Did You Know...

**Written by guest-blogger Doug Powers

Somebody at the NAACP either needs a history lesson or is being intentionally deceptive about somebody’s horrid past just because the person in question was a liberal Democrat (don’t tell me which it is and ruin the suspense).

From Mike Riggs at the Daily Caller:

On Monday the organization [NAACP] released a statement from NAACP President and Chief Executive Benjamin Todd Jealous claiming that Byrd’s life “reflects the transformative power of this nation.”

Jealous goes on to say that Byrd, who once asserted that it was an affront to dignity to ask white men to serve alongside blacks during World War II, “went from being an active member of the KKK to a being a stalwart supporter of the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and many other pieces of seminal legislation that advanced the civil rights and liberties of our country.”

A stalwart supporter of the Civil Rights Act? Not only did Byrd vote against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he filibustered it for almost three months. He also opposed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Either Mr. Jealous doesn’t know Byrd voted against passage of those things, or he’s saying that Byrd later went on to support the idea of those bills he didn’t originally vote for — he was “against it before he was for it” — John Kerry’s flip-floppin’ grand-daddy.

Here’s a reminder about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, not that the facts seem to be a major concern:

House of Representatives:
Democrats for: 152
Democrats against: 96
Republicans for: 138
Republicans against: 34

Senate:
Democrats for: 46
Democrats against: 21
Republicans for: 27
Republicans against: 6

So, 37% of Congressional Democrats were against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, vs. 20% of Republicans in opposition. That’s 63% of Dems, and 80% of Republicans voting for passage.

But anyway, back to how racist Republicans are…

The New York Times got in on the Byrd whitewashing act, too.

Strom Thurmond and Robert Byrd both voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Thurmond was still a Democrat at the time it passed). Only one, however, had been a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Which one? You’d never guess if you only had New York Times obituary headlines to go by.

Strom Thurmond:

Robert Byrd:

Both obits, it’s worth noting, were written by Adam “major league a-hole” Clymer.

(h/t James Taranto)

**Written by guest-blogger Doug Powers

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