New Poll Shows Byrd in Strong Position

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

i say capito won't run. he's pulled ahead enough that she won't risk her career. and the NRSC ads against him totally backfired. byrd went from the points up to his other challengers have no funds and no name recognition. but let's not get overconfident. we still need to campaign like he's 20 points behind
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Public poll numbers released in Charleston today show Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., with a 75 percent job approval rating and a 16 point lead over a potential match-up versus Representative Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va..

According to the poll, about 55 percent of registered voters in West Virginia said they would support Byrd in the election. Only 39 percent said they would support Capito. Poll respondents also had a higher opinion of Byrd than Capito and gave the senior senator higher job approval ratings than the congresswoman. According to the poll, 72 percent of residents have a favorable opinion of Byrd.

Ned Rose, chairman of the Friends of Robert C. Byrd Committee, said about the new poll numbers, "This poll reflects what West Virginians already know -- that our state has no better champion than Robert C. Byrd. Senator Byrd stands up for West Virginia. He puts the people first. Senator Byrd does right by West Virginia.

"There is a long way to go before the election, and poll numbers change. But this is certainly good news. And I expect that the poll would have been even stronger if it were taken after Senator Byrd came through to save the West Virginia National Guard's 130th Airlift Wing in Charleston. Senator Byrd always uses his power, clout, and experience to fight for West Virginia."
http://modernamerica.blogspot.com/2005/09/new-poll-shows-byrd-in-strong-position.html

[Sydnie]

1. That's great news

thanks for posting it. I was wondering how they were responding to his announcement.

[ladylibertee]

2. Not trying to bash, but isn't Byrd the one who publicly announced

that he was a Ku Klux Klan member an had "quit"?:shrug: Let me know if I am wrong and which senator it was.Thanks.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

3. 40 years ago-he's redeemed himself more than enough

and practically was the only person in the senate to stand up to the iraq war (except for wellstone, but we know how that ended unfortunately)

[ladylibertee]

4. Oh, so it was him.That's all I wanted to know.Thank you

[The_Casual_Observer]

5. Kidding right? Couldn't resist leaving that "innocent" little stink bomb?

[ladylibertee]

7. No, I seriously wanted to know.I read about it when I was researching

John Edwards because I had heard rumors that John Edwards had something to do with the Klan and at the time it did not make sense considering he was the only Caucasian candidate running in the primaries, who spoke against racism.Anyway, when I researched John Edwards, I discovered that he was involved in a case AGAINST Byrd because of Byrd's ties with the KLAN.I was just making sure this was the same man that Edwards was against.That was all.I was certainly not trying to put in a stink bomb.Really.Why would I do that?;)

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

8. i doubt it was him

byrd left the clan in the 40s-edwards would have been a wee bit too young to have been around-as in not born yet

maybe it was a state senator in NC you're thinking of

[ladylibertee]

9. Nope, I will admit I did my research on Edwards way back when

he ran in the primaries so I do not recall all the details.All I remember is that I did a search and typed in the words Edwards/Ku Klux Klan and I found information about all these cases Edwards did as a lawyer and somehow, I found out about Byrd.Perhaps I was confusing Byrd with some other white supremacist that Edwards was against.My bad.I just knew that we had someone in office today that was a Klan member.It stood out because I thought sure he would be Republican, that is the only reason why it stuck in my head.The man must have really seen the light.I guess.

edited for misspelling

[Catrina]

14. He saw the light over 60

years ago, before Edwards was even born, after he spent a short time in the KKK. He has written about it and is very open about how and why he joined when he was a very young man. Unlike some of our other leaders, he does not run from his past, but faces it and has more than made up for it over the course of his life.

But if we're going to go back 60 years, how about the Bush family fortune coming from dealing with the Nazis, who actually killed and tortured people (what is it with that family?) and had it not been for the FOIA, that little piece of Bush history would have remained covered up.

As far as racism, Byrd's concern for the Iraqi people should bombs be dropped on them, is evident in his early speeches opposing Bush's war. But killing brown people seems to appeal to the rightwing and their followers.

I would say that calling the people of Iraq 'ragheads' and cheering on a war that has killed untold numbers of those people (something Byrd was deeply concerned about), is racism as far as I'm concerned. Or leaving poor, black people to die in NO for days, and listening to Bush supporters blame them, as Rush Limbaugh says 'because they are so used to being dependent on welfare and can't take care of themselves' was more than a little racist, imo.

So bring it on, rightwingers. The constant references to Byrd's 60 year-old, short association with the KKK by the rightwing, only reminds me of the difference between a man who was strong enough to admit a mistake and correct it, and real racists, who profit from the suffering of others, so long as they're not white ~

After their own shameful comments regarding the tragedy of NO, I think they would be smart not to try to play the race card. They'll be met with a volley of proof, quotes from their various spokespersons over the past few weeks, that they might not want to be reminded of, not to mention the disgusting racism many have displayed towards one sixth of the world's population.

It takes a man of conscience and decency, and strength, to overcome the mistakes he may have made as a very young person, and to make amends for them, and go on to lead the kind of life Sen. Byrd has led. If only the Bush family and their cabal had done what Sen. Byrd has done. So many brown people would be alive today!!

[jfern]

6. May Byrd serve out his 54th year

Take that, Thurmond.

[Carolab]

10. I love Byrd, BUT why vote for Roberts? n/t

[bluestateguy]

11. Anybody who opposes Byrd hates West Virginia

West Virginia is Byrd and Byrd is West Virginia.

No opposition.

[FreedomAngel82]

12. I'm glad he's doing so well

It wouldn't be the same without the longest served senator ever there.

[moobu2]

13. We need a lot more byrd’s

Good luck Senator Byrd