Bernie Goldberg Derides Bill Clinton’s Excuse Of Sen. Byrd’s Time In The Klan

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by Colby Hall | 8:49 am, July 7th, 2010

» 23 comments

When Senator Robert Byrd died last week, many wondered how his eulogizers might treat an ugly part of his past: his role as a leader/recruiter in a West Virginia chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. Former President Bill Clinton answered those questions while speaking during the memorial service, ostensibly defending Byrd’s part in the Klan by saying “he was a country boy from the hills and hollows of West Virginia,” adding “he was trying to get elected.” Fox News’ Media Analyst Bernard Goldberg took exception to the cavalier shrugging-off of Byrd’s racist past.

It’s a difficult thing to do – criticize the words of someone praising the past of someone who has just past (especially one who has given so many years of service to his country.) However, Goldberg dared to point out what he seemed to be an offhand and inappropriately informal explanation of Byrd’s time in the Klan. And he makes some very good points without stomping on the legacy of the departed Senator.

First, the excepted words of Clinton which raised Goldberg’s ire:

There are a lot of people who wrote these eulogies for Senator Byrd in the newspapers and I read a bunch of them. and they mention that he once had a fleeting association with the Ku Klux Klan. What does that mean? I will tell what you it means. He was a country boy from the hills and hollows of West Virginia. He was trying to get elected. And maybe he did something he shouldn’t have done, and he spent the rest of his life making it up. And that’s what a good person does.

Goldberg shows both deftness and reason in his critique of Clinton’s eulogy, given that damning the past of the “dearly departed” is ostensibly a very tricky wicket:

Well, first I thought the obvious. You don’t use a funeral to unload on the dearly departed. So I understand why Bill Clinton, you know, did what he did to some extent but he went way, way, way too far.

First of all, you heard the sound bite just then. Bill Clinton says well, he was just a country boy from West Virginia, trying to get elected as if, what, that somehow justifies joining the Klan? Even in the 1940s, Bill, decent people didn’t join the Ku Klux Klan. By the way, Robert Byrd wasn’t just a regular bigot in the Ku Klux Klan, he was a special bigot. He recruited the other morons who joined the could you Ku Klux Klan. Imagine today if some politician felt he had to bad mouth or bash black people in order to get elected. Do you think Bill Clinton would be be so cavalier or anybody else for that matter as to say, well, come on, he is just a country boy who is trying to get elected. Of course not.

And then the second thing Clinton said is that Robert Byrd spent the rest of his life making it up. That’s not even true. In 1964, Robert Byrd not only voted against the civil rights act, but he filibustered for 14 hours. One year later in 1965, He voted against the voting rights act. Now, in fairness, later on in life, Robert Byrd championed making Martin Luther King’s birthday a national holiday. We will give him that.

But this leads to one of two possibilities. Either he had a genuine change of heart, which is possible, or he is simply made another political calculation. Just as he joined the Klan for political reasons, maybe he realized that being a bigot wasn’t going to work anymore. I’m not saying that you use the funeral to bad-mouth the guy but Bill Clinton, ever the statesman, could have compromised and just said a little bit less.

O’Reilly summed up by reaffirming that “we a a nation that believes in forgiveness and redemption” but hedges with “I don’t think the media would have been so kind if Robert Byrd been a Republican.” The Fox News anchor ended with a note of forgiveness towards the late Senator, saying “I think that’s what we do in our Judeo-Christian tradition.”

Bernie Goldberg, Bill O'Reilly, fox news, Ku Klux Klan, O'Reilly Factor, Robert Byrd

ImNotBlue

An excellent job by Goldberg. At what point did “everybody’s doing it” and “he only did that to get elected” become an acceptable excuse?
Liberty Banned

Good point. There is no excuse for what Byrd was apart of.
notsofast

Yes, we must forgive what anyone does to get elected.

Funny, after he got elected, Byrd continued his membership in the KKK, wrote numerous vile letters regarding blacks, voted against the nominations of the only two AAs ever confirmed to the SCOTUS, filibustered the ’64 CRA, and in 2001 in a public interview with Tony Snow, used the” N” word on TV.

