Senator Robert Byrd Dies at 92
 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/o...232,full.story

ETA: More about the votes, controversies, etc., at the source. I just didn't feel like posting it all and then editing all the crap that the Trib puts in.

RIP, Senator Byrd. I just wonder how W.Virginia continued to elect a man in his 80s/90s to the Senate. I guess because he always brought a lot back home with him, but that's just a little too old IMHO.

Wonder if the Klan will have an honor guard at his funeral?

QFP and wow.

*Sigh* Yes, he was in the Klan. Yes he's apologized for it. Yes he was still pretty biased against, at the least, latinos and gay people. He probably fairly accurately represented his state's desires as they have elected him over and over and over again. Having that kind of seniority in the Senate is also not something to ignore.

But no, some how I don't think the Klan will be at his funeral, asshat.

Rest in peace, Senator Byrd.

If you drive through West Virginia, you see one Byrd Memorial Highway after another. I've heard that the state was only negotiable by mountain goat prior to his bringing so much pork to the state.

One of my claims to fame is that I was amidst a group of people for whom he fiddled - a square dance almost broke out! Senator Byrd was a token of an age where people grew up barefoot and made it to the Capitol. I may not have cared for his politics, and am happy that the pork will be better spread throughout more states, but he was a character. RIP.

He dropped the n-bomb like ten years ago and his handlers apologized for him.

Hi, all -
Except for one 18-month stint in Ohio immediately after college, I've lived in West Virginia since the age of four. Senator Bryd spoke at my Catholic high school graduation in 1980, around one of the times that his Klan membership reared its ugly head. Yes, he had his faults and prejudices, as we all do, but in the end he was able to learn from his mistakes and grow as a person. He's one of the most beloved men West Virginia has ever produced. We continued to elect him because he cared about us, worked hard for us and helped bring us into the post-War era. I travel extensively throughout the state for work and I'm grateful for all he's done for our transportation system, and for all the jobs he's brought here. RIP, Senator Byrd. We will not see your like again.

There is a LOT of context behind his statement that deserves mentioning, if you're going to mention it at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FIBJt-c2o0

"And I'm going to use that term."

He actually apologized for himself, btw.

The statement was released by his office. (his handlers)

It means nothing, as it wasn't even a slip. He specifically said he would use "that term".

Yes, he didn't apologize for slipping up. He meant something specific and then used a word he thought best applied. Later apologizing for the offense caused by using the word, not "whoops didn't mean to."


No one's claiming the man to be a saint; I'm not sure what your point is.

Throwing things against the wall to see what will stick? I agree about not claiming sainthood, but context matters.

The YouTube video doesn't give the full context either. It's worth reading the full transcript for that episode of Fox News Sunday (including what he had to say about Bill Clinton).

Just before where the YouTube starts, there is this, from a videotaped interview with Byrd:

SNOW: Let me throw a couple of names out at you and a couple of issues and just get quick reactions.

Jesse Jackson?

BYRD: Well, I've never been an enthusiastic admirer of Jesse Jackson. He made a bad mistake [affair and out-of-wedlock child]. We all make mistakes. I made a mistake when I was a young man. It's always been an albatross around my neck, in joining the Ku Klux Klan. We all make mistakes. We can strive to overcome them. That's his situation. What he and his God work out between themselves, that's their business.

SNOW: Terry McAuliffe?

BYRD: Bad choice.

SNOW: Ronald Reagan?

BYRD: Ronald Reagan was a very likable individual, charming personality. He had one or two or three or four ideas about government, and he kept those ideas in front of him always. I have often said that he didn't know a lot about the federal government when he came here, and when he left here he hadn't learned a great deal.

SNOW: Race relations?

As for the apology:

SNOW: Now, after our conversation Friday, I went back to visit with Senator Byrd, and he said, "There is a term I used in our discussion of race relations that people may misconstrue."

And his office has put out the following statement regarding that. It is, quote, "I apologize for the characterization I used on this program. The phrase dates back to my boyhood and has no place in today's society. As for my language, I had no intention of casting aspersions on anyone of another race. In my atempt to articulate strongly held feelings, I may have offended people that I intended to offend. Unfortunately, there are people in every race who would rather attack others simply because of ill-conceived, false stereotypes based on skin color. People who do this are obstacles to positive race relations and become the stereotypes that they despise. But by working together and continually improving the understanding between the races, we can overcome these narrow-minded people and the obstacles that they represent."

I can understand if the apology isn't enough for some people. And I'm not sure if the phrase "I may have offended people that I intended to offend" was a typo, a mispeak on Tony Snow's part or if Byrd was saying he meant to offend the kind of people he goes on to describe.

But Sen is right -- if this is going to be thrown out there, it should be thrown out with the full context.

I agree, I just wasn't as willing as you were to post it :p

Not sure why people feel compelled to throw shit out there after a dead guy. There's the inappropriate thought or joke, but... he's dead. And it's all really old news.

I agree.

I have a pro-black back to africa mumbo jumbo friend who quoted (on facebook) Byrd's 1940's era letter regarding the KKK which was insulting to black people. And it's like woo hoo, so you read a book once -- but stfu if you're not aware of his entire legacy.

Ironically, it's the same thing for conservatives who gawk at a racist Democrat and pat themselves on the back because Lincoln was a republican... wow, you too read a book once.

I pretty much just hate people.

Even me? :(

Actually the people who pat themselves on the back about Lincoln should read another book or two. Or come to the Presidential Museum. They'd learn his intentions were not as noble as his actions.

I doubt a politician who actually believes everything I do will ever be elected, until then I'll take the good things and criticize the bad. (And try to push the scales towards the good, slowly.)

I would ask you to join the club but that would defeat the purpose.

****

What's this thread about other than Senator Byrd resting in peace? Truly socially conscious people don't bat an eye over every expression of prejudice. There's no shock that an old guard Senator from W. VA has Klan and other mistakes mixed with the awesome stuff on his extensive resume'. It's more shocking when that isn't the case. Wooptydoo. Rest in peace.

I think it's hard to look at the guy and ignore all the mistakes, but it's also hard to look at him and ignore his accomplishments and things he took a stand for that were positive (or, more truthfully, fall in line with what my own political ideals are). Because he was in office so long, he has a much more complex legacy than most other politicians.

I just saw that he died and thought it was appropriate for the news and politics forum, considering his tenure in Congress. :)

LOL. This makes the second time in the past 24 hours that I've been reminded of this comic strip:

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ku...wyivo1_500.gif

I would hope that we could agree that nobody's perfect (at least, not in the last 2,000 years, IMHO). Lincoln used the same wrong word as Byrd and probably most other presidents - who cares which party they represented?

Frankly, there are a LOT of words used in this forum which offend me and others. There are viewpoints that offend me. But in the long run, this is a good forum, with some good ideas. IMHO, the phrase RIP is simply a way to end a thought about somebody's death.

Sen. Byrd was a product of his times and upbringing; he tried (and may have) succeeded in changing his attitudes with the times. He did a lot of good for the people he represented. That is all.

My older son (the one who just graduated from Clemson) was a recipient of a Byrd scholarship. Anyone else?

Can you imagine what ideals we hold that may seem totally wrong to everyone else when we're 90?

No matter what you think of him politically, the man's life story is amazing, and his marriage is inspirational. He could also play a mean fiddle.

Does Charlie Daniels play a mean fiddle?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aZLw_KBdqc

You know you would have been all over me if I had posted about the same thing....hehehe :D


G'night folks!