Senator Robert "Sheets" Byrd

[hi_im_god]

what joey can't see is that byrd wasn't frozen in his 1964 views unlike a lot of politician's. he renounced them while noting that the shame of those views would never leave him. he became a reliable vote in favor of civil rights legislation from 1967 onwards.

the george wallace reference is telling. wallace was an unrepentant racist as a politician. however, he also eventually renounced his racist past. the last years of his life he spent sunday's in black southern churches talking about his past and asking for forgiveness. the conservative movements dreaded "apology tour".

conservatives don't like change and apparently from the comments here, also don't believe sincere change is possible.

So the moral of the story is if you want to be racist make sure you're a democrat.

[joeydb]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

So the moral of the story is if you want to be racist make sure you're a democrat.

[Cannon Shell]

Can't we just celebrate his death without so much controversy?

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

Can't we just celebrate his death without so much controversy?

[hi_im_god]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

So the moral of the story is if you want to be racist make sure you're a democrat.

the moral of the story is that even racist's can change. party affiliation has nothing to do with it.

joey ignoring the argument and awarding trophy's is just precious though. you must be proud.

Originally Posted by hi_im_god

the moral of the story is that even racist's can change. party affiliation has nothing to do with it.


joey ignoring the argument and awarding trophy's is just precious though. you must be proud.

Oh you're right! My bad. Byrd would've got the same post from you if he was a republican. You're totally not a disingenuous twat!

Yeah I'm all about getting the trophy smiley. GFY twice.

[hi_im_god]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

Oh you're right! My bad. Byrd would've got the same post from you if he was a republican. You're totally not a disingenuous twat!

Yeah I'm all about getting the trophy smiley. GFY twice.

i really don't think party affiliation matters. if there's ever a republican that admits past racism and demonstrates a change of heart the way byrd did, i'd feel the same.

i think the republicans on this board would like it to be about party affiliation. that let's them be resentful victims all over again. thus the studious ignoring of any argument that distinguishes byrd from an unrepentant racist. it's all about 1964 and nothing else.

and i wasn't targeting you with the trophy comment. that was all about joey's pretending my post in anyway reflected your 1 sentence analysis.

Oooook. When is the next bible study? We must forgive because Jesus forgave us and stuff.

Please save the Hallmark movie moments for a soap opera forum.

– 1942: Joins the KKK; eventually rises to the rank of “Exalted Cyclops.”
– 1945: Writes “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.”
– 1947: Says in a letter that the Klan is needed “like never before” and declares that he is “anxious to see its rebirth.”
– 1964: Attempts to filibuster the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It wasn’t out of principled libertarian support for property rights. Cites a racist study claiming that black people’s brains are statistically smaller than white people’s.
– 1967: Votes against Thurgood Marshall’s Supreme Court nomination. Went to J. Edgar Hoover to see if Marshall had any Communist ties that could ruin his nomination.
– 1968: Tells the FBI that it’s time that Martin Luther King, Jr., “met his Waterloo.” FBI ignores him.

He was an old man when he stopped being a racist. Sure you can forgive him if you're naive enough to believe he changed. The truth is people don't really change and if they do "change" it's for selfish reasons.

[hi_im_god]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

Oooook. When is the next bible study? We must forgive because Jesus forgave us and stuff.

Please save the Hallmark movie moments for a soap opera forum.



He was an old man when he stopped being a racist. Sure you can forgive him if you're naive enough to believe he changed. The truth is people don't really change and if they do "change" it's for selfish reasons.

your quote stops 42 years ago.

1969-2010 never happened and it's all about him being a democrat.

you got me.

[Danzig]

first thing i'm reminded of when people say a democrat can change.......remember david duke? that guy ran as a conservative for governor of la. when his kkk and racist past was brought up, he said he'd changed. no one believed that either-so it goes across party lines.
as for nothing past 1969....as i said earlier, byrd voted against both thurgood marshall and clarence thomas for the supreme court. i'm pretty sure thomas was after 1969.

this was too:

"There are white niggers. I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time, if you want to use that word. We just need to work together to make our country a better country, and I'd just as soon quit talking about it so much."

Byrd's use of the term "white nigger" created immediate controversy. When asked about it, Byrd responded,

“ I apologize for the characterization I used on this program ... The phrase dates back to my boyhood and has no place in today's society ... In my attempt to articulate strongly held feelings, I may have(he may have??) offended people."
that was in 2001...

and then this, which i found just awful:
Byrd also said that his views changed dramatically after his teenage grandson was killed in a 1982 traffic accident, which put him in a deep emotional valley. "The death of my grandson caused me to stop and think," said Byrd, adding he came to realize that black people love their children as much as he does his. he had to come to that realization? what, did he think people that differed in color couldn't love? that's outrageous.

Originally Posted by hi_im_god

your quote stops 42 years ago.

1969-2010 never happened and it's all about him being a democrat.

you got me.

Most of his life he was a racist. Yeah I got you defending a complete d.ickhead. But just keep going because you're never wrong.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

The truth is people don't really change and if they do "change" it's for selfish reasons.

I think the one big exception is views about people can change. I actually think (for instance) Milton Bradley is not the Devil he is painted to be. I think he has a personality disorder of some type. It's a problem. I do not think he's a bad person. I don't think most people that hate him would feel that way if they new him. By the way, there are a ton of people (that you like right now) that you would dislike if you got to know them... Really.

[dellinger63]

Talk about trying to re-write history. "A fleeting association?" give me a f'n break.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/vid...t_elected.html