This stunning exchange happened six days following a most deplorable event on the floor of the U.S. Senate. On tax-payer funded time, Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd, said in a tribute to Robert Byrd, that he would be a “great leader” for any portion of American history. In fact Dodd went on to elaborate that Byrd would have been a great leader at the founding of this country. He said he would have been a great leader in the present days of turmoil. He went so far as to say that he (Dodd) could not think of a time when Robert Byrd would not have been a great leader for our nation. Dodd even cited the era of the civil war specifically.
Looking back into history its easy to see the stunning conflicts of interest that might not make Byrd such a great leader for America. In his youth Byrd was an active member of the Ku Klux Klan. You know…the organization that during the civil war era raped black slave girls, tortured black slave men, and mutilated the bodies of any who resisted. The KKK burned bodies of disobedient blacks, burned the houses of their loved ones, and burned crosses on the front yards of any who would show sympathy to the maltreatment of blacks. And Senator Dodd said Byrd would have been a “great leader” for America during the time of the civil war?
But his youth was not the only place where Byrd showed great agitation towards African Americans. In the midst of the 1960’s as America was facing the truth about its darkest secret, the civil rights movement took center stage. As a nation confessed its sin and after far too long put the issue of equality and freedom for all back into its core of public policy Mr. Byrd was again lined up against these principles. As an elected democrat, when the civil rights act came to the floor for a vote, Byrd found himself advancing the cause of a filibuster to prevent African Americans from enjoying the same civil rights that he enjoyed.
Fast forward to the later part of the Senator’s career. In 2001 one would have thought that Senator Robert Byrd would have learned his lesson. After all these many years of having made mistake after mistake on the issue of the equal treatment of men created in the image of God, he struck again. Appearing on a nationally broadcast television news show Robert Byrd dropped the always offensive “N” bomb right into America’s living room.
But Senator Dodd had said that Byrd would have been a “great leader” for America. “He could not think of a time” when Robert Byrd would not have been a “great leader” for America. And understand this speech was given on the tax-payers dime, in the Senate Chamber and publicly broadcast on C-SPAN.
Now remember with me if you will the episode of December 6, 2002. Making an appearance at a private birthday gathering (not paid for by tax-payers), then Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott spoke words of praise to Strom Thurmond. Thurmond, who was turning one hundred years old was praised by Lott as someone that “more Americans should have voted for” when he had run for president on a segregationist ticket at the peak of segregation. Lott’s remarks went unnoticed for two days by the media but eventually created such a stir that Republican leadership recognized the pain his comments had caused thousands of Americans and thus removed him from his leadership post.
In only two days the story had jumped onto the front pages of American newspapers. Black Entertainment Television aired special programming relating to the issue - including bringing Lott on to try to explain. And within a two week time period Lott was out as leader and replaced by Senator Frist, a man whose record on race has no question marks above it.
Today is the eleventh day since Senator Dodd made his remarks implying that a former KKK member would have been a fine leader in the civil war. It has been now over a week since Christopher Dodd stated that the man who filibustered the civil rights act would be a great leader for all of America, and aside from a fair and balanced report from Fox News - no other news outlet has picked up the story.
So coming full circle I asked my listeners this week to explain the media inconsistencies. Tar and feathering Senator Lott for making similar statements on the one hand, the media outright ignores more inflammatory statements from Senator Dodd on the other.
Dave, the caller, seemed to grasp it well. So let me see…
If you are a democrat and you make openly racist remarks, its ok - because you are a democrat. But if you are a republican and you make merely questionable statements you must die a slow tortuous death as a result?
Evidently in the minds of democrats the answer is “of course”.