At Hip-Hop Summit, Kirk pleads for generation to vote - John Wiley Price attends Kirk campaign event

Senate candidate Ron Kirk, in a tight race with rival John Cornyn, turned to the hip-hop generation for help Saturday, calling the thousands of youngsters and musicians who attended a Dallas summit an untapped political resource.

"Your vote is powerful and will make a difference in the election," Mr. Kirk said at the Dallas/Fort Worth Hip-Hop Summit. "Obviously, I want you to vote for me, but please just vote."

Mr. Kirk was joined Saturday by Russell Simmons, chairman of Island Def Jam Records; Hip-Hop Summit Action Network President Benjamin F. Muhammad (formerly Benjamin Chavis); U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas; former NBA star Larry Johnson; County Commissioner John Wiley Price; and Dallas rapper D.O.C.

"This is the most silent voice in American politics," Mr. Kirk said before addressing the summit. "They have the ability to influence America's direction in policy decisions, if they only vote."

Saturday's events included a hip-hop get out the vote rally for Mr. Kirk and a separate nonpartisan voter registration drive by the NAACP's Rap the Vote project.

"All of us are for Ron Kirk," said Mr. Simmons, adding that the NAACP initiative is separate from his endorsement of Mr. Kirk.

"This election is so close. We can make a dramatic impact on our lives and our kids' lives if we vote. Our mission is to light a fire under Brother Ron Kirk and make a difference in this country."

Ms. Johnson, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said it is important for Democrats to rally around Mr. Kirk.

"Every Republican leader in the country is trying to make sure we don't have an African-American elected to the Senate," she said. "We do not have a single African-American in the Senate. ... Your vote is important, and it does count."

But Green Party Senate candidate Roy Williams, who sat in the audience during the program, called the former Dallas mayor a hypocrite because "he didn't have a record of helping the poor and minority communities in Dallas."

"All of a sudden he's appealing to blacks when he's been running a high-profile campaign in venues with the rich and super rich," he said. "Ron Kirk is a master of deception, and he has not been a friend to people of color."

Mr. Cornyn's campaign declined to comment. Mr. Cornyn had no scheduled appearances Saturday.

Mr. Kirk has downplayed the historic significance of his Senate candidacy, stressing his message of being able to work across party lines and with different groups to find common ground.

His remarks Saturday marked a rare appearance before a predominantly black national group. In July, he addressed the NAACP convention in Houston.

But many political observers say Mr. Kirk must energize his black voter base to win Nov. 5.

On Saturday, Mr. Kirk said he felt positive vibes inside and outside the black community.

"I feel energy and excitement everywhere," he said. "The momentum and the energy is on our side of the campaign."

Hip-Hop Summit participants discussed issues of political and economic empowerment. Mr. Kirk told the group that his work on the federal Internet Commission helped protect their interests.

The commission worked to protect the work of musicians and other artists from being downloaded by Internet pirates.

D.O.C., a.k.a. Tracy Curry, is one of the most influential hip-hop artists to hail from Dallas. He said he would vote for Mr. Kirk.

A writer on N.W.A.'s controversial album Straight Outta Compton, D.O.C. helped usher in 1980s gangsta rap. He said Mr. Kirk has inspired him.

"This is a funny thing coming from me because it's my first time voting," he said. "Ron Kirk as a brother in the Senate? Come on, man. It's clear what that means."

"There's a lot of power in hip-hop," he said. "[Rapper] Jay-Z is more popular than [Secretary of State] Colin Powell ... what we have to do is harness that energy."

Dr. Muhammad, former executive director of the NAACP, said Mr. Kirk's campaign has national significance.

"We see the candidacy of Ron Kirk to the United States Senate as one of the most important elections in the country," he said. "It's not only a historical race, but it presents the future for change in America."

Funny that Caption Kirk hasn't said anything about Old Byrd-Brain. He seems very paranoid about possible racism by Republicans, nothing about Byrd?

Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, Ex-Klansman
By Michelle Malkin (March 8, 2001) [CAPITALISMMAGAZINE.COM] Ex-Klansman Robert Byrd, the senior senator from West Virginia, casually used the phrase "white nigger" twice on national TV this weekend. Enraged civil rights groups organized a protest campaign against Sen. Byrd and demanded that he undergo sensitivity training ... not.

The ex-Klansman, you see, is a Democrat. Democrats can join hate groups and utter the ugliest racial slurs and get away with it because they are Democrats. They belong to the party of racial tolerance and understanding. They're paragons of virtue, and the rest of us are bigoted rubes.
The ex-Klansman showed his true colors when asked by Fox News Sunday morning talk show host Tony Snow about the state of race relations in America. Sen. Byrd warned: "There are white niggers. I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time. I'm going to use that word. We just need to work together to make our country a better country, and I'd just as soon quit talking about it so much."

The ex-Klansman, famed for Beltway blowhardism, should have quit talking a lot sooner. Why any prominent politician in his right mind would publicly and deliberately use the poisonous epithet "nigger" -- which most daily newspapers refuse to spell out, no matter the context -- is beyond comprehension. It's an open question as to whether the rant-prone, 83-year-old Byrd is even in his right mind, but senility doesn't excuse bigotry.

The ex-Klansman's admirers praise his historical knowledge, mastery of procedural rules, and outspokenness. They refer to the Senate's senior Democrat as the "conscience of the Senate." They downplay his white-sheet-wearing days as a "brief mistake" -- as if joining the Klan were like knocking over a glass of water. Oopsy.

This ex-Klansman wasn't just a passive member of the nation's most notorious hate group. According to news accounts and biographical information, Sen. Byrd was a "Kleagle" -- an official recruiter who signed up members for $10 a head. He said he joined because it "offered excitement" and because the Klan was an "effective force" in "promoting traditional American values." Nothing like the thrill of gathering 'round a midnight bonfire, roasting s'mores, tying nooses, and promoting white supremacy with a bunch of your hooded friends.

The ex-Klansman allegedly ended his ties with the group in 1943. He may have stopped paying dues, but he continued to pay homage to the KKK. Republicans in West Virginia discovered a letter Sen. Byrd had written to the Imperial Wizard of the KKK three years after he says he abandoned the group. He wrote: "The Klan is needed today as never before and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia" and "in every state in the Union."

The ex-Klansman later filibustered the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act -- supported by a majority of those "mean-spirited" Republicans -- for more than 14 hours. He also opposed the nominations of the Supreme Court's two black justices, liberal Thurgood Marshall and conservative Clarence Thomas. In fact, the ex-Klansman had the gall to accuse Justice Thomas of "injecting racism" into the Senate hearings. Meanwhile, author Graham Smith recently discovered another letter Sen. Byrd wrote after he quit the KKK, this time attacking desegregation of the armed forces.

The ex-Klansman vowed never to fight "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, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds."

If this ex-Klansman were a conservative Republican, he would never hear the end of his sordid past. "Ex-Klansman who opposed civil rights and black justices" would appear in every reference to Sen. Byrd. And even the "ex-" would be in doubt. Maxine Waters and Ralph Neas and Julianne Malveaux and Al Sharpton and all the other left-wing bloodhounds who sniff racism in every crevice of American life would be barking up a storm over Sen. Byrd's latest fulminations. Instead, the attack dogs are busy decrying latent racial bigotry where it doesn't exist, while the real thing roams wild and free in their own political backyard.

COPYRIGHT 2001 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.

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