Byrd: Why I Left the Klan

NewsMax ^ | 3/11/05 | Limbacher

[festus]

Sheets is one of the few Dems that I actually enjoy hearing speak. I don't agree with him on darn near anything. He is however almost 100% completely your stereotypical southern political windbag.

I have always enjoyed listening to him rant.

[thathamiltonwoman]

What a crock. OK, Byrd left the Klan in 1946. In 1964 he fillibustered the Civil Rights Act for fourteen straight hours. I wonder if Colmes asked him about that...

14 hours without a break. Man, that's some serious hatred. BTW, what did Byrd do in WWII? I know he wrote an infamous letter complaining that he'd never serve in a desegregated military but did he serve at all?

[Gelato]

Here ya go:

Sen. Robert Byrd Talks with Alan Colmes
Friday, March 11, 2005

[snip]

COLMES: You have taken measureless abuse. Your detractors, whenever they talk about you, they love to mention the KKK and your membership. Does that anger you?

BYRD: No. No. That is but a memory and a sad one. And I have said so. And I have apologized for it. And that's all I can do.

COLMES: It doesn't get you angry, doesn't get under your skin that they love to bring that up every time they mention Senator Robert Byrd?

BYRD: No, it doesn't. I tell you frankly, I have done my best to do the right thing. The people of West Virginia know that. They know the history. And they put it aside. They continue to return me. I was wrong, as many young men are wrong today, even when they join groups. That's all in the past.

COLMES: What changed you? What enabled your thinking to progress? What changed you as a man?

BYRD: Time, reflection, and the teachings of the Bible, the sermon on the mount. My wife and I, we're born-again Christians. That's term you hear a lot about. Well, we are indeed born-again Christians. We were baptized in the Old Church Yard at a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Baptist Church in 1946. That's 59 years ago. That changed my thinking in many ways. And as time goes on, as experience has its impact, as the years come and go, we all ripen and change, I hope for the better, and I think I have.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLMES: Lots more still to cover with Senator Byrd, including his talk about his latest controversial interview with FOX News where he — a few years ago — used the "N" word. You don't want to miss that.

[snip]

COLMES: When you did an interview with Tony Snow on our network a few years ago, and you were talking about your mother and what she had taught you...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BYRD: There are white niggers. I have seen a lot of white niggers in my time, if you want to use that word.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLMES: ... that's not a word you would normally use, I guess. And I knew you were trying to make a point, where that word means ignorance. Is there a misunderstanding about what that word really means?

BYRD: Well, I have heard many people use it. I have heard black leaders use it. I've heard white leaders use it. I meant nothing by that except as you were saying. That's another one of those things that come and go. I don't dwell on them. I try not to live too much in the past.

COLMES: You just cast your 17,187th vote on the floor of the Senate. But who is counting? That's some record, huh?

BYRD: A roll call attendance record of 98.7 percent over a period of now 47 years. My goal is to continue serving the people of the nation and the people of West Virginia as long as I can be effective and be of service.

COLMES: Will you run in 2006?

BYRD: I certainly am thinking strongly about it.

COLMES: That sounds like a yes to me.

BYRD: Yes. We're not here today to make any announcements. What we are here for is to state the truth about what's happening in the United States Senate and to your constitutional right of freedom of speech. This is my way of serving my country.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,150139,00.html

[Ruth A.]

Thank you.

[T. Buzzard Trueblood]

what did Byrd do in WWII? I know he wrote an infamous letter complaining that he'd never serve in a desegregated military but did he serve at all?

No mention of military service on his Senate website.

[stratman1969]

BYRD: Time, reflection, and the teachings of the Bible, the sermon on the mount. My wife and I, we're born-again Christians. That's term you hear a lot about. Well, we are indeed born-again Christians. We were baptized in the Old Church Yard at a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Baptist Church in 1946. That's 59 years ago. That changed my thinking in many ways. And as time goes on, as experience has its impact, as the years come and go, we all ripen and change, I hope for the better, and I think I have.

Sounds like Democratic pandering to values based Red state voters to me.

[T. Buzzard Trueblood]

A 27 year old Robert Byrd wrote, in 1944,

"I am loyal to my country and know but reverence for her flag. But I shall never submit to fight beneath that banner with a Negro by my side. Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt, never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels."

Sounds like a lame excuse to me. And God bless everyone who serves and has served in our military, whatever their color.

[eeriegeno]

"Well, I have heard many people use it. I have heard black leaders use it. I've heard white leaders use it."

Senator?, that's a very lean excuse for you use of the 'n' word? If you want me to believe that, please name the white and black leaders who have used that word! Else, I will assume that you are as racist in 2005 as you were in 1964 and 1946.....

[Dawgreg]

Oh boy do I! This just goes to show that PC is running rampant in this country and has to stop!

