Why is the irony of a United States Senator, a Democrat, a former (as far as we know) KKK official opposing the nomination of the first African-American female Secretary of State lost on the moonbats?

I mean, it’s so outrageous, so incongruous, so…so…perfect! The only Senator in history to vote against BOTH black Supreme Court nominations as well as the 1964 Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts is now leading the charge against that black devil-woman Condi Rice. It’s made to order for some hilarious spoofs on the former KKK Kleagle.

The situation begs the question…what if Byrd were a Republican? Here’s an imagined exchange between Senator Byrd (R-WV) and the press:

Reporter: Senator, in your capacity as Kleagle for the Klu Klux Klan, did you ever lynch a black man?

Byrd: Depends what y’all mean by lynchin‘. Now, there was a few tahms that the boyz and ah got all likkered up ‘n raised some hell with them nig…the nig…um, ya know, the darkies and a coupla tahms we jes’ maght ‘ave, um…ya know accidently, sorta got a rope twisted upside the head of a nig…a nig.. some pore ole boy who got all tangled up with a tree an we sorta fergot to, um, ya know, uhhh take ‘em down after we was jes funnin with ‘em, ya know…

How about this spoof from the Unpopulist (via Ace):

Top Seven Phrases From Sen. Byrd’s Condoleeza Speechin’

“...the melon patch of unilateral action…”
“...the chicken wings of imperial hubris…”
“...uppity…”
“...mongrel…”
“...Deon Sanders…”
“...lots of black friends…”

More seriously, here’s a quiz for you:

Which U.S. Senator is a former member of the Ku Klux Klan?

Which U.S. Senator wasn’t just a member of the KKK but was a “Kleagle”—an official recruiter who signed up members for $10 a head?

Which U.S. Senator said he joined because it “offered excitement” and because the Klan was an “effective force” in “promoting traditional American values.”

Which U.S. Senator wrote the following, three years after he claims to have ended his ties with the KKK: “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 Union.”

Which U.S. Senator also wrote that he would never fight “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.”

All of which brings to mind a song from the early 1970’s recorded by John Denver when he was with The Mitchell Trio. It’s called “We’re your friendly, liberal, neighborhood Klu Klux Klan:”

Is there a Klavern in your town?
If not, then why not start one now.

Why you’d never recognize us
There’s a smile upon our face
We’re changin’ all our dirty sheets
and cleaning up the place.
Yep since we got that lawyer
And that public relations man
We’re your friendly, liberal, neighborhood Klu Klux Klan

