sws4420
11-16-2005, 09:10 AM
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Possible Republican challenger Jeanine Pirro criticized Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton Tuesday for co-sponsoring a birthday party for Sen. Robert Byrd, citing his long-ago membership in the Ku Klux Klan and a racially charged 2001 comment.
Pirro's complaint came a day after The Washington Post reported that Clinton and the Senate's eight other Democratic female senators were hosting a 88th birthday party for Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat, Tuesday night at the home of civil rights pioneer Frederick Douglass.
"It's outrageous and shocking that Senator Clinton and her Democrat colleagues would choose Frederick Douglass' house to honor Senator Robert Byrd who has a history of involvement with hate groups and has used racial slurs publicly," said Pirro spokeswoman Andrea Tantaros.
The Clinton camp, in turn, accused the Westchester County district attorney of running "a campaign of insults and attacks."
Byrd is the dean of Senate Democrats and one of the first people the former first lady turned to for advice after her election in 2000. But he also has a past that he has said continues to haunt him, including a brief membership in the KKK in 1942.
"Becoming involved with the KKK was the most egregious mistake I have ever made," Byrd said in 1999.
Two years later, during a "Fox News Sunday" interview, Byrd was discussing race relations in the United States and said, "I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time." The senator subsequently apologized, saying "the phrase dates back to my boyhood and has no place in today's society."
"Any person who has made racially insensitive comments and participated in groups that promote ethnic prejudice _ Republican or Democrat _ does not deserve support from a United States senator, especially the senator from New York, at a landmark that is so cherished by those who respect and honor racial equality," said Tantaros.
Asked about Pirro's complaint, Clinton adviser Howard Wolfson said: "Sadly, Ms. Pirro continues to wage a campaign of insults and attacks instead of offering New Yorkers a positive agenda. Maybe that's why so many more New Yorkers have come to view her negatively than positively since she announced for the Senate."
A Siena College poll released Monday showed Pirro's unfavorable rating at 22 percent, statistically unchanged from the 20 percent rating she had in August, the month she announced her Senate candidacy. The Siena poll showed the former first lady leading Pirro, 59 percent to 31 percent.
The Pirro complaint could put one of her chief boosters, Republican Gov. George Pataki, in a tough position. He has turned to Byrd for help in the past on such things as aid for New York in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center.
"I am grateful for your strong leadership and commitment to New York in the wake of this disaster," Pataki wrote to Byrd in an Oct. 19, 2001 letter to the senator. A copy of the letter was distributed by Byrd's office in the wake of Pirro's comments. There was no immediate comment Tuesday from Pataki.
Pirro is the best known of several Republicans seeking the 2006 GOP Senate nomination.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--clinton-pirro1115nov15,0,5574251,print.story
Pirro's complaint came a day after The Washington Post reported that Clinton and the Senate's eight other Democratic female senators were hosting a 88th birthday party for Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat, Tuesday night at the home of civil rights pioneer Frederick Douglass.
"It's outrageous and shocking that Senator Clinton and her Democrat colleagues would choose Frederick Douglass' house to honor Senator Robert Byrd who has a history of involvement with hate groups and has used racial slurs publicly," said Pirro spokeswoman Andrea Tantaros.
The Clinton camp, in turn, accused the Westchester County district attorney of running "a campaign of insults and attacks."
Byrd is the dean of Senate Democrats and one of the first people the former first lady turned to for advice after her election in 2000. But he also has a past that he has said continues to haunt him, including a brief membership in the KKK in 1942.
"Becoming involved with the KKK was the most egregious mistake I have ever made," Byrd said in 1999.
Two years later, during a "Fox News Sunday" interview, Byrd was discussing race relations in the United States and said, "I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time." The senator subsequently apologized, saying "the phrase dates back to my boyhood and has no place in today's society."
"Any person who has made racially insensitive comments and participated in groups that promote ethnic prejudice _ Republican or Democrat _ does not deserve support from a United States senator, especially the senator from New York, at a landmark that is so cherished by those who respect and honor racial equality," said Tantaros.
Asked about Pirro's complaint, Clinton adviser Howard Wolfson said: "Sadly, Ms. Pirro continues to wage a campaign of insults and attacks instead of offering New Yorkers a positive agenda. Maybe that's why so many more New Yorkers have come to view her negatively than positively since she announced for the Senate."
A Siena College poll released Monday showed Pirro's unfavorable rating at 22 percent, statistically unchanged from the 20 percent rating she had in August, the month she announced her Senate candidacy. The Siena poll showed the former first lady leading Pirro, 59 percent to 31 percent.
The Pirro complaint could put one of her chief boosters, Republican Gov. George Pataki, in a tough position. He has turned to Byrd for help in the past on such things as aid for New York in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center.
"I am grateful for your strong leadership and commitment to New York in the wake of this disaster," Pataki wrote to Byrd in an Oct. 19, 2001 letter to the senator. A copy of the letter was distributed by Byrd's office in the wake of Pirro's comments. There was no immediate comment Tuesday from Pataki.
Pirro is the best known of several Republicans seeking the 2006 GOP Senate nomination.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--clinton-pirro1115nov15,0,5574251,print.story