Progressive think tank names Robert Byrd U.S. Senator of the Year.

[Padme Amidala]

From their press release:

"U.S. Senator of the Year: Robert Byrd (D-WV)

"Senator Robert Byrd is the leading advocate for civil rights and for the Constitution in the U.S. Senate. Byrd has had the courage to go against the Senate majority and even his own party leadership to stand up for freedom and the very fabric of democracy."

patrickhenrythinktank.org

[evil genius]

1. what a load of crap

Byrd may be many things, but he ain't no friend of civil rights.

[Padme Amidala]

3. Check out his voting record. It's the most pro-civil rights in 2004.

Other Democrats caved in and voted for nominees who had very oppressive backgrounds. Other Democrats caved in and voted for the Intelligence Reform Act. Byrd learned his lesson after USA-PATRIOT and became the most pro-civil rights person in the Senate from that time on. The PHDC selected the right man.

[James T. Kirk]

7. 1964 - filibustered civil rights

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Civil_Rights_Filibuster_Ended.htm

[Padme Amidala]

10. This is not 1964. That was forty years ago. He's grown up. Have you?

It takes a big man to put aside the past and stand up for what is right. We should all be very proud of Robert Byrd.

[James T. Kirk]

12. Forgive, maybe. Never forget.

He was in the freakin' KLAN! Maybe we can forgive his racist past (I won't), but I don't think we should raise such people up as prominent citizens.

[Padme Amidala]

14. He's often stood alone to protect your rear end.

It's more than Harry Reid will ever do. You might express some gratitude. Robert Byrd gives Americans hope that all people can change and become the great beings they were meant to be.

[James T. Kirk]

23. He has also stood alone as one who hated others.

Remember, Byrd was one of those who tried to keep the hate group going when the rest of the nation was starting to wake up and shun them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan

[arcos]

38. AND... he was one of THREE democrats to vote for the FMA...

http://www.lc.org/marriage/senate_fma_vote_071404.htm

Great on civil rights.... :eyes:

[Pepperbelly]

why would you hate on the man for something that he ...

addressed years ago.

That is ... fucked up.

What more do you want? For him to lick dirt?

[greenohio]

47. Is this true? Byrd was in the KLAN?

Was he a peon who quit right away?

[evil genius]

13. i suppose you feel that way about strom thurmond?

[Padme Amidala]

15. If you can't see the diffence, you need some glasses.

Srom Thurmund did not stand up against the war, against the Homeland Security Act, against the Intelligence Reform Act, against Porter Goss, etc. As far as I know, Thurmund never changed. So your comparison is ludicrous.

[evil genius]

18. i fail to detect why you like him..

but if you insist on crawling into bed with a thinly veiled racist who now at this late date utters the obvious, so be it.

[Padme Amidala]

20. Byrd has worked harder to fight racism than anyone in the Senate this year

I am not at all proud of the Democrats who vote Bush's way. They are the closet racists who are much more dangerous to our country than someone who has become a leading civil rights advocate.

[greenohio]

25. I hadn't heard that. What did he do?

[Pepperbelly]

52. that's horseshit ...

What are your credentials for deciding that Byrd is a "thinly veiled racist?" The major Civil Rights organizations find no fault with him. Is your claim to the right somehow superior?

[James T. Kirk]

16. Both should not have been senators.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixiecrat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._presidential_election%2C_1948

America should have enough good candidates to not have to elect former racists.

[Padme Amidala]

19. That's like equating Bush to Gore. Gore changed his views. Bush didn't.

Gore voted for some pretty extreme stuff prior to his son's accident. After that time he switched from a pro-imperialism conservative to a much more liberal person who made us proud. Under your analysis we should limit our selection to the Zell Millers who betray our side repeatedly and haven't gone through any great changes in their lives. Your attack on Byrd would have us forget about the Senators (like Byrd) who support peace and oppose attacks on our civil rights and civil liberties and who oppose right-wing extremist nominees.

[James T. Kirk]

22. Limit our choices to the Zell Millers? Huh?

I said no such thing, mainly because that makes no sense. You present a false choice between former racists and the Zell Millers.

[American Tragedy]

21. I did feel that way about Wallace

After he was shot and paralyzed, it wasn't so hard to believe that he might gain a new perspective on life, as often happens with age and experience. Franklin Roosevelt himself was a fairly carefree and shallow personality until infantile paralysis rendered him virtually helpless for many months.

When George Wallace said that he had changed, I took him at his word. I am certainly willing to do the same for Robert Byrd, at least believing that he's been making a faithful effort to change.

Byrd has served us well in the past four years, and it would be foolish not to recognize that, regardless of his past. Go to his website and read some of his speeches, especially "The Emperor Has No Clothes".

