State Republican Chairman Doyle Webb would have done better suggesting this remedy at the outset. He has now called for John Casteel of Newport to resign as Jackson County Republican chairman because he refuses to relinquish his membership in the racist successor group to the White Citizens Council. He’d first suggested that Casteel resign from the racist group. Said Webb in a statement released by the party:
After speaking with Mr. Casteel, he has decided not to cease membership with the Council of Conservative Citizens. As a result, I have asked him to resign as Jackson County Chairman. If Mr. Casteel chooses not to resign, the matter will be referred to the state executive committee for resolution.
It seems unlikely that Casteel will be any more amenable to this suggestion from Webb than he was to his first. So it might be up to the Republican Executive Committee to consider the proclivities of the leader in their midst. By the way: The Citizens Council is not white supremacist, a defender told the D-G, merely “pro-white.” Oh. Will the state Republican leadership bounce a party leader for this viewpoint, which he apparently tirelessly proselytized? I hope they’ll invite the public into the meeting at which the discussion is held.
Casteel, a Huckabee appointee to the state commission that regulates the mobile home industry, has a long history of racial rabble-rousing. For example, he contributed to anti-busing St. Louis school board candidates decades ago.
