March 3, 200521 yr Moonbat? :whistle Byrd spokesman defends senator's Hitler remarks Thursday, March 3, 2005 Posted: 8:01 AM EST (1301 GMT) WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Robert Byrd's description of Adolf Hitler's rise to power was meant as a warning to heed the past and not as a comparison to Republicans, a spokesman for the West Virginia Democrat says. Two Jewish groups and two GOP politicians chastised the senator on Wednesday, including one who recalled Byrd's Ku Klux Klan membership as a young man. Byrd's comments, which he made Tuesday in the Senate, came during his speech criticizing a Republican plan to block Democrats from filibustering President Bush's judicial nominees. "Terrible chapters of history ought never be repeated," said Tom Gavin, spokesman for Byrd. "All one needs to do is to look at history to see how dangerous it is to curb the rights of the minority." Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, the Senate's No. 3 Republican, called for Byrd to retract his comments, saying they "lessen the credibility of the senator and the decorum of the Senate." Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, called the remarks "poisonous rhetoric" that are "reprehensible and beyond the pale." The storm was the latest twist in the battle over Senate GOP efforts to free 10 nominated judges that the chamber's minority Democrats have blocked during Bush's first term. The Senate confirmed 204 others. In his comments Tuesday, Byrd had defended the right senators have to use filibusters -- procedural delays that can kill an item unless 60 of the 100 senators vote to move ahead. He is a long-standing defender of the chamber's rules and traditions, many of which help the Senate's minority party. Byrd cited Hitler's 1930s rise to power by, in part, pushing legislation through the German parliament that seemed to legitimize his ascension. "We, unlike Nazi Germany or Mussolini's Italy, have never stopped being a nation of laws, not of men," Byrd said. "But witness how men with motives and a majority can manipulate law to cruel and unjust ends." Byrd then quoted historian Alan Bullock, saying Hitler "turned the law inside out and made illegality legal." Byrd added, "That is what the 'nuclear option' seeks to do." The nuclear option is the nickname for the proposal to end filibusters of judicial nominations because of the devastating effect the plan, if enacted, would have on relations between Democrats and Republicans. Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said Byrd's remarks showed "a profound lack of understanding as to who Hitler was" and that the senator should apologize to the American people. He called the comparison "hideous, outrageous and offensive." "With his knowledge of history and his own personal background as a KKK member, he should be ashamed for implying that his political opponents are using Nazi tactics," said Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition. Byrd has repeatedly apologized for his Klan membership. Now 87 and the Senate's longest-serving member at 47 years, he prides himself on his knowledge of history and makes historical references frequently during debates. Brooks also attacked as "disgusting" Byrd's remark that "some in the Senate are ready to callously incinerate" senators' rights to filibuster. The comment came amid several references by Byrd to the "nuclear option." "There is no excuse for raising the specter of the Holocaust crematoria in a discussion of the Senate filibuster," Brooks said.
March 3, 200521 yr I really dont think he was comparing the Republican party to the ideology or vision of the Nazis. His point, and a valid one at that, is that altering government procedure for your own political benefit undermines that very government and its legitimacy-whether intentional or not. Hindenburg foolishly allowed Hitler to change rules for political reasons not realizing he was destroying his very government. Comparing them to what the Nazi's did after they gained a foothold in government is pretty extreme but I think he was using hyperbole because this country should never ever take steps in that direction..not one. Here is his point: We, unlike Nazi Germany or Mussolini's Italy, have never stopped being a nation of laws, not of men. It should never stop being that way and never should consider prefering men over laws. Its really hard to make that point without using an exterme example so he may have gotten in trouble no matter what. To understand what Byrd's point is, you have to understnad the context in which Hitler rose to power. The devil is in the details and sadly, people will just say he called Republicans Nazis and that is not what he did. btw, its totally unfair of people to be continually critical of Byrd for his KKK ties when he was young. He has never stopped apologizing for that.
March 3, 200521 yr if anything, the guy doesn't get criticized enough for being an ex-klansmen and for his infamous role in the civil rights chapters of every US history book in print today. hell yeah that bedsheet-wearing racist bag of filth is a moonbat.
