"As a young boy, Byrd had witnessed his adoptive father walk in a Klan parade in Matoaka, West Virginia. While growing up, Byrd had heard that "the Klan defended the American way of life against racemixers and communists". He then wrote to Joel L. Baskin, Grand Dragon of the Realm of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, who responded that he would come and organize a chapter when Byrd had recruited 150 people. Byrd’s house couldn't fit 150 people, so he arranged to hold the ceremony at the home of C.M. “Clyde” Goodwin, a former law enforcement officer who lived in Crab Orchard, West Virginia. When Baskin called for nominations for Exalted Cyclops, the highest-ranking official in the Klavern, Byrd was nominated and quickly elected by unanimous vote.[18]
"It was Baskin who told Byrd, "You have a talent for leadership, Bob ... The country needs young men like you in the leadership of the nation." Byrd later recalled, "Suddenly lights flashed in my mind! Someone important had recognized my abilities! I was only 23 or 24 years old, and the thought of a political career had never really hit me. But strike me that night, it did."[19] Byrd became a recruiter and leader of his chapter.[12] When it came time to elect the top officer (Exalted Cyclops) in the local Klan unit, Byrd won unanimously.[12]
"In December 1944, Byrd wrote to segregationist Mississippi Senator Theodore G. Bilbo:
"In 1946, Byrd wrote a letter to a Grand Wizard stating, "The Klan is needed today as never before, and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia and in every state in the nation."[21] However, when running for the United States House of Representatives in 1952, he announced "After about a year, I became disinterested, quit paying my dues, and dropped my membership in the organization. During the nine years that have followed, I have never been interested in the Klan." He said he had joined the Klan because he felt it offered excitement and was anti-communist.[12]"
Political expediency? Sure looks like it...
But there's more...
"Filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1964[edit]
"Byrd joined with Democratic senators to filibuster the Civil Rights Act of 1964,[35] personally filibustering the bill for 14 hours, a move he later said he regretted.[36] Despite an 83-day filibuster in the Senate, both parties in Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Act (Democrats 47–16, Republicans 30–2), and President Johnson signed the bill into law.[37] Byrd cast no vote on the Voting Rights Act of 1965,[38] and voted against the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court.[39] He did not sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto and voted for the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,[40] 1960,[41] and 1968,[42] as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.[43] In 2005, Byrd told The Washington Post that his membership in the Baptist church led to a change in his views. In the opinion of one reviewer, Byrd, like other Southern and border-state Democrats, came to realize that he would have to temper "his blatantly segregationist views" and move to the Democratic Party mainstream if he wanted to play a role nationally.[12]Byrd was a member of the wing of the Democratic Party that opposed federally-mandated desegregation and civil rights. However, despite his early career in the KKK, Byrd was linked to such senators as John C. Stennis, J. William Fulbright and George Smathers, who based their segregationist positions on their view of states' rights in contrast to senators like James Eastland, who held a reputation as a committed racist.[34]"
(Three-and-a-half years later, I would be serving in Vietnam alongside my black brothers in
machine-gun bunkers, ride with them on convoys, and stand with them when under attack.
I didn't care about the color of the skin of my G.I. buddies... We were ready to fight and die for
each other, that's the bottom line...)
"Multiple political figures issued statements following Byrd's death:[254]
- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: "It is almost impossible to imagine the United States Senate without Robert Byrd. He was not just its longest serving member, he was its heart and soul. From my first day in the Senate, I sought out his guidance, and he was always generous with his time and his wisdom." [255]
- Vice President (and thus President of the Senate) Joe Biden: "A very close friend of mine, one of my mentors, a guy who was there when I was a 29-year-old kid being sworn into the United States Senate. Shortly thereafter, a guy who stood in the rain, in the pouring rain, freezing rain outside a church as I buried my daughter and my wife before I got sworn in ... We lost the dean of the United States Senate, but also the state of West Virginia lost its most fierce advocate and, as I said, I lost a dear friend."
- Democratic Senator Chris Dodd: "He [Robert Byrd] never stopped growing as a public official, and was a man who learned from his mistakes. He was more than a friend and colleague. He was a mentor to me and literally hundreds of legislators with whom he served over the past five decades."
- Republican Senator Lindsey Graham: "Senator Byrd was a valuable ally and worthy opponent. He will be viewed by history as one of the giants of the Senate."
- Republican Senator Orrin Hatch: "On the issues, we were frequent opponents, but he was always gracious both in victory and defeat. This is a man who earned his law degree while serving in the Senate, and who had a prodigious knowledge of ancient and modern history."
- President Barack Obama: "He [Robert Byrd] was as much a part of the Senate as the marble busts that line its chamber and its corridors. His profound passion for that body and its role and responsibilities was as evident behind closed doors as it was in the stemwinders he peppered with history. He held the deepest respect of members of both parties, and he was generous with his time and advice, something I appreciated greatly as a young senator."
- Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell: "Senator Byrd combined a devotion to the U.S. Constitution with a deep learning of history to defend the interests of his state and the traditions of the Senate. We will remember him for his fighter's spirit, his abiding faith, and for the many times he recalled the Senate to its purposes."
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: "Throughout his historic career in the House and Senate, he never stopped working to improve the lives of the people of West Virginia. While some simply bore witness to history, Senator Byrd shaped it and strove to build a brighter future for us all."
- Fellow Democratic Senator from West Virginia Jay Rockefeller: "Senator Byrd came from humble beginnings in the southern coalfields, was raised by hard-working West Virginians, and triumphantly rose to the heights of power in America. But he never forgot where he came from nor who he represented, and he never abused that power for his own gain."
Even some "Republicans" praised him to high-heaven... Pretty sick, right?
Not one single word or recollection of his Klan, segregationist, and anti-black American
sentiments and actions, not one...
But look at the epithets hurled at President Trump: racist, bigot, etc., etc...
Do you see the hypocrisy here?
President Trump must be re-elected, if Biden wins the White House, whatever is left of the
Republic will quickly be dissolved...
Pray for our country...
Viva Cristo Rey! Fr. Miguel Pro, pray for us...
Gene DeLalla
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