Before Mayor Mitch Landrieu decided to remove all of New Orleans’s Confederate memorials as a public nuisance, he was State Representative Mitch Landrieu. State Rep Landrieu had a different attitude toward the most infamous symbol of the Confederacy, the Confederate battle flag, than Mayor Landrieu does.

Back in 1999, State Rep Landrieu, who represented some of the whitest sections in New Orleans, voted to create a license plate that featured that flag.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who is calling for the removal of Confederate monuments in New Orleans, once voted to create an official Louisiana license plate emblazoned with a far more divisive symbol, the Confederate battle flag. The 1999 vote, cast when Landrieu was a state representative, authorized the creation of a plate for members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans organization.

Its logo includes the battle flag, often erroneously called the Confederate flag. The battle flag was carried into combat by Confederate troops because the national flag of the break-away country was too easily confused with the one used by Union soldiers.

The battle flag was largely seen as a relic until the Civil Rights era, when it was adopted by segregationists and white supremacists as a symbol of resistance to federal authority. For many southerners, it also became a symbol of regional heritage and pride.

Before Mitch Landrieu decided to pander to Cultural Marxists, he was pandering to rednecks. What changed?

For starters, Mitch Landrieu needed something to distract from New Orleans’s high homicide rate. New Orleans lets just say is not a very safe city right now and Mitch hasn’t done a whole lot to change that.

This vote tells you all you need to know about Mitch Landrieu, which is that he will whore himself out to the highest bidder for political gain.