> Robert Byrd had abandoned any connection with the KKK decades before that picture was taken and he was never a “Grand Wizard” anyway. <
As others have noted, Byrd was an Exalted Cyclops. That’s a pretty big deal (see my post #8). So I must respectfully disagree with you.
Suppose some Republican had wandered into a Klan meeting by mistake or out of curiosity. The media would NEVER forgive that. Well, Byrd didn’t just wander into a Klan meeting. He was actually running the Klan meeting.
You’ve got to be a pretty hard-core racist to be doing that.
Oh, and one more thing. Byrd left the Klan not because he saw the light. He left because he realized that being in the Klan would be harmful politically.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrd#Ku_Klux_Klan
Well let’s see if you are equally balanced in your comment on this Republican Governor
https://www.in.gov/library/2848.htm
Ku Klux Klan in Indiana
The Ku Klux Klan rose to prominence in Indiana politics and society after World War I. It was made up of native-born, white Protestants of many income and social levels. In the changing world of the 1920s, the group was against Catholics, Jews, African-Americans, immorality, and drinking. Nationally, Indiana was said to have the most powerful Ku Klux Klan. Though it counted a high number of members statewide, its importance peaked in the 1924 election of Edward Jackson for governor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_L._Jackson
Edward L. Jackson (December 27, 1873 – November 18, 1954) was an American attorney, judge and politician, elected the 32nd Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from January 12, 1925, to January 14, 1929. He had also been elected as Secretary of State of Indiana.
Jackson associated with Ku Klux Klan leaders, and became involved in several political scandals. He was accused of favoring the Klan’s agenda while in office. In 1927 he was investigated and tried on bribery charges related to having tried to bribe the previous governor, but was not convicted. The statute of limitations had expired. After finishing his term in office, he left in disgrace and never ran again for public office.
From the wikipedia:
In his last autobiography, Byrd explained that he was a KKK member because he “was sorely afflicted with tunnel vision—a jejune and immature outlook—seeing only what I wanted to see because I thought the Klan could provide an outlet for my talents and ambitions.”[22] Byrd also said in 2005, “I know now I was wrong. Intolerance had no place in America. I apologized a thousand times ... and I don’t mind apologizing over and over again. I can’t erase what happened.”[11]