Changes

Democrat Sen. [[Robert Byrd]] joined the Klan in the 1940s and was unanimously elected to the rank of [[Exalted Cyclops]] for his inborn leadership skills.<ref>Pianin, Eric. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/18/AR2005061801105_pf.html A Senator's Shame: Byrd, in His New Book, Again Confronts Early Ties to KKK]. Washington Post, 2005-06-19, pp. A01</ref><ref>https://allthatsinteresting.com/famous-kkk-members</ref> He repeatedly expressed his desire for the Klan to expand to its previous size and power, once remarking in a letter that "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." <ref>King, Colbert I. [http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2003/commentary/works/king2.html Sen. Byrd: The view from Darrell's barbershop], Washington Post, March 2, 2002</ref>

Democrat Sen. [[Robert Byrd]] joined the Klan in the 1940s and was unanimously elected to the rank of [[Exalted Cyclops]] for his inborn leadership skills.<ref>Pianin, Eric. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/18/AR2005061801105_pf.html A Senator's Shame: Byrd, in His New Book, Again Confronts Early Ties to KKK]. Washington Post, 2005-06-19, pp. A01</ref><ref>https://allthatsinteresting.com/famous-kkk-members</ref> He repeatedly expressed his desire for the Klan to expand to its previous size and power, once remarking in a letter that "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." <ref>King, Colbert I. [http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2003/commentary/works/king2.html Sen. Byrd: The view from Darrell's barbershop], Washington Post, March 2, 2002</ref>

 

Byrd commented on the 1945 controversy raging over the idea of racially integrating the military. In his book When ''Jim Crow Met John Bull'',  Graham Smith referred to a letter written that year by Byrd, when he was 28 years old, to fellow Klansman Sen. [[Theodore Bilbo]] of [[Mississippi]], in which Byrd vowed never to fight:

Byrd commented on the 1945 controversy raging over the idea of racially integrating the military. In his book When ''Jim Crow Met John Bull'',  Graham Smith referred to a letter written that year by Byrd, when he was 28 years old, to fellow Klansman Sen. [[Theodore Bilbo]] of [[Mississippi]], in which Byrd vowed never to fight:

{{Cquote|Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.}}  

{{Cquote|Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.}}  

For years Democrat-aligned [[mainstream media]], and even now refer to Byrd as a "former klansman" however Byrd's spiritual mentor, Sen. Bilbo clarified the matter on ''[[Meet the Press]]:''  

For years Democrat-aligned [[mainstream media]], and even now refer to Byrd as a "former klansman" however Byrd's spiritual mentor, Sen. Bilbo clarified the matter on ''[[Meet the Press]]:''