Posted on 01/22/2003 3:23:12 AM PST by ovrtaxt
Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2003 12:01 a.m. EST Civil Rights Leader to Picket 'KKK' Byrd Tribute
A Washington, D.C.-based civil rights leader said Tuesday that he would "chain [himself] to the construction site" of a ceremonial office being built as a tribute to Ku Klux Klansman-turned-senator, Robert Byrd, D-W.V.
"I will not stand idly by and allow the building of a fantasy office for 'a minister of hate' such as Robert Byrd," said Kevin Martin, political affairs director of the African-American Republican Leadership Council. "I am willing to chain myself to the construction site, run the risk of arrest and know I stood on principle rather than remain silent."
Yesterday reports surfaced of a secret budget appropriation to build a replica in the Capitol Building of the ornate office Byrd used to occupy as Senate Pro Tempore, even though he lost the pro tem post when the Democrats lost their plurality.
The exact cost has not been made public and it is unmentioned in any appropriations document or even internal Senate correspondence. But some estimated the Byrd tribute would come with a six-figure price tag, according to the Knight-Ridder news service.
Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said Byrd's colleagues feared retribution from the ex-Klansman unless they found a new way to honor him, explaining, "Frankly, it's not worth the trouble he can create if you don't give him deference."
But on Tuesday Martin decried the Byrd shakedown as an outrage. "I say shame on both Senate Democrats and Republicans for saddling the American public with the bill of building a monument to an evil one-time recruiter of persons who wanted to conduct terrorist acts against fellow Americans."
Last week Byrd said through a spokesman that he had never participated in lynchings or cross burnings while he was in the Klan briefly during World War II. But questions continue to swirl about the West Virginia Democrat's claim, offered through his spokesman Tom Gavin, that he wasn't a racist while he was a member of the virulently anti-black terror group.
"Democrats can play the race-baiting games all they want, but Senator Robert Byrd is a continued reminder of their racist past of jackboots, billyclubs, water hoses, dogs and nightriders," Martin said. "I refuse to accept Senator Byrd's excuse of why he was a member of the KKK."
Coming Wednesday: Evidence surfaces indicating that Byrd may have been a Ku Klux Klan member well past 1943, the year he maintains he resigned from the notorious hate group.
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics: DNC
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WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
"GoKevinGo"FReegards...MUD
Isn't being a racists sort of a requirement for membership?
What good am I...if I'm like all the rest?
If I just turn away...when Slick's slaughterin' kids...
If I shut myself off...sit 'n' bitch, moan, and whine...
What...good...am...I?!
Why, tell me why...won't the Press tell the Truth?
'Bout Slick's deal with Beijing...'bout the Dead Slick's thugs shoot?
Should I just drink my beer...forget Slick's TREASON and his LIES?!
Whose...FOOL...am...I?!
What good am I...if I fail to FReep?!
Should I lay down in bed...try to restlessly sleep?
When I've seen Waco pictures...children carelessly FRIED...
What...good...am...I?!
Do I tell my kids...that Dad failed the FRee?!
FOLKS, WE MUST MAKE OUR STAND...LET'S DETHRONE Bob Byrd!!!
Prosecute all Slick's crimes...let's send Slick to Prison!!
Soon, RATS'll Give Up...and We'll RE-IMPEACH!!!
What good am I...if I bless foolish things?
If I cower in the face of...Vile Tyranny?!
Shall I just turn my back...while our Liberties die?!
I...would...rather...die!!
Mudboy Slim
BTW...EVERY FReeper needs to look in the mirror and ask, "What MORE Could I Be Doing?!"
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It's great ammo for him. He was basically laughed at the other day at a dem, candidate debate!
Byrd is a racist skunk that needs to be put down.
Sharpton is no better. Once the dems start telling him to shut up and go away... he just might start some trouble for them.
Byrd would be a perfect target.
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