Posted on 01/10/2003 12:55:48 PM PST by Carl/NewsMax
A spokesman for Sen. Robert Byrd, D-WV, told protesters this week that he wasn't sure whether his boss had helped lynch any African-Americans when the top Senate Democrat was a member of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1940's.
Members of the African-American Republican Leadership Council and the Washington, D.C. Chapter of FreeRepublic.com staged the sit-in in Byrd's Hart Building Senate office on Tuesday, where Byrd's press secretary Tom Gavin fielded questions for about 20 minutes.
"We asked Gavin, does he know what Sen. Byrd did while he was in the Klan?" Kristinn Taylor, co-leader of the FreeRepublic group, told NewsMax.
"He didn't know," Taylor recalled. "He said he hadn't talked to Byrd about it."
"We asked Gavin if he knew what the Klan was doing in West Virginia in the 1940s when Sen. Byrd was a member," added Taylor.
Byrd's spokesman pleaded ignorance again.
"Were they lynching black people?" came the next question. "Again, Gavin didn't know," Taylor said.
Then the protesters wanted to know, did Byrd's Klan chapter burn crosses on black peoples' lawns and run them out of town?
"He didn't know. He had no idea," came the response from the Byrd press aide.
When pressed on why Gavin didn't try to find out more about Byrd's Klan past in the wake of last month's Trent Lott fiasco, the spokesman said only that he had failed to do so and didn't explain why, according to Taylor.
"The main thing that shocked us was when Gavin said Sen. Byrd told him that the reason he joined the Klan back then was because of its strong anti-communist stance," he explained.
"We laughed," Taylor said, recalling the protesters' reaction. "That's pretty much the same excuse Trent Lott offered," he added, referring to the brouhaha last month that forced Republican Senate Majority Leader to resign his post for praising Sen. Strom Thurmond's 1948 Dixiecrat presidential bid.
I wouldn't compare Trent Lott to KKK Byrd. Lott may be a dope, but he's not a Klucker.
"A spokesman for Sen. Robert Byrd, D-WV, told protesters this week that he wasn't sure whether his boss had helped lynch any African-Americans when the top Senate Democrat was a member of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1940's."
Oh, THERE is a real vote of confidence!
Byrd should have been the one to deliver the apology. It'd made for a better laugh!
I wonder if this will be the least on the Nightly News tonight? Brian Williams might mention it; but there is no way in hell CBS or ABC are touching this.
Not likely. This happened two years ago.
And your reason for digging up this old thread is?
The entire time I couldn't help but think, this guy is a former Klan member and they are actually paying attention to what he says.
If Byrd were a Conservative, his history and past would be ****WELL KNOWN**** in public circles and would one of those things that is referred to as an after thought. Kind of like the words "Lott/Republican = Segregation" (to the MSM) it would be "Byrd/Democrats = KKK Leadership position. Instead, it's largely unknown because it has been largely underplayed all these years...
And the main stream press wonders why more the half the nation thinks they don't have an agenda?
My bad... but to me, it's still relevant. Trent Lott's comments happened two years ago...Barry Goldwaters vote on the 1965 Civil Rights act happened 40 years ago -- does that stop MSM types from propping this bulls*** up and misrepresenting it without ANY hesitation?
Rush talked about this meeting on his show today.
It's definitely relevant. As long as Byrd's in the Senate it will be so.
I'd loved to be armed with the tools of the trade. Mainly lots of money, LOL!
What's even more relevant is; what the hell is wrong with voters from West Virigina?
And thanks for everything you do!!!
They're coming around. Byrd's not polling so well now there, and the state voted for Bush the last two elections.
Thanks. Trueblackman deserves the credit on this one. He led the charge.
I've lived in the south all of my life and I don't know one person who was in the KKK. I don't know anyone who lynched anyone either (that is so damn despicable). How could a leader of the KKK get elected to the U.S. Senate?! People had to know what he was doing in the KKK and it wasn't making friends and helping people. I don't care how long ago it was. A person who would do the things the KKK obviously did doesn't belong in the leadership of anything much less the U. S. Senate lecturing people on right and wrong!
He's been bringing home the bacon to West Virginia for decades........
Granted, I'm from the south and I understand how misguided many from previous generations were on these issues. Hell, my home state elected and re-elected Al Gore Sr.
Let's take this further even: how have Massachusetts voters stuck with Teddy all these years. I mean... COME ON?!?
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