Clinton Defends Byrd's KKK Ties: "He Was Trying To Get Elected"

RealClearPolitics ^ | July 2, 2010 | RealClearPolitics

[i88schwartz]

He once had a fleeting association with the Ku Klux Klan, what does that mean? I'll tell you what it means. He was a country boy from the hills and hollows from West Virginia. He was trying to get elected," former President Bill Clinton said of Sen. Robert Byrd.

"And maybe he did something he shouldn't have done come and he spent the rest of his life making it up. And that's what a good person does. There are no perfect people. There are certainly no perfect politicians," he added.

[IYAS9YAS]

Fleeting?

Hardly. Full-blown membership with a history of quotes that shows he truly never left the Klan.

[choctaw man]

“He was trying to get elected,” former President Bill Clinton said of Sen. Robert Byrd.”

Slick learned at the knee of the best on how to get elected...

[Marty62]

Yes Clinton understands being a political whore.

We have turned off the red light Bubba. No PWs need pply.

[FReepaholic]

And yet Trent Lott gets run out of town just for praising Strom Thurmond on his birthday.

[richmwill]

I understand that nobody’s perfect, but Klan membership is unforgivable.

[rfp1234]

Klueless Klinton said “Klu” Klux Klan.

[dr_who]

Typical Democrat praising a typical Democrat.

[OldDeckHand]

Not helping Bill, not helping.

[RexBeach]

Hey, only the nation’s first black president could make such an assertion about Senator Byrd.

Nice goin’, Bubba.

Putz.

[xtinct]

ummm... Byrd was a Grand Wizard --> leadership position ... decision maker

hardly a passing interest in doing damage to others...

Clinton's health problems have obviously affected his brain ... addled old man

[pallis]

Clinton can identify with Byrd’s racism. It was just politics. Funny how millions of southern, white boys have managed to be successful in their lives and careers without resorting to organized racism. Maybe Clinton is just thinking about his own racist tendencies.

[a fool in paradise]

Really? He worked as a recruiter for the Klan and it was just to secure votes?

How many white supremacists did he recruit who went on to terrorize and discriminate against minorities and Catholics?

[org.whodat]

Giving the record of Clintoons mentor, you would expect him to say that. Sort of like the lie he told about never using the N word and never telling a racists joke. And all of those church burning in Arkansas. Old Lewinsky chaser is so yesterday!

[JPG]

The Byrd has flown, so, ignore the white sheets and the burning crosses because he was just trying to get elected. You can also ignore what Bill was doing because he was just trying to get screwed. Democrats, they just can’t help themselves. Put them out of their misery in Nov.

[Servant of the Cross]

Wipe the smirk off your face Wallace! He did not have sex with those Klansmen!

[skr]

It’s unforgiveable if forgiveness wasn’t asked for. Apparently Byrd apologized on more than one occasion, but he didn’t truly repent. Staying in the Democrats’ Party and trying to turn us into a socialist nation/country-sized plantation was not the way to show true remorse.

[WayneS]

Clinton Defends Byrd's KKK Ties: "He Was Trying To Get Elected"

And, of course, one must do WHATEVER it takes, no matter how vile or obscene it may be, to get elected...

[WayneS]

Syphilis?

[Berlin_Freeper]

Compared to Clinton we are all perfect.

[Tamar1973]

Fleeting?! He was like a Grand Dragon something like that. You don’t obtain a high status in any kind of organization because you just want to join a club and have someone to hang out with on a Saturday night.

[andy58-in-nh]

Clinton certainly has more than a passing familiarity with full-blown members and night riding.

[Bernard]

he spent the rest of his life making it up

If that is a direct quote, it may not have been how he intended to word it, but it sounds more real that way. It's also a reflection on the media...sounds like the opening of the eulogy for Dan Rather, Chris Mathews, etc.

[is_is]

The end ALWAYS justifies the means......you didn’t know that.....geeezzzz

/sarcasam

[jersey117]

Is that an untouched picture? If so, he wasn’t exactly a misguided youth when he was a member.

[chris_bdba]

ROFLOL!They want us to believe that he was only in short time but he held a leadership position that takes a long time to achieve? The left’s lies so much.

[Above My Pay Grade]

Hey, at least Slick Willie preaches what he practiced. He would say or do ANYTHING to get elected, so I guess it makes sense that he wouldn’t blame Byrd for doing the same.

[Ann Archy]

Clinton is saying that WVa is filled with KKKer’s?? WOW....they are ALL DEMOCRATS!!

[William Tell]

WayneS said: "And, of course, one must do WHATEVER it takes,..."

