A former Ku Klux Klansman who once vowed to keep the military segregated is single-handedly holding up the confirmation of Secretary of State-nominee Condoleezza Rice, the first African-American woman to be appointed to the office.Out of all the people the Senate Democrats could have put out there, they pick this racist to be the face representing the Party of the People, Love, Peace and Harmony. What a disgrace...
"Senator Robert Byrd, an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, announced late [Wednesday] that he would not allow the Senate to approve Ms. Rice without a few days of consideration of her lengthy testimony, and at least a token debate on the floor," reports the New York Times.
Sen. Byrd's maneuver came just hours after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved her nomination by a vote of 16 to 2.
The West Virginia Democrat, who officially left the Klan in 1943 but continued to advise the anti-black group for years afterward, said through a spokesman that he was merely assuring that the Senate fulfilled its constitutional role of advise and consent.
But the decision by Democrats to make Sen. Byrd the point man in the continuing assault against such a prominent African-American is a particulary awkward one, given his long history of racial misconduct.
Mark's Remarks
If this were a Democrat appointee, the NAACP would be screaming, Jesse Jackson Sr and Jr would be demanding boycotts, and Julian Bond would say the Senate is racist. Of course, the fact that there has been no race baiting by Condi or her supporters shows the level of class she and this administration have. The fact that they would go along with the process rather than seek to demonize dissenters (even if they deserve it) shows a level of grace and class not seen in some time.Senators Boxer, Byrd, Kennedy, and Kerry are symptoms of the disease eating the Democratic party--bitterness, lack of vision, and no message to send other than we hate anyone associated with Bush.
