[T-Bird45]

And so began the decades-long run of "Sheets" as the prime economic force for the state of West "by God" Virginia.

[SteveMcKing]

Early 40s?

He said he did it to "fight Communism", a cause not possible until 1946 at the earliest.

[onyx]

Oh, he's penned a book! Pasadena.

[minus_273]

"Confronting the issue, Byrd went on the radio to acknowledge that he belonged to the Klan from "mid-1942 to early 1943," according to newspaper accounts. He explained that he had joined "because it offered excitement and because it was strongly opposed to communism." He said that after about a year, he quit and dropped his membership, and never was interested in the Klan again.

Byrd won the primary, but during the general election campaign, Byrd's GOP opponent uncovered a letter Byrd had handwritten to Green, the KKK Imperial Wizard, recommending a friend as a Kleagle and urging promotion of the Klan throughout the country. The letter was dated 1946 -- long after the time Byrd claimed he had lost interest in the Klan. "The Klan is needed today as never before, and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia," Byrd wrote, according to newspaper accounts of that period. Byrd makes no mention of the letter in his new book. Stunned Democratic state party officials, including then-Gov. Okey L. Patteson, urged him to drop out of the race. Byrd survived the ensuing political firestorm, won the general election and went on to serve six years in the House before winning his Senate seat in 1958. During his Senate campaign, he told a newspaper reporter that he personally felt the Klan had been incorrectly blamed for many acts committed by others." (emphasis mine)

really now? i wonder if we shoudl forward this article to some black discussion boards... this is a great recruiting tool

[kaehurowing]

Interesting how the Washington Post can write this entire article without any reference to the close ties in the South between the Ku Klux Klan and the Democratic Party. The Klan kept blacks and other undesirables away from the polls and the Democrats in office.

During Reconstruction, the Klan lynched scores of Republicans as well as blacks.

[MJY1288]

I hope the people of West Virginia retire that old Klansman before he decides it's time to do so himself. Robert Byrd has never hidden his bigotry, it has been the mainstream Press who have sugar coated his remarks and actions simply because he has the letter "D" before his name.

Can you imagine the press doing the same for an ex Klu Klux Klan member if he had an "R" next to his name?

[Boazo]

Bryd in hell

[upchuck]

THANK YOU for linking to the Printer Friendly version of the article.

Those of us trapped in 56K dialup HELL really appreciate it!

[Mr Ramsbotham]

He described it essentially as a fraternal group of elites -- doctors, lawyers, clergy, judges and other "upstanding people" who at no time engaged in or preached violence against blacks, Jews or Catholics, who historically were targets of the Klan.

Where have I heard that before?

[Smartass]

Grand Dragon Senator "Sheets" Byrd

 

[WestVirginiaRebel]

This state will never get rid of its pork KKKing. When he dies they'll wire him for sound and send him out on tour with Jimmy Hoffa.

[CyberAnt]

The WP is dumping on Sheets .. Whooo Hoooo! What brought this on ..??

[D-fendr]

I think we have a new nickname for Sheets:

When it came time to choose the "Exalted Cyclops" … Byrd won unanimously.

[M. Espinola]

The Dems redneck poster boy.

[leprechaun9]

"To imagine someone who was a member of the Klan in his youth who managed to become the majority leader of the Senate, it's really quite striking," said congressional scholar Thomas E. Mann of the Brookings Institution.

NOT REALLY! The ideals of the KKK became an integral part of the essence of the Democrap Party - THE POLITICS OF FEAR, DIVISION, and HATRED!

This was manifested this week with the HATE-THE-UNITED-STATES and the MILITARY statements of Senator Dickhead Turbin.

[leadpenny]

The host of C-SPAN just read much of the WP article and is taking calls now on the subject.

[jimbo123]

How many crossburnings and lynchings did the democrat senator KKK Byrd and his 150 recruits conduct? Senator Byrd needs to come clean about the acts of terror he and his recruits committed as a klansman.

[syriacus]

Byrd came to realize that he would have to temper his blatantly segregationist views and edge toward his party's mainstream if he wanted to advance on the national stage.

I think this is the truest sentence in the article.

Thanks for posting the article.