[DemGirl7]

24. I have to agree...

I'm from a northern state, and personally I'm not that fond of bigots, but I do feel that for the most part Byrd has changed somewhat. I don't like the stuff that he did in his past, like being a part of the Klan, and voting against the 1964 voting rights act and such. But I feel he has changed somewhat, I mean, he has ammitted that he regretted doing all of that stuff he did in his past,and has actually tried to make up for it. While others like Thurmond never apologized for his past, or they have apologized, but seem to continue down that path.

[w4rma]

51. Thurmond despised Byrd's politics. They are precise opposites.

…
But Byrd, unlike Thurmond, renounced his youthful participation in a racist cause. See, for example, this exchange with CNN's Bernard Shaw in Dec. 1993:

Q: What has been your biggest mistake and your biggest success?

A: Well, it's easy to state what has been my biggest mistake. The greatest mistake I ever made was joining the Ku Klux Klan. And I've said that many times. But one cannot erase what he has done. He can only change his ways and his thoughts. That was an albatross around my neck that I will always wear. You will read it in my obituary that I was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

Contrast that with an interview Thurmond gave Joseph Stroud of the Charlotte Observer in July 1998 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his presidential bid on the segregationist Dixiecrat ticket. Asked if he wanted to apologize, Thurmond said, “I don't have anything to apologize for,” and “I don't have any regrets.” Asked if he thought the Dixiecrats were right, Thurmond said, “Yes, I do.” Thurmond said this four years ago!
…
http://slate.msn.com/id/2075662/

• 2001-2002 On the votes that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People considered the most important in 2001-2002, Senator Byrd voted their preferred position 79 percent of the time.
• 2001-2002 On the votes that the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights considered the most important in 2001-2002, Senator Byrd voted their preferred position 71 percent of the time.
• 2001 On the votes that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People considered to be the most important in 2001, Senator Byrd voted their preferred position 77 percent of the time.
• 2000 On the votes that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People considered to be the most important in 2000, Senator Byrd voted their preferred position 93 percent of the time.

http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=S0950103#Civil+Rights

• 2001-2002 On the votes that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People considered the most important in 2001-2002, Senator Frist voted their preferred position 15 percent of the time.
• 2001-2002 On the votes that the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights considered to be the most important in 2001-2002, Senator Frist voted their preferred position 0 percent of the time.
• 2001 On the votes that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People considered the most important in 2001, Senator Frist voted their preferred position 9 percent of the time.
• 2000 On the votes that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People considered to be the most important in 2000, Senator Frist voted their preferred position 20 percent of the time.

http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=CNIP7879#Civil+Rights

I think alot of folks come attack Byrd because that agree with Thurmond and want to do as much damage to one of the Senators most opposite of him.

[w4rma]

50. Inform yourself, Kirk. People learn and change. Embrace those who do.

…
But Byrd, unlike Thurmond, renounced his youthful participation in a racist cause. See, for example, this exchange with CNN's Bernard Shaw in Dec. 1993:

Q: What has been your biggest mistake and your biggest success?

A: Well, it's easy to state what has been my biggest mistake. The greatest mistake I ever made was joining the Ku Klux Klan. And I've said that many times. But one cannot erase what he has done. He can only change his ways and his thoughts. That was an albatross around my neck that I will always wear. You will read it in my obituary that I was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

Contrast that with an interview Thurmond gave Joseph Stroud of the Charlotte Observer in July 1998 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his presidential bid on the segregationist Dixiecrat ticket. Asked if he wanted to apologize, Thurmond said, “I don't have anything to apologize for,” and “I don't have any regrets.” Asked if he thought the Dixiecrats were right, Thurmond said, “Yes, I do.” Thurmond said this four years ago!
…
http://slate.msn.com/id/2075662/

• 2001-2002 On the votes that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People considered the most important in 2001-2002, Senator Byrd voted their preferred position 79 percent of the time.
• 2001-2002 On the votes that the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights considered the most important in 2001-2002, Senator Byrd voted their preferred position 71 percent of the time.
• 2001 On the votes that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People considered to be the most important in 2001, Senator Byrd voted their preferred position 77 percent of the time.
• 2000 On the votes that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People considered to be the most important in 2000, Senator Byrd voted their preferred position 93 percent of the time.

http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=S0950103#Civil+Rights

• 2001-2002 On the votes that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People considered the most important in 2001-2002, Senator Frist voted their preferred position 15 percent of the time.
• 2001-2002 On the votes that the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights considered to be the most important in 2001-2002, Senator Frist voted their preferred position 0 percent of the time.
• 2001 On the votes that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People considered the most important in 2001, Senator Frist voted their preferred position 9 percent of the time.
• 2000 On the votes that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People considered to be the most important in 2000, Senator Frist voted their preferred position 20 percent of the time.

http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=CNIP7879#Civil+Rights

[evil genius]

9. this is equivalent to being the best ice skater in guatemala.