Yeah, Bryd did all that just to get elected.
notsofast

Now, let’s watch the libs defend their favorite racist.
MichelleF

“I don’t think the media would have been so kind if Robert Byrd been a Republican.”

Which appearantely even Colby couldn’t deny. Actually I appreciate that you didn’t try to refute it Colby, since we all know he’s right.
lazzzlo

I lived for 30+ years in Appalachia. I’ll give the guy credit for changing his ways as the times dictated. It’s part of his past and I think he “adapted” somewhat. The thing I didn’t like about Byrd (and sorta admired him as well) was that he was such an obstructionist in the Senate.

He took care of W. Va. and he was a wizard on the arcane Senatorial bylaws that allowed him to filter money to one impoverished state at the expense of the other 49 states. Local hero.

I don’t want to speak bad of the dead but I’m glad there is an opportunity for younger people…92 is a wee bit old to represent your constituents.
lanquihue

ImNotBlue said:
An excellent job by Goldberg. At what point did “everybody’s doing it” and “he only did that to get elected” become an acceptable excuse?

How about embracing a racist preacher for the purpose of pandering to locals? How about throwing the same racist under the bus when running for president?

Goldberg’s analysis was astute, and it’s amazing how causally Clinton brought it up and passed it by.
Penguin60

He was 46 when he filibustered, hardly the transgressions of a young man.
stoogedudes

I believe in forgiveness and redemption.

I don’t believe that Byrd joined just to get elected. I don’t agree much with Bernie Goldberg, but he’s right on this one. That said, his push for Martin Luther King Jr. day was a step in the right direction. He also supported President Obama, something I don’t think someone who is racist against black people would do.

That said, to point out from Colby’s quote, if he WAS a Republican, would the right have been so quick to slam him for his dark past as they are now, since he is in reality a Democrat?
notsofast

if he WAS a Republican”

But he wasn’t . He was a Dem and the only KKK member of the Senate.
Nachi

Bernie? Such a meaningless little shyster. Duh.
ImNotBlue

stoogedudes says:
July 7, 2010 at 1:40 pm

In one of Obama’s books (I’m not sure which one, I listened to it a while ago on a car trip), I was fascinated by his interaction with Sen. Byrd. Obama said that right after he was elected, he had a meeting with Sen. Byrd. He said that he was really moved by Byrd’s comments and really admired him.

Of course, the thing I found most interesting was the advice that Byrd offered him, “Learn the rules…, not just the rules but the precedents as well…, not many people bother to learn them these days. Everything is so rushed, so many demands on a senator’s time. But these rules unlock the power of the Senate. They’re the keys to the kingdom.” And then went on to encourage him NOT to run for President right away, but to spend some time in the Senate.

Obama said he really admired the man, and appreciated his kind words. And then promptly ignored them.

I found that very interesting.
lazzzlo

stoogedudes said:
I believe in forgiveness and redemption.

I don’t believe that Byrd joined just to get elected. I don’t agree much with Bernie Goldberg, but he’s right on this one. That said, his push for Martin Luther King Jr. day was a step in the right direction. He also supported President Obama, something I don’t think someone who is racist against black people would do.

That said, to point out from Colby’s quote, if he WAS a Republican, would the right have been so quick to slam him for his dark past as they are now, since he is in reality a Democrat?

Seriously, have you ever bothered to check the Southern Democrats voting record during the Civil Rights era?

A lot has changed but Byrd certainly was one that adhered to standards that were antiquated.
lazzzlo

“One person no longer around today was quite opposed to Marshall when President Johnson nominated him to the court. He was so concerned about Marshall, in fact, that he wrote to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, wondering whether allegations of Marshall’s ties to Communists were true. We don’t know what Hoover told him, but he voted against Marshall nonetheless.

That person was Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia.”