It makes me wonder what Byrd's opponents were doing. Did they all join the Klan in their attempt to get elected? Whether they did or not, it tells us plenty about Byrd.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"The Klan is needed today as never before, and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia and in every state in the nation."

Mr. Clinton, the above is a quote from your Mr. Byrd. If he should be forgiven why could you and the rest of your democratic cohorts not overlook Senator Lott praising an old man on his 100th birthday?

[circlecity]

If Robert Byrd had been a Republican and Sarah Palin defended him with that same excuse what would Clinton’s reaction be? Just askin......................

[DoughtyOne]

I wish to thank ex-President Clinton, something I rarely do.

Bill, seeking to explain away Robert Byrd’s KKK activity, said...

“He was a country boy from the hills and hollows from West Virginia. He was trying to get elected.”

Yes brain trust, it is good to know that he was a Democrat and trying to get elected by Democrats on the basis of his membership in the KKK.

And yet the Blacks vote for Democrats in numbers exceeding 90%, based in part on the idea Republicans are racists.

[Mere Survival]

Is that an untouched picture? If so, he wasn’t exactly a misguided youth when he was a member.
__________________________________________________________

Uh. No.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

He once had a fleeting association with the Ku Klux Klan, what does that mean? I'll tell you what it means. [...] He was trying to get elected," former President Bill Clinton said of Sen. Robert Byrd.

Oh. Well. That makes it all right, then.

[Venturer]

He is gone, Good Riddance, I will have a drink to mark his passing and get drunk as a Lord the day Clinton goes.

[Mere Survival]

Byrd wore many hats during his lifetime, including that of Exalted Cyclops in the Ku Klux Klan. What are the job responsibilities of an Exalted Cyclops? He presides over the Council of the Centaurs and writes quarterly reports to the Grand Giant. In the Klan hierarchy, each local chapter, or Klavern, is led by an Exalted Cyclops. This member is typically elected by his fellow Klansmen and serves a one-year term. According to the original 1867 Prescript of the Ku Klux Klan, the Exalted Cyclops reports to a Grand Giant, or provincial leader; a Grand Dragon, or state director; and the Grand Wizard, or national chair. Below the Cyclops on the org chart were the Grand Magi, the Grand Monk, the Grand Exchequer, the Grand Turk, and, finally, the rank-and-file members known as Ghouls or Knights. (Many of these titles have changed over time, and most of the sub-Cyclops ranks have been eliminated.) The Exalted Cyclops' responsibilities include presiding over Klavern meetings, initiating new members, and appointing Councils of Centaurs—that's Klan-speak for a jury—to try and punish wayward Ghouls.

http://www.slate.com/id/2258661

[AmusedBystander]

I think Clinton is one of those “white ni__ers” that Byrd talked about as late as 2001.

[cranked]

That is about as idiotic as when Clinton spouted that he “did not have sex with that woman”....=.=

[skr]

He was trying to get elected

Not something to be proud of.

[FrankR]

Doesn’t surprise me...democrats will throw their grandmother’s under the bus to get elected...right barry?

[ThePatriotsFlag]

KLU instead of KU (which is correct) is more of a colloquialism. Sort of how you grew up pronouncing it. I always say “KLU” ... just a learned habit. (Indiana raised). Would be interesting to know if other areas of the country do the same?

[matt1234]

For dems, ideological purity trumps personal morals every time.

[Steve Van Doorn]

"He was trying to get elected"

Does anyone here know the proper terminology for this type of governing?

Where you lead by polls and whatever is popular at the time? Your morals are based on however the popular wind blows.

I used to think it was popularism but that isn't right. I know has to be a terminology for it but I can not figure it out.

thanks

[Mobties]

“...he spent the rest of his life making it up.”

Making it up!? Sounds like a Democrat’s resume to me.

[nightmarewhileawake]

Bill and Hillary must truly be stupid ...
They would do anything to get elected ... even staying in the demoRat party ... duh, the party that threw them under the bus ... for the first articulate dark skinned smiley faced 1/2 africian 1/2 American to come along.
That’s right mr. and ms. clinton ya was thrown under the
-— someway for folks to show their appreciation for all your hard work -— show some pride and leave the marxist leftest demorats -— start your own party cause the one you used to belong to is going down with the economy and the rest of the moochers.

[DManA]

I’ll tell you what it means. He’s a democrat. End of story.

[popdonnelly]

I always knew Clinton was a liar. How much more obvious can Byrd’s segregationist views be? How is it the Democrats try to tie David Duke around Republican necks, while praising this former Klan official? The racist and segregationist views of the Democrats are there in the history of the U.S., for anyone who wants to see them.

[Kirkwood]

"Clinton Defends Byrd's KKK Ties: "He Was Trying To Get Elected"