March 3, 200521 yr btw, its totally unfair of people to be continually critical of Byrd for his KKK ties when he was young. He has never stopped apologizing for that. 700705[/snapback] I agree with you there FM. Republican's should be quiet about this, because this just opens the door for Democrats to bring up GWB's alcoholism. It wouldn't be fair to both men.
March 3, 200521 yr not really a better connection would be to strom thurmonds past there is a difference between addition and racism
March 4, 200521 yr not really a better connection would be to strom thurmonds past there is a difference between addition and racism 701091[/snapback] Is it as clear as multiplying and dividing? Yeah, that was a lame pun.
March 4, 200521 yr btw, its totally unfair of people to be continually critical of Byrd for his KKK ties when he was young. He has never stopped apologizing for that. 700705[/snapback] I agree with you there FM. Republican's should be quiet about this, because this just opens the door for Democrats to bring up GWB's alcoholism. It wouldn't be fair to both men. 701080[/snapback] Yes.
March 4, 200521 yr btw, its totally unfair of people to be continually critical of Byrd for his KKK ties when he was young. He has never stopped apologizing for that. 700705[/snapback] He filibustered the 1964 civil rights act for 15 hours and he is the only congressman to vote against both black supreme court justices, not to mention the fact that he used the N word multiple times in an interview just a few years ago. Definitely a moonbat.
March 4, 200521 yr Again, this thread is more about his words in this incedent than in his past actions. He filibustered the 1964 civil rights act for 15 hours and he is the only congressman to vote against both black supreme court justices, not to mention the fact that he used the N word multiple times in an interview just a few years ago. So did many men who ended up becoming Republicans. Byrd's actions 40 years ago were bad but certainly he exhibits repentance when he stays with a party that sacrificed and fought so much over the civil rights issues. Its easy to say you arent a racist anymore but its a little harder when you are fighting alongside a party that proposes pro-black legislation. I think the dems who become Republicans got the easy way out. They can still be racist and not have to worry about helping blacks.
March 4, 200521 yr Again, this thread is more about his words in this incedent than in his past actions. He filibustered the 1964 civil rights act for 15 hours and he is the only congressman to vote against both black supreme court justices, not to mention the fact that he used the N word multiple times in an interview just a few years ago. So did many men who ended up becoming Republicans. Byrd's actions 40 years ago were bad but certainly he exhibits repentance when he stays with a party that sacrificed and fought so much over the civil rights issues. Its easy to say you arent a racist anymore but its a little harder when you are fighting alongside a party that proposes pro-black legislation. I think the dems who become Republicans got the easy way out. They can still be racist and not have to worry about helping blacks. 701846[/snapback] His words this past week and his words only a few years ago where he used the N word numerous times are just further proof that he has not changed.
March 4, 200521 yr The problem is that hitler and nazi's have a special connotation for people in this country, and since many 'liberals' have compared bush to hitler the subject has been sort of misinterpreted. However, I'm goign to remember everyone ehre who has defended Byrd's past, b/c next time someone on the other side of the spectrum is critisized for doing a similar thing in the past, I want the same people defending him/her.
March 4, 200521 yr The problem is that hitler and nazi's have a special connotation for people in this country, and since many 'liberals' have compared bush to hitler the subject has been sort of misinterpreted. However, I'm goign to remember everyone ehre who has defended Byrd's past, b/c next time someone on the other side of the spectrum is critisized for doing a similar thing in the past, I want the same people defending him/her. 701949[/snapback] You mean how Daschle defended Lott?
March 4, 200521 yr btw, its totally unfair of people to be continually critical of Byrd for his KKK ties when he was young. He has never stopped apologizing for that. 700705[/snapback] He filibustered the 1964 civil rights act for 15 hours and he is the only congressman to vote against both black supreme court justices, not to mention the fact that he used the N word multiple times in an interview just a few years ago. Definitely a moonbat. 701833[/snapback] Wouldn't that qualify him as a conservative? A social one mind you.
March 5, 200521 yr The problem is that hitler and nazi's have a special connotation for people in this country, and since many 'liberals' have compared bush to hitler the subject has been sort of misinterpreted. However, I'm goign to remember everyone ehre who has defended Byrd's past, b/c next time someone on the other side of the spectrum is critisized for doing a similar thing in the past, I want the same people defending him/her. 701949[/snapback] You mean how Daschle defended Lott? 702358[/snapback] My comment was directed at people on the board not other politicians
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