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.