Senator "sheets" Byrd - On Rice

Photo stolen directly from Conservative Punk.
I wouldn't want to get called a bastard or anything.

I would never come out and call someone a racist, unless they did a completely racist act. I am not one for circumstantial evidence either, unless it is overwhelming. I am not calling this next excerpt from Conservative Punk, by way of Radio Cyborg, a burning Congressional cross on Condeleeza's front yard, but it's pretty damn close:

Senator Robert Byrd, the Democrat from West Virginia was set to
spearhead the effort to derail Secretary of State-nominee Condoleezza Rice. An
interesting choice for the task considering the man’s past.

As recently as 2001, the West Virginia Democrat was forced to apologize after blurting out during a nationally televised interview: "There are white niggers, I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time. I'm going to use that word."

In 1972, Byrd pushed to have the Senate's main office building named after Dixiecrat Sen. Richard Russell, a leading opponent of anti-lynching legislation who Byrd called "my mentor."

Byrd filibustered the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act for 14 straight hours.Three years after he said he'd left his white-sheeted brethren behind, he wrote to Georgia's Grand Imperial Wizard urging: "The Klan is needed todayas never before."

Sen. Byrd was also a fierce opponent of desegregating the military, complaining in one letter, "I should rather die a thousand times and see old glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again than see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen of the wilds."

Again, I'm not calling the race card. Senator Byrd may have turned over a new leaf since 2001. One of his fellow former white supremists has been taken down in recent years (on the republican side) and he may have been given some time to reflect on his principles. I think it's a really cheap shot to take unless you've got them dead to rights. I'm just suggesting that the United States may want to keep a closer eye on Mr. Byrd. The DNC should have known better than to let this one run as well. Poor planning on the part of the DNC?

If you'd like to read Senator Byrd's article about why Condoleeza Rice should not be voted in click here. Again, I wouldn't want to be called a bastard or anything, the link goes to ProgressiveTrail.org.

Here's a link to the vote count again in case you forgot who voted which way: LINK