bobbyw24
06-29-2010, 08:55 AM
By Eugene Robinson
Tuesday, June 29, 2010; A19
"End of an era" is an overused trope, but in this case it's appropriate: The last of the old Southern Democrats is gone.
Sen. Robert Byrd had long since repented, of course. The West Virginian, who died Monday at 92, deeply regretted his segregationist past, which included a year as a member of the Ku Klux Klan and at least several more years as a Klan sympathizer. He eventually became a passionate advocate for civil rights, and he was one of the most vocal supporters of legislation making the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. a national holiday.
But that was after Byrd's personal enlightenment. Amid what is sure to be a flood of heartfelt encomiums to his lifetime of public service, it is important to note that his is a story of change and redemption -- and that Byrd and his party had a shameful past to overcome.
In Byrd's first campaign for the House in 1952, his opponent released a letter that Byrd had written to the Klan's imperial wizard in 1946. The date is important because Byrd claimed to have cut ties with the racist organization -- today we would call it a terrorist group -- in 1943. "The Klan is needed today as never before, and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia," Byrd wrote.
This was in the days when the South was a solid Democratic stronghold -- and when the default position of Southern Democrats was to advocate separation of the races. In 1964, Byrd joined other members of his party, led by Richard Russell of Georgia, in trying to kill the Civil Rights Act. Back then, would-be obstructionists were required to stage a filibuster rather than just threaten one. Byrd held the Senate floor for 14 hours in an effort that was ultimately as futile as Pickett's Charge.
"Men are not created equal today, and they were not created equal in 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was written," Byrd declaimed during his peroration. "Men and races of men differ in appearance, ways, physical power, mental capacity, creativity and vision."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/28/AR2010062803119.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions
Tuesday, June 29, 2010; A19
"End of an era" is an overused trope, but in this case it's appropriate: The last of the old Southern Democrats is gone.
Sen. Robert Byrd had long since repented, of course. The West Virginian, who died Monday at 92, deeply regretted his segregationist past, which included a year as a member of the Ku Klux Klan and at least several more years as a Klan sympathizer. He eventually became a passionate advocate for civil rights, and he was one of the most vocal supporters of legislation making the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. a national holiday.
But that was after Byrd's personal enlightenment. Amid what is sure to be a flood of heartfelt encomiums to his lifetime of public service, it is important to note that his is a story of change and redemption -- and that Byrd and his party had a shameful past to overcome.
In Byrd's first campaign for the House in 1952, his opponent released a letter that Byrd had written to the Klan's imperial wizard in 1946. The date is important because Byrd claimed to have cut ties with the racist organization -- today we would call it a terrorist group -- in 1943. "The Klan is needed today as never before, and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia," Byrd wrote.
This was in the days when the South was a solid Democratic stronghold -- and when the default position of Southern Democrats was to advocate separation of the races. In 1964, Byrd joined other members of his party, led by Richard Russell of Georgia, in trying to kill the Civil Rights Act. Back then, would-be obstructionists were required to stage a filibuster rather than just threaten one. Byrd held the Senate floor for 14 hours in an effort that was ultimately as futile as Pickett's Charge.
"Men are not created equal today, and they were not created equal in 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was written," Byrd declaimed during his peroration. "Men and races of men differ in appearance, ways, physical power, mental capacity, creativity and vision."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/28/AR2010062803119.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions