From Ku Klux Klan Member to Iraq War Opponent and Obama Supporter, Late Sen. Robert Byrd Remembered for "Principle and Honor"
Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia will lie in state today following his death at the age of ninety-two. Elected in 1958, Byrd served an unprecedented nine terms in the US Senate. In the 1940s, Byrd was a prominent member of Ku Klux Klan in West Virginia, rising to the position of "exalted cyclops." He opposed the desegregation of the US military and filibustered the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Byrd would later apologize, saying his association with the Klan was a sad mistake. In 2008, he endorsed President Obama for president. In 2003, he was a leading critic of President Bush's push to invade Iraq. Charles Ogletree says: "We don't judge people by how they were born but how they lived their life, and here is a man who in the long-term was a giant and a champion." Ref. Source 8
Bill Clinton defends Robert Byrd KKK history
The media did everything the could to ignore it, but Bill Clinton still felt the need to go out there and defend Byrd, saying that his KKK affiliation was 'fleeting' (it wasn't) and that he only did it because he was trying to get elected. That story should be everywhere - instead, it gets brushed under the rug and excused. Meanwhile, conservatives are called racist for wanting to limit the size of government and disagreeing with Barack Obama. Check out Glenn's full response from radio today. Ref. Source 5