Does this mean there are no more Klansmen in the Senate?

[Hauldren Collider]

The US is substantially more christian (and religious in general) than most other developed nations.

[DinoDoc]

It's hard to understand for an idiot. There was a time in the south where you had to be in the KKK to be a politician whether you agreed with it or not.

Grand Dragon's aren't mere members of the KKK. A better thread title would be to ask if he'll be buried in his ceremonial Grand Dragon attire if you're going to troll?

Who's the new king of pork now?

[giblets]

Robert Byrd was a "grand dragon"? Source?

[DinoDoc]

Robert Byrd was a "grand dragon"? Source?

I was wrong. Rechecked sources. He was apparently elected some equally nonsensically named office within the organization called the "Exalted Cyclops."

[KrazyHorse]

Grand dragons are a big deal from what I understand. I think cyclops is a lot further down the food chain.

[SlowwHand]

So what if the guy was a Klansman decades ago? He's not now.

Finally, a voice of reason.

Did you other people finish the article, shortly after the klan sentence, or just stop there. Evidently you stopped there, if you even made it past the thread title.

[Drake Tungsten]

Grand dragons are a big deal from what I understand. I think cyclops is a lot further down the food chain.

Byrd's more damning position was as a "kleagle" (recruiter).

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

What, if someone says their opinion is different from what it was 60 years ago they must be lying?

Seems to me the motivator of old was a similar motivator thoughout his life. Whatever it took to get into office.

If it was expedient to be a KKK member back in the day for his constituency was OKey dokey, then whatever pork he could deliver on an ongoing basis was politcal expediency as well.

Nothing to see here save an accomplished albeit ammoral (but I repeat myself) politician.

[MrFun]

So we're suppose to vilify Byrd for having denounced racism and later in life, taking up the cause for equality?

[Maniac]

So what if the guy was a Klansman decades ago? He's not now.

It's like the pope being Hitlerjugend!

[Asher]

The Pope is clearly still evil. That's where the distinction lies.

[The Mad Monk]

Sen. Byrd Dies at 92 Permalink
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), the longest serving member of Congress in history, died early this morning at a hospital in Fairfax, Virginia. He was elected to the Senate nine times, starting in 1958, and was majority leader twice as well as chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee. Byrd was a member of the Ku Klux Klan in his youth, and filibustered the 1964 Civil Rights Act, but since then has apologized thousands of times for his youthful behavior. In recent years, he has earned a 100% voting record from the NAACP. His trajectory from humble, racist beginnings to a far more moderate position and author of a four-volume history of the Senate has been astonishing. He was also famous for always carrying a copy of the U.S. constitution in his pocket and quoting from it, as well as the Bible and Shakespeare, often. One of his many obituaries can be found here

It is a pity for the Democrats that Byrd could not hang on for another week. Had he lived until July 3, 2 years and 6 months before the end of his term, then governor Joe Manchin (D-WV) would have appointed a successor to serve out the rest of his term. But since there are more than 2 years and 6 months left in his term, Manchin will appoint an interim successor but there will be a special election in November to fill the seat starting in January. While West Virginia tends to vote Republican in presidential elections, the other senator, Jay Rockefeller, and Gov. Manchin are both Democrats. Whether the Democrats can hold the seat depends a lot on who the candidates are. Manchin himself is probably the strongest candidate if he decides to run.

Update
Politico has a story that suggests it is not quite as simple as this since the law does not say when the vacancy occurs. Is it when the senator dies or when the governor declares a vacancy, a declaration Manchin could delay until next week. Also, the law is ambiguous about when the special election should be held. It seems incredible that lawmakers can't write a simple law like how to fill a vacancy without raising many issues. Or maybe it is not incredible.

Update 2
West Virginia's Secretary of State, Natalie Tennant, has announced that her reading of West Virginia law is that since the filing date for elections has already passed for 2010, the special election to fill (the last 5 weeks of) Sen. Byrd's seat will be held in Nov. 2012, along with the regular election for a full term. Presumably the candidates for the two elections will be the same. Having two elections is not without consequences since the winner of the special election will be seated before any new senators elected in 2012, and thus have seniority over them, no small matter in the Senate.

http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2010/Senate/Maps/Jun28-s.html#1

I think the more important question now is, who gets his seat.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

A tale of two bigots by Adam Clymer - NYT as discussed by James Taranto

Compare and Contrast
The men who rank first and third in the list of longest-serving U.S. senators, Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, both died this decade. That's not the only thing they had in common. Both began their careers as segregationist Democrats but later repented and supported civil rights legislation. Both had obituaries in the New York Times written by Adam Clymer--but therein lie some differences:

The Thurmond obit, published June 27, 2003, was headlined "Strom Thurmond, Foe of Integration, Dies at 100."

The Byrd obit, published today, is headlined "Robert Byrd, a Pillar of the Senate, Dies at 92." (The early online headline said "Respected Voice" rather than "Pillar.")

The Thurmond obit mentioned the senator's opposition to civil rights in the third paragraph.

The Byrd obit, doesn't get to his opposition to civil rights--and his membership in the Ku Klux Klan--until paragraph 16, the topic sentence of which is, "Mr. Byrd's perspective on the world changed over the years."

Now it is true that Thurmond ran for president in 1948 as a "States' Rights Democrat," so that he was a more important figure in the reaction against civil rights than Byrd was. On the other hand, compare and contrast these details from deep in the two men's obits:

Byrd, paragraphs 17-18: "Mr. Byrd's political life could be traced to his early involvement with the Klan, an association that almost thwarted his career and clouded it intermittently for years afterward. In the early 1940s, he organized a 150-member klavern, or chapter, of the Klan in Sophia, W.Va., and was chosen its leader."

Thurmond, paragraph 16: "In 1940, he called on the grand jury in Greenville to be ready to take action against the Ku Klux Klan, which, he said, represented 'the most abominable type of lawlessness.' "

There was one other big difference between the two superannuated senators: Whereas Byrd remained a Democrat until his death yesterday, Thurmond became a Republican in 1964. That may account for the somewhat different treatment they got from Clymer.

http://online.wsj.com/article/best_of_the_web_today.html

[Al B. Sure!]

That's ****ed up.

And yeah at least Strum Thurmond wasn't literally a Klansman, even if he was a segregationist. Funny how Democrats always seemed to give Byrd a free pass.

[MrFun]

I applaud the person who realizes the wrongness of his/her belief and has the capability to change.