(For the record, the Senate vote to confirm Marshall was 69-11, with 20 senators not voting. The 11 opponents included nine Democrats from the Deep South — James Eastland of Mississippi, Allen Ellender and Russell Long of Louisiana, Sam Ervin of North Carolina, Lister Hill and John Sparkman of Alabama, Spessard Holland of Florida, Fritz Hollings of South Carolina and Herman Talmadge of Georgia — and one Republican, Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. The other Democrat was Robert Byrd.)

http://www.npr.org/blogs/politicaljunkie/2010/06/29/128194604/will-they-confirm-thurgood-marshall

A lot has changed since the…but still…he was a Democrat.
lazzzlo

Sorry, my bad for not indicating that the above Senate vote was for confirming Thurgood Marshall for the Supreme Court.
Thrasher

I resent it when the media and others seek to filter and cleanse the legacy of an evil celebrity or politician when they die. Robert Byrd does not deserve the regret and the efforts of those who seek to polish his ugly past and make him honorable. We don’t honor nazi sympathizers why do we rationalize racist ones?

Byrd was a evil person whose contempt and racism towards Black Americans was beyond the pale and reached depths of inhumanity. Byrd alleged personality reversal and regrets lack sincerity and were rightfully viewed as just another slick media twist to appease his critics.

Byrd’s posture towards Black Americans was inhumane he brought suffering to unlimited numbers of Americans that were not of his hue. I hope he rots in hell that is what his legacy deserves not a fictional cleansing by the media and pc influenced politicians.
shootfromthehip

“Byrd was a evil person whose contempt and racism towards Black Americans was beyond the pale and reached depths of inhumanity. Byrd alleged personality reversal and regrets lack sincerity and were rightfully viewed as just another slick media twist to appease his critics.”

That’s funny, the NAACP forgave Byrd and even honored the man for changing his ways. Yet a guy named “thrasher” (just guessing you aren’t an African American) are unwilling to forgive him.

I’m with the NAACP and Byrd.

You stick with partisan hatred to score cheap points.
libra blue

I agree with Goldberg. Trying to cleanse the legacy of Byrd is hypocritical, especially when others on the right who have committed similar sins are unmercifully trashed by the left. Bill Clinton was labeled a racist by some in Obama’s camp so I can understand why he would try to defend Byrd’s past, but most people can see right through it.

I am still waiting for the post about the DOJ and the voter intimidation video of the crazy New Black Panther member spewing his hate of white America which is being all but ignored by CNN and MSNBC.
felixw

I remember Trent Lott being forced from office, merely for saying some polite things about Senator Strom Thurmond. But different rules apply for Democrats, and especially for Bill Clinton, who can commit perjury, sexual harassment, whatever, and enjoy the full and total support of the Left. I think that tells you where the Left stands on ethical matters. But then they act as total hypocrites when they can play gotcha against any Republican — on the very issues that they ignore in their own political heroes. Hard to take these folks seriously, given their constant double standard.
shootfromthehip

“I think that tells you where the Left stands on ethical matters.”

Where I stand is that Lott should have not been force to leave (and btw, it was not Dems who forced him to resign, but Rove and other scared GOP House Members that refused to have his back…see supporting link below).

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/republican-leader-lott-forced-out-over-racist-remarks-611687.html

Where I stand is that Lott deserves forgiveness and so does Byrd.

I do not believe either man is racist today.
Thrasher

Where I stand low budget garden variety rednecks and racist terrorists like Byrd, Thurmond, Lott and a cast of similar rednecks can kiss my Black ass..None of them deserve any forgiveness..Once a racist always a racist….
TCinAZ

Put it this way, There won’t be Any 40 Ounce Olde English “Beer Summits” between Billy Jeff and the NAACP happening anytime soon relative to Clinton’s remarks about “The Fiddler” Byrd’s just trying to get elected, even If he took part in just a few cross-burnings and lynchings in his 30-something “Youth”.

Not to Mention to the fact that Who amongst us Hasn’t looked at a Stacey Dash (et al) and said, “No! I Wouldn’t!”, because it might bring a Race Mongrel or two into the world Was It? So Better I Die A Thousand Times Than To…

Now, Dualin’ Banjos Inbred Dixiecrat, Albert Gore Sr.’s “Racially Pure” Grandaughters? Well they’re Another matter Altogether! It’s No Wonder that their Divinity Skool Dropout Daddy talks Soo..Sloow though.

Summer, Hot! Massage, Hotter! Winter, Cold! BRR! Climate Change, Real! Gimme MONEY, Dem Sheeple!

And they call Trig Palin a Special Needs Kid!? LOL!
Mariopreciado

Clinton delivered the eulogy for Richard Nixon. No complaints there?