyterian who had converted to Roman Catholicism. Unable to find steady employment and with high-deductible health insurance coverage, she had practically exhausted her life savings before being found dead with a pitcher of ice tea
in her hand at the Silver Saddle Motel in Santa Fe
, New Mexico
. A friend had paid for a week of lodging for Rickey. Ironically, a concerned social worker found a philanthropist
willing to help, but the offer came too late. Rickey first came to Santa Fe to escape Hurricane Katrina
but had been in the New Mexico capital for the last time for just a few weeks prior to her death at the age of fifty-three.
Ironically, David Treen died at the age of eighty-one just six weeks after the passing of his longtime supporter Beth Rickey.
was a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
political activist from Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
who exposed the neo-Nazi connections of former State Representative
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
David Duke
David Duke
David Ernest Duke is a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan an American activist and writer, and former Republican Louisiana State Representative. He was also a former candidate in the Republican presidential primaries in 1992, and in the Democratic presidential primaries in...
, who ran for the U.S. Senate and for governor of Louisiana in 1990 and 1991, respectively, under the GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
label though opposed by the party leadership.
Early years and family
Rickey was born in LafayetteLafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
to Horace B. Rickey, Sr. (1901–1967), a veteran of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and the former Flora Ann Womack (1921–1998). Rickey, who was single, had a brother, Robert Harper Rickey and his wife, Karen Elizabeth Rickey, of Devon, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
An uncle, Branch Rickey
Branch Rickey
Wesley Branch Rickey was an innovative Major League Baseball executive elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967...
, was a Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
executive who in 1947 signed Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
so designated.
Rickey's family was Republican, having supported both Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
in 1964 and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
in 1980 and 1984 for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. She received her Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana...
. She taught government at Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern Louisiana University is a state-funded public university in Hammond, Louisiana, United States. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims, the principal of Hammond High School, as Hammond Junior College, located in a wing of the high school building. Sims succeeded in getting the campus...
in Hammond
Hammond, Louisiana
Hammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,049 at the 2009 census. It is home to Southeastern Louisiana University...
until she entered Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
studies at Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
.
Targeting Duke
In 1988, Rickey received only 135 votes but won the House District 93 slot on the 144-member Louisiana Republican State Central Committee. She was considered one of the more moderate members of the RSCC. Living in New OrleansNew Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, and attending Tulane, Rickey began to follow Duke in 1991 to various appearances across the state and nation and discovered that his continuing involvement with radical groups that he had supposedly repudiated. On more than one occasion, Duke met with Richey to try to convince her that he was a mainstream conservative who could be trusted with political office. Duke called Rickey on the telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
, took her to lunch, and even introduced her to his two daughters."
Quin Hillyer of the Washington Times in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, a personal friend of Rickey's, said that her revelations did the most to stop the election of Duke as governor. With three weeks before the election, Duke was running in a dead heat in public opinion polls against the Democratic candidate, former Governor Edwin Washington Edwards. Hillyer said that "Duke had the momentum. What Duke could never escape, though, was all the evidence that he truly was a neo-Nazi, rather than what he claimed to be: a next-generation Reaganite conservative with a long-ago tawdry Ku Klux Klan past that he had thoroughly put behind him. Much of that evidence was unearthed by Beth Rickey."
Rickey had supported David C. Treen
David C. Treen
David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S...
for governor in 1972, when Treen was defeated by Edwards, and in 1979, when Treen was narrowly elected to the state's highest post over the Democrat Louis Lambert
Louis Lambert
Louis Joseph Lambert, Jr. , is a Louisiana attorney, businessman, former member and chairman of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, and a former Louisiana state senator....
. She also campaigned for Treen's brother, John S. Treen
John S. Treen
John Speir Treen is a retired homebuilder from Metairie in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, who lost a 1989 special election for the Louisiana House of Representatives to the former Ku Klux Klansman David Duke. Treen is the older brother of the late David C. Treen, the first Republican governor of...
, a businessman from Metairie
Metairie, Louisiana
Metairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States and is a major part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were...
, who lost the District 81 state representative special election runoff to Duke in 1989. Rickey even left her Tulane studies to work in the Treen campaign. The House seat opened when Republican Charles Cusimano
Charles Cusimano
Charles Vincent Cusimano, II, known as Chuck Cusimano is a Republican politician from Metairie in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana....
of Jefferson Parish
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Jefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States that includes most of the suburbs of New Orleans. The seat of parish government is Gretna....
resigned to become a state court judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
.
Rickey followed Duke to a national gathering in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, where she taped him making a racist remark. She released the tape and arranged for detectives to visit Duke's residence and legislative office where he was found selling Nazi books. As a Republican central committee member, she introduced a resolution to censure
Censure
A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spiritual penalty imposed by a church, and a negative judgment pronounced on a theological proposition.-Politics:...
Duke, but the move was tabled because the committee has jurisdiction only over its own members, and Duke has never been a member of the state committee. The publicity generated by Rickey hurt Duke among Republican leaders and voters who questioned his Nazi ties. Signs appeared saying, "Vote for the Crook. It's Important", a reference to Edwards' ethical conduct. The campaign was also known as "the election from Hell." Rickey started getting death threats and hired security guards to watch her apartment.
Duke tried to convince Rickey, that he was a mainstream conservative in the post-Reagan era. As their communication developed, Rickey said that Duke told her that Jews were responsible for most of the nation's problems.
Rickey and nine other Duke critics formed a new organization to hound the candidate in the weeks left in the gubernatorial campaign. The Louisiana Coalition against Racism and Nazism included figures from both parties, Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
ministers, Jewish activists, and various liberal scholars. The coalition prevailed, as Edwards defeated Duke, 61.2 to 38.8 percent. Duke never recovered politically and was later incarcerated for tax and mail fraud. Edwards himself was sent to federal prison in Oakdale
Oakdale, Louisiana
Oakdale is a small city in Allen Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,137 at the 2000 census.Oakdale was founded as "Dunnsville" by William T. Dunn...
, Louisiana, on a conviction of racketeering.
Treen endorses Edwards
David Treen, whose political career had been launched in part to defeat Edwin Edwards, in 1972 and 1983, wound up supporting Edwards in 1991 to block the potential election of Duke as a Republican governor. He also later tried to get the George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
administration to commute Edwards' prison sentence.
Treen declared that Duke "simply is not believable. He is an opportunist who will say whatever is necessary to gain him votes. . . .To my Republican friends, therefore, I say do not be persuaded in favor of Duke simply because he has adopted the Republican label…. Duke affiliated with the Republican Party for one reason and one reason only: pure political opportunism. It is my judgment that David Duke must be defeated. He can't be defeated by voters staying at home out of disaffection for both candidates for governor.… There are but two names on the ballot: David Duke and Edwin Edwards. To defeat David Duke, one must vote for Edwin Edwards. That's what I will do."
The GOP state convention in the spring of 1991 had endorsed neither Duke nor incumbent Democrat-turned-Republican Governor Buddy Roemer
Buddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
, but instead conservative U.S. Representative Clyde Holloway of Forest Hill
Forest Hill, Louisiana
Forest Hill is a village in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 456 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Forest Hill is located at ....
in Rapides Parish
Rapides Parish, Louisiana
-Military Installations:*Camp Beauregard *Esler Airfield *England Air Force Base *Camp Claiborne *Camp Livingston -Demographics:...
. Holloway, now a member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission
Louisiana Public Service Commission
Louisiana Public Service Commission is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The commission has five elected members chosen in single-member districts for staggered six-year terms...
, finished far behind in the nonpartisan blanket primary. Duke then went into the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
with Edwards on November 16, 1991. Roemer finished a strong third but was eliminated in the primary.
Rickey said that "some members of the Republican Party are not sure what Duke's views are. My point is there is a difference between being a conservative and being a racist. He's trying to blur that distinction."
Times-Picayune analysis
The New Orleans Times-Picayune theorized that Louisiana voters might not have rejected Duke if Rickey had not made his exposure her life's crusade.". . . Without Rickey, [voters] would never have known how big a fraud and unreconstructed Nazi [Duke] was. The media never had a more prolific and intrepid source [than Rickey]. If you weren't around here at the time, you could hardly credit what a threat Duke posed, although he was best known as a former Grand Wizard in the Klan who had at various times spoken warmly of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. Duke's meteoric rise obviously signified that plenty of voters shared, or were at least prepared to overlook, his racist views. But he had been at great pains to create a more moderate persona, appearing in natty suits, and adopting the pose of a mainstream conservative politician who happened to have been a 'rascal"'in his long-ago youth. He was glib and, thanks to his plastic surgeon, quite photogenic.
"With an electorate in a fit over welfare cheats and high taxes, there was no need, at least in polite society, for an explicit, white supremacist spiel. Duke was adept at telling white voters what a lot of them wanted to hear, and that is always the best way to come across as smart and reasonable."
Rickey's last years
In her later years, Rickey fell on hard times with declining health and financial woes. She took a church mission trip to Mexico in 1996 and returned with a mysterious virusVirus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
which ruined her health. Thereafter, she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease
Crohn's disease
Crohn's disease, also known as regional enteritis, is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, causing a wide variety of symptoms...
and hypertension
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
. She was a former Presbyterian who had converted to Roman Catholicism. Unable to find steady employment and with high-deductible health insurance coverage, she had practically exhausted her life savings before being found dead with a pitcher of ice tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
in her hand at the Silver Saddle Motel in Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. A friend had paid for a week of lodging for Rickey. Ironically, a concerned social worker found a philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
willing to help, but the offer came too late. Rickey first came to Santa Fe to escape Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
but had been in the New Mexico capital for the last time for just a few weeks prior to her death at the age of fifty-three.
Ironically, David Treen died at the age of eighty-one just six weeks after the passing of his longtime supporter Beth Rickey.