[dweller]

8. got some facts to back that up?

otherwise i'll consider it your opinion, and take it in the same vein as your post subject.

dp

[rman]

44. he's one of few who speak out against the Patriot Act

-

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. A lone voice crying in the wilderness is how he comes across... n/t

[48pan]

4. I Guess the PatrickHenryThinkTank and I...

aren't on the same wavelength.

[roguevalley]

5. few can hold their head as high as this man in the congress after

the shit years we've had with *. He defended the constitution nearly single handedly. I appreciate that he's getting respect. Also, if he isn't allowed to change his mind and actions, then are we? If we can
make mistakes, be forgiven and do right, how come he isn't being allowed the same courtesy and opportunity. Byrd was wrong, he admitted it and he's changed.

[dweller]

6. there's more

Congressperson of the Year: Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH)

Congressman Dennis Kucinich is the former Presidential candidate who gave a voice to the concerns and issues of the average American. Kucinich has spent a
lifetime putting the needs of the voters above his career plans. He has one of the best, if not the best, voting records in Congress.

December American Hero Awards

The PHDC also voted to recognize Dennis Kucinich, Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), Robert Byrd, Rev. Jesse Jackson and investigative journalists Greg
Palast and Wayne Madsen with American Hero Awards. Kucinich, McDermott and Byrd were recognized for having the courage to oppose the Intelligence Reform
Act. This Act limits the amount of intelligence information Congress is likely to receive. It also establishes the basis for national ID cards and other intrusions into the
privacy of Americans. Jackson, Palast and Madsen were recognized for their work in exposing the rigging of the 2004 election.


dp

[James T. Kirk]

11. Robert K. Byrd (D-1865)

When Byrd said that whites and coloreds had to be separated, he explained later that he was actually discussing laundry. And when he said that the white American was superior to all others, he was actually talking about his favorite cheese.
:P

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrd

[Lenape85]

17. Mr. Byrd most definitely deserves it

He is an example of a strong red state democrat. While many others have caved in and sold their souls for partisanship above constituency, he has stood his ground, voting against a reckless war when it was very unpopular to do so.

I guess being an anti-war legislator isn't such a hurtful thing after all and I wish everyone had the spine to oppose the Bush doctrine.

[Grooner Five]

26. Maybe some of you can forgive him for this

But I can't.

"Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds."

-- Former Klan recruiter and current US Senator Robert Byrd, in 1944

I'm sorry, but people who think this way don't just change, unless they've got some sort of self-interested reason for doing so. I don't give a shit how long ago he said it. How many would forgive and support Joseph McCarthy if he had been able to recant later in life?

[goclark]

28. He could still be acting like the Bush Crooks

and he is not.

I am African American and if anyone should hate him it should be me.

By his deeds now I shall know him.

If he stands up on Jan. 6th I will really love him even more.

[Tinoire]

34. Oh lol- you again

We have got to stop meeting like this ;) Thanks for speaking out!

Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa..
Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa..
Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa..
Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa..
Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa..
Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa..
Heeeyyy... Yaaaaaaa..
Heeyy Yaaaaaaaa..

You think you've got it
Ohh, you think you've got it
But got it just don't get it
Till' there's nothing at
AaaaaaaaAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAAAAaaaaaallllll...

:loveya:

[Tinoire]

33. Get over it. You should see what many White people today STILL

say about Blacks, Jews, Asians in their living rooms. And gasp, quite a few of them Democrats at that. Not that any group has a monopoly on whisperings about the others.

If you can't forgive a man what he said in 1944, you're going to implode when you hear what some are still saying today.

Lovingly written by one of those race mongrels who just adores Senator Byrd for having had the courage to DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES while all his colleagues were playing deaf and dumb :)

Just think, if more people had listened to the man and followed the consitution, all those little mongrels in Iraq wouldn't be getting slaughtered.

Who am I going to love? You got it! Senator Byrd.

He can think all he wants to about race-mixing and other ideas of his generation IF he still indeed does. It's none of our damn business as long as he upholds the constitution and THAT my friend, he has been done courageously and persistently.

[Lenape85]

36. I am one of those race mongrels

Who was able to forgive him.

I mean, think about it, it's his fucking upbringing. Most of America was racist at that time, especially down south.

[Tinoire]

41. Another one!

Here's to you for for you & for speaking out :toast:

Thank you.

[hollowdweller]

27. Byrd kicks ass.

He was one of the only ones standing up against Reagan and now Bush

[Hippo_Tron]

29. I can't forgive Byrd's racism but I do appreciate what he has done

I look at it this way. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both owned slaves and both were seriously flawed men in many respects. Thus I can never fully respect either of them. But I can appreciate their contributions to this country.

