Missing the Big Picture

John Kerry's "stuck in Iraq" comment may have given new ammunition to the Republicans, but the alternative media has committed a crime in the eyes of a true conservative: they have spent little to no time covering the Senate race between West Virginia's Republican John Raese and ex-Klansman, present-day Democratic Senator, Robert Byrd.

While "Effin' Lurch" - that's Kerry, for those of you who don't follow much political satire - gave the Republican Party a reason to distinguish themselves from the Democrats, they made a disasterous mistake in the midst of it all. What went wrong, you might ask? From the very top, they asked Kerry for an apology. Kerry's initial response was reactionary, as he lashed out at the Republican Party and the pioneer of the alternative media, Rush Limbaugh. Kerry wouldn't offer an apology to men and women in uniform for another two days. When he did, it wasn't in front of a microphone.

On his website, he stated, "I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform and I personally apologize to any service member, family member or American who was offended."

It's fair to say that it would be naive to expect Kerry to apologize to the Republicans as well. But they got what they wanted - the prized apology they've all been asking for. If a man is forced to apologize for a statement he stood by, how do you know he is sincere about it? To put it in another way, the Republicans risked bailing Kerry out before voting day.

Howard Dean, the indispensible DNC Chairman, stuck up for his troubled friend, the apparent victim of old-fashioned McCarthyism from Republicans. Rumor has it that Kerry meant to say "And if you don't, you get us stuck in Iraq." That would have been an appropriate joke for a Democrat who excelled in his education, but it wasn't the best wisecrack for a D-student like John Kerry. In response to his inept performance in college, Kerry said, "I always told my Dad that D stood for distinction."

It didn't matter that both the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion took the comments personally, and also demanded that Kerry apologize. The organizations represent millions of voters who served their country, and take offense to any remote hint of troop bashing. While the Republicans did the right thing by sticking up for those who have served their country, they allowed Kerry to cover his own butt. And he didn't. He went off on an anti-Bush rant the first chance he had to apologize. Finally, after enough pressure was instilled on him from his fellow Democrats, he offered an apology to the troops and their family members.

While Kerry stuck his head further in the dirt by delaying his apology, the Republicans could lose credibility by holding his statement against him, since after all, they demanded he apologize. Why didn't the GOP strategists immediately air ads with the clip of Kerry's Freudian slip? Kerry didn't ask to be forgiven, and it won't help the GOP as much as it could have if they went ahead and exposed John Kerry unapologetically.

In any event, the troops let it be known loud, clear, and hilariously, that they hear the same brand of hopelessness on the War in Iraq that we do from politicians who declare themselves "anti-war," even in the latter of the invasion of Iraq. While Kerry was trying to figure out how to explain his slip of tongue to swing voters, the 1st Brigade 34th Infantry Division at Tallil Airbase in Iraq made a sign, spelled "Halp us Jon Carry -- We R stuck hear N Irak." Not surprisingly, Ann Coulter joined the chorus. "Whatever Karl Rove is paying John Kerry to say stupid things, it's worth every penny," she wrote in her latest column.

While all of this is making the election coverage more and more exciting, the alternative media hasn't bothered to cover Robert Byrd's re-election campaign. Is it a hopeless situation? Apparently so. As of now, he has served longer than any other member in Congress. This includes serving in the House of Representatives, starting in 1953. He has the record for the longest serving Senator - 47 years. He has never lost an election. He is the oldest member in Congress, at age 88.

Byrd has been referred to constantly whenever the latest racism chargest come out. Other than that, he is often ignored by Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Ann Coulter. Byrd was a young man in his twenties when he joined the Ku Klux Klan. He was "promoted from within" as a Kleagle - in other words, a recruiter. He has described it as a mistake of his youth, and generally, we can forgive a man for his sins.

Unfortunately, throughout the course of events, Byrd hasn't had the best luck in letting go of his old self. In 1946 - three years after he left the Klan - he wrote to the Imperial Wizard of the KKK, declaring, "The Klan is needed today as never before and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia... It is necessary that the order be promoted immediately and in every state in the Union. Will you please inform me as to the possibilities of rebuilding the Klan realm of W. Va?" This letter was discovered and publicized in 1971.

In 1947, he wrote segregationist Senator Theodore Bilbo, informing him that he would "never submit to fight beneath that banner [the American flag] with a Negro by my side. 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."

After his first taste of power in the Senate, he devoted much of his time fighting civil rights legislation. Infamously, he filibustered over fourteen hours in an attempt to defeat the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He also opposed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but supported the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Yet, Byrd is the only Senator who voted against the only two black Supreme Court nominees in U.S. history, Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas.

In 2001, Byrd appeared on "Fox News Sunday" to discuss race relations. At that point, the NAACP all too generously gave Byrd a whopping 100% rating, considering him to carry a pro-civil rights voting record. It might as well have been the highlight of his checkered career.

He was off to a good start: "Are much, much better than they've ever been in my lifetime.... 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," Byrd thoughtfully commented.

But then, he blew it. "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."

Predictably, Jesse Jackson was not impressed with Byrd using a slur that had historically been used on blacks to imply criminal, lazy, and stupid behavior. Finally arriving at the conclusion that social norms did not call for the n-word to be thrown around, Byrd sent a statement to Fox News. "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."

According to a September 11, 2006 poll, West Virginia is likely to repeat their mistakes. Given that the poll only accounts for 500 voters, there may be a chance that Byrd will not win by a landslide afterall. In any event, Robert Byrd is winning with 63% of the vote, with John Raese only winning 30%. Chances are, Robert Byrd will die in office. And we're all to blame for allowing that to happen.