Crush Liberalism

Byrd’s problem with black folks

Robert Byrd has held up (or thwarted) three nominees of note during his shoddy lifetime: Justices Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, and now Dr. Condi Rice. The common bond with these three distinguished individuals: they’re all black. It seems as though the former Grand Kleagle of the KKK has a problem with African-Americans holding prominent positions in society.

Byrd’s recent racial history, outlined in Wikipedia:

On March 4, 2001, an interview with FOX News Sunday host Tony Snow was aired. In the interview Byrd was asked about race relations: “They are much, much better than they’ve ever been in my lifetime,” Byrd said. “I think we talk about race too much. I think those problems are largely behind us… I just think we talk so much about it that we help to create somewhat of an illusion. I think we try to have good will. My old mom told me, ‘Robert, you can’t go to heaven if you hate anybody.’ We practice that.” Then Byrd warned: “There are white niggers. I’ve seen a lot of white niggers in my time; I’m going to use that word.”

“We just need to work together to make our country a better country, and I’d just as soon quit talking about it so much.”

Byrd’s office later issued an apology.

“I apologize for the characterization I used on this program. The phrase dates back to my boyhood and has no place in today’s society. As for my language, I had no intention of casting aspersions on anyone of another race.”

American conservatives have pointed to Byrd’s comments as evidence of a double standard in the treatment of Democratic and Republican political figures in regards to controversial statements about race (see Trent Lott, Rush Limbaugh). Limbaugh made this point loudly, more in reference to the Lott controversy than the one surrounding himself, when fellow Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd said in praise of Byrd, “There has never been a time in U.S. history that he would not have been right for. He would have been right for the Founding. He would have been right for the Civil War …” Limbaugh stated that as Byrd had been a member of the Ku Klux Klan, he would have undoubtedly been on the side of the Confederate States of America, and hence slavery, during the Civil War, and wondered if Dodd really thought that was right. However, no general outcry in the mainstream media ensued, and the incident was hardly mentioned outside the venues of right-wing talk radio and FOX News — a silence cited by those sources as evidence of a Liberal bias in mainstream media, protecting the Democrats (Dodd and Byrd) and yet loudly attacking Republicans (Lott and Thurmond) for a milder version of the same behavior.

A recent ill-informed visitor to this blog attempted a weak-ass defense of Byrd by invoking Trent Lott’s poorly worded praise of Strom Thurmond two years ago. Considering that neither Thurmond nor Lott were ever in the KKK, it’s a poor defense. But that’s the point: while you’d be hard-pressed to find conservatives or Libertarians who will defend Thurmond’s sordid past, you will have no trouble finding scores of liberals who will defend Senator “Sheets” Byrd. An argument can be made that Thurmond repented later in his life (another topic for another day). Considering Byrd’s comments just four years ago, as well as his nominee hold-ups, no such argument can be made for Byrd.

But damned if liberals don’t try to spin his defense anyway!

January 24, 2005 Posted by crushliberalism | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Libs’ exit poll hysteria

This, from the Union Leader of New Hampshire (you know, the blue state!):

About those exit polls:

Sorry, no Bush conspiracy here

SOME DEMOCRATS and liberals who refused to “moveon” after President Bush won reelection in November either fabricated or latched on to all sorts of conspiracy theories in their desperation and despair. None has been shown to have any basis in fact, and last week the very first conspiracy theory offered on Election Day was soundly crushed by a polling company investigation.

Exit polls on Election Day showed John Kerry with sizable leads in state after state. The polls so consistently predicted a Kerry victory that conservative columnist Bill Buckley told a group of friends in an ominous tone, “It shall be Kerry.”

When the votes were actually counted, however, their results differed greatly from the exit poll predictions. The discrepancy prompted immediate charges that the Bush campaign had rigged the votes and stolen the election.

Well, last week pollsters Joe Lenski of Edison Media Research and Warren Mitofsky of Mitofsky International (the companies that conducted Election Day polls for the Associated Press and major television news organizations) released their analysis of the exit polls. They found that the polls overstated Kerry’s support in 26 states and Bush’s support in four states. The final national poll predicted that Kerry would win the election.

The main reason for overstating Kerry’s support? Bush voters refused to answer pollsters’ questions in larger numbers than did Kerry voters. No evidence of voter fraud was found.

So much for the conspiracy.

So much, indeed. It’s pretty damning when the exit poll companies themselves explain the discrepancy and reasons for their screw-ups. They would have been better served to have insisted that they were not wrong, and indeed, actual votes had been tampered with…they wouldn’t have looked inept and incompetent. Kudos to them for their candor and honesty.

But hey…since when do liberals let a little thing like facts get in the way of a good conspiracy theory?

January 24, 2005 Posted by crushliberalism | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

At least THIS Kennedy didn’t kill her!

From NewsMax.com:

A new documentary set to be released this week shows Ted Kennedy’s son abusing an African-American female security guard at Los Angeles International Airport five years ago.

A clip in “Taking on the Kennedys,” filmed by director Josh Seftel, captures Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-RI, getting physical with security guard Della Patton as Patton was loading his luggage into a scanner.

Kennedy, who insisted he was in a rush to catch a flight back to Boston, allegedly pushed Patton and grabbed her by the arm when she informed him that she would have to inspect his carry-on bag because it wouldn’t fit through the x-ray machine.

A video surveillance tape captured the March 26, 2000 incident but was never released.

The New York Post, however, reports that Seftel’s documentary includes video of “Kennedy getting into a ‘physical altercation’ with a female airport security guard.”

Rep. Kennedy, who wasn’t charged in the incident, denied he had manhandled Patton. But in July 2000 he offered her $25,000 to settle the dispute. On the advice of her attorney, Greg Mallory, Patton rejected the offer.

She was later fired from her job, with Mallory claiming Rep. Kennedy was responsible.

Patton should be thankful that she didn’t meet the same fate as her assailant’s father’s victim, Mary Jo Kopechne. At least Patton is alive to tell about it!

January 24, 2005 Posted by crushliberalism | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

AP: US foresaw terror threats in 1970s

Hmmm…let’s see how the left tries to pin that on Bush! I’m confident that they’ll somehow try, regardless of stupid it makes them look…again. Full story here.

January 24, 2005 Posted by crushliberalism | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment