Infinite MonkeysThe Washington Post publishes a review of Senator Klansman Byrd's newest effort to explain away his founding membership in a local chapter of the the Ku Klux Klan.
Byrd, who actually organized and solicited membership for his local "chapter" of hate apparently still does not think the Klan was all that bad:
"In [his book], Byrd says he viewed the Klan as a useful platform from which to launch his political career. 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."
The KKK. Just a fraternal order of elites. Now that's spin!
Ah, the folly of youth:
(From the WaPo) Byrd said in the Dec. 11, 1945, letter -- which would not become public for 42 more years with the publication of a book on blacks in the military during World War II by author Graham Smith -- that he would never fight in the armed forces "with a Negro by my side." Byrd added that, "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."
In the end, maybe a leopard can't change his spots:
"[In 1964], Byrd's Klan past became an issue again when he joined with other southern Democrats to oppose the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Byrd filibustered the bill for more than 14 hours as he argued that it abrogated principles of federalism. He criticized most anti-poverty programs except for food stamps. And in 1967, he voted against the nomination of Thurgood Marshall, the first black appointed to the Supreme Court."
Posted by JamesPh. at June 19, 2005 10:10 AMI know this is a serious post, but does anybody else find the Klan's officer titles hilarious? I mean, "Exalted Cyclops"??? Robert Byrd was elected to the office of "Exalted Cyclops" unanimously. And "Dragons" and "Wizards", too. Just makes me laugh. If they weren't killing people and spouting hate, you'd wonder why anyone ever took them seriously at all. It's like they were a Dungeons & Dragons club or something.
Posted by: RobbL Monkey at June 20, 2005 10:37 AM"Exalted Cyclops" kind of undermines Bobby KKK Byrd's claim tha the Klan was a bunch of well-educated elites. More like a bunch of white trash dumbasses. And why would a bunch of white supremacists name their leader after a charcter witha birth defect?
Posted by: JamesPh. at June 21, 2005 08:21 AM