[ISUGRADIA]

30. On the war Byrd has been good but he stinks on a lot of

civil rights issues, especially those effecting the LGBT community.

His ACLU scores have been in the lower half of Senate Democrats. His Human Rights Campaign scores have been in the 20s % range, for the 108th Congress on 13% THE LOWEST SCORING DEMOCRAT in the Senate.

[Tinoire]

31. Congratulations Senator Byrd!!!!!!!

We were SO effing proud of him for his courage during the war debates/war votes that DUers got together and sent him a HUGE arrangement of flowers as a thank you.

Back then WE ALL loved him. From whence the sudden & unlikely changed :shrug:

Befuddling.

Congratulations Senator Byrd from a very grateful Black fan

On edit: How does the DLC view Robert Byrd these days? I imagine that a great Consitutionalist like him would be a severe inconvenience.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

32. Is It Possible To Be Right On Some Issues And Wrong On Others?

He was as wromg on DOMA as he was right on IWR....

[Albert Einstein]

35. No one deserved it more.Great defender of the Constitution & civil rights

Good choice.

[arcos]

39. is that why he voted for the Federal Marriage Amendment? n/t

[Raiden]

37. Senator Byrd is a very good man

Sure he has a history fighting against civil rights (like 30 years ago), but now he is one of the few people in Congress fighting for civil rights. Robert Byrd has fought hard against Bush and the neo-cons. It never ceases to amaze me how hastily some people will discredit great people. Teddy Roosevelt? Racist neo-con! JFK? Womanizer! FDR? He interned Japanese citizens! Lincoln? He declared martial law! Gandhi? He drank his own pee! Howard Dean? He screamed a lot! Too often do people overlook a person's merits for their faults. You can't deny that Teddy Roosevelt, JFK, FDR, Abe Lincoln, Gandhi, and Howard Dean are great people, despite some faults.

Geez. There has never been one public figure without skeletons in their closets. You have to look at a person's merits as well as their faults. As far as I'm concerned, Robert Byrd's merits greatly outweigh his faults. I've admired him ever since I first heard him speak out against the Iraq War. If you disagree, I suggest you listen to him speak on c-span.

[paulk]

40. patrick henry democratic club

who are they?

serious question.

I've never heard of them.

[genius]

42. They've been doing a lot of progressive groundbreaking stuff.

They have called on the California Democratic Party and the National Democratic Party to create a progressive caucus. They have a lot of professionals aboard who are researching important issues and working to get Congress and the Democratic Party to the left, where the center is.

[ISUGRADIA]

43. From the looks of their webpage a bunch of amateur

Democrats who get together rather than a real, professional think tank.

Yet again, it's hard to tell, the webpage is pretty spotty on details. Could be 2 people, could be 100.

[Bridget Burke]

45. The minute I saw a thread about Senator Byrd,

I knew the usual suspects (& a few new ones) would show up to complain about his past.

He's gotten over it to become one of the most feared Democratic senators. They would really love to bring him down.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

46. His Past....

He voted for DOMA and the Federal Marriage Amendment.....


He is as right on IWR as he is wrong on DOMA and FMA...


I don't see how you can be intellectually consistent and praise anybody for their good actions while ignoring their bad actions...

[theboss]

48. I know Byrd, have voted for Byrd, and have friends in his office...

But this is a real freakin' stretch.

Don't Civil Rights include rights for homosexuals?

[despairing optimist]

53. The silence here is deafening

Quick, get that 600-pound gorilla out of the orgy room.

It's so depressing. Byrd is so old and he has a past. Yes, I believe people can change if they want to, but if Robert Byrd, bless his heart, is the best that Democrats can come up with in 2004, it's "hasta la vista, baby," time.

Sorry to disturb the love-in. This old queen will just go out and hang himself.

[Tinoire]

54. Yes they do but you have an entire party establishment to fight on that 1

meanwhile, we only have one great consitutionalist who spoke out for the civil rights of millions regardless of race, creed or sex.

I don't see it as a stretch at all. And thank you for having voted for him- it shows what kind of a person you are.

[HeilChimp]

49. Byrd is my hero!!!

They should make Byrd Senate Democrat Leader again instead of that wimpy Dem-lite Harry Reid. Who cares what Byrd did 50 years ago or even what he in the Senate against civil rights? Being wrong on oen issue does not cancel out all the good things he's done.

Robert Byrd is proof you can be from a red-state in the south and not compromise on opposing chimp's fascist policies. I wish we had 99 more Robert Byrd's in the Senate! He needs more air time as the face of the NEW old Democrat wing of the party.