[Victoria Delsoul]

What a crock. OK, Byrd left the Klan in 1946. In 1964 he fillibustered the Civil Rights Act for fourteen straight hours.

Not only that. This is his latest picture, lol.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Just Jesse and Al. You know, the classy guys. ;)

[mountaineer]

For Immediate Release
March 13, 2005

GOP LEADER RESPONDS TO BYRD FOX INTERVIEW
Hiram Lewis Questions the Senator's Remarks; Calls on Byrd to Renounce the 'Religious' Mission of the Klan.



CHARLESTON, WV - West Virginia Republican Party Treasurer Hiram Lewis, IV questioned the sincerity of Senator Byrd's remarks following a recent interview with Alan Colmes on Fox News.

"It was nothing but a paid political ad," Lewis said, noting that Sean Hannity was mysteriously absent from the interview. "I am sure that was a condition of the interview. The Senator chose to be interviewed by a like-minded liberal that would not question his stance against the war, judicial fillibusters, and the Senator's history with the Ku-Klux-Klan."

For example, when questioned by Colmens, "What changed you? What enabled your thinking to progress? What changed you as a man?" Senator Byrd responded, "Time, reflection, and the teachings of the Bible, the sermon on the mount. My wife and I, we're born-again Christians. We were baptized in the Old Church Yard of Crab Orchard Baptist Church in 1946. That's 59 years ago."

But, noted Lewis, that fails to explain his votes against African-American nominees Thurgood Marshall (Supreme Court), Clarence Thomas (Supreme Court), and Condoleeze Rice (Secretary of State); his 14 hour and 13 minute fillibuster of the 1964 Civil Rights Act; his racial slurs on FoxNews in March, 2001; and his letter to the Klan Imperial Wizard in 1946, wherein the Senator stated, "I am a former kleagle of the Ku Klux Klan in Raleigh County and the adjoining counties of the state. The Klan is needed today as never before and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia."

Note also that the Senator stated during his congressional campaign in 1952 that his Klan membership ended in 1943, three years prior to the revealing letter.

Lewis says that the Senator "always relies on religion to cover-up sins of the past," adding: "He knows that West Virginia is a conservative, christian state. Most voters go to church on Sundays, and if they don't, they tend to worship God in one way or another. In fact, I am a 'born-again' Christian, but, in no way, does my understanding support racism."

It is interesting to note that the Klu-Klux-Klan considers itself a religious movement. For example, Thomas Robb, a national leader of the KKK and founder of Thomas Robb Ministries, states the following as his mission on his website:

"We believe that the Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Scandinavian, and kindred people are THE people of the Bible - God's separated and anointed Israel.... For the mission God has bestowed upon His chosen people, the white race, he requires their separation.... God is calling white men and women to take a message to their brothers and sisters.... God bless you as you begin and continue your journey of racial awareness and Christian responsibility."

Lewis says, "Many bad things throughout history have been done in the name of religion, including the Ku-Klux-Klan. The Bible teaches that we shall know them by their fruits. Hatred for a fellow human being based on race, is not a spiritual fruit anyway you cut it. Senator Byrd needs to renounce the Klan and his involvement with its religious mission."

---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, March 11, 2004

THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER HITLER

Opportunities facing nation cannot be overcome by “name calling”

BECKLEY, WV - Despite a weak denial by Sen. Robert Byrd (D) WV during an interview aired Thursday night on the Fox News Channel, remarks from a speech he delivered on the Senate floor comparing Republicans to Adolph Hitler continue to ripple across this nation, sparking intense debate over the latest controversial statement by the self proclaimed, “Dean of the Senate.”

Fellow West Virginian and 2004 Republican Congressional Nominee Rick Snuffer is calling on his state’s senior senator to apologize to the Jewish people and all who were victimized by the actions of the world’s worst villain. “Make no mistake, there will never, and I repeat, never, be another Hitler,” the former congressional candidate declared. “Too many voices in the world are trying to diminish history’s darkest moment and for the longest serving member of the United States Senate to compare someone’s actions to Hitler or his Nazi party because he disagrees with them is unacceptable. Senator Byrd knows better than this and I’m not sure that I understand his lapse of judgment in this area,” Snuffer added.

Unlike many within his party, Snuffer is not calling on the former senate leader to step down because of his controversial speech. “On the contrary, I would really like to see him lead his party’s ticket in the next election cycle.” Snuffer concludes, “I only hope that should the senator be able to run again in 06, he will stick to the issues important to the people of West Virginia and refrain from name calling and other outrageous behavior.”

[sanjacjake]

Byrd got tired of washing his own white sheets....Jake

[Stultis]

Byrd needs to be asked which white or black leaders used the term "White Nigger".

Heck, I used to work in construction, and I haven't heard any form of "nigger" used even by uncouth, blue-collar rednecks in the past 25 or 30 years. One still heard it sometimes through the 70's, but not since.