Incredibly Racist Senator Endorses Obama [Exalted Cyclops]
West Virginia's Robert Byrd, the president pro-tem of the U.S Senate and a former member of the KKK, has endorsed — gasp — the Kenyan candidate, Barack Obama Although he hates black people, Byrd notes that he has "been one of the most outspoken opponents of the Bush administration's misguided war in Iraq and its saber rattling around the globe, and this shared view is Obama's appeal to him
Posted May 19, 2008
from
Wonkette
Responses to this thread:
todd:
This surprised me. Obama may actually be able to carry off his image of a 'post-racial' candidate if he can get Byrd's endorsement
Arkansan:
Byrd "hates black people." I don't think that is an accurate picture of the 91 year old senator from W. VA.
smckenzie23:
Wow, I went out and read the Burd wikipedia page. I didn't realize how racist and how *recently* racist he was.
smckenzie23:
"On May 19, 2008, Byrd released a statement endorsing Barack Obama (D-Illinois) for President of the United States. One week after the West Virginia Democratic Primary, in which Hillary Clinton defeated Obama by 41.32%,[49] Byrd said, "Barack Obama is a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian, and he has my full faith and support."[50] In a written statement, Byrd called Obama "a shining young statesman, who possesses the personal temperament and courage necessary to extricate our country from this costly misadventure in Iraq."
Arkansan:
I just checked Wikipedia and noted that he credits his change of view to the 1982 traffic death of his grandson. With time to reflect he realized that black parents loved their children, too.
Arkansan:
Having lived as a "stranger in a strange land" in the South, mostly Mississippi, for nearly 40 years, I'd say that the early 1980's were about when things started to change with the old timers like Byrd. For Byrd I'm certain that the Klan is a thing of the past. He says that's the case, and I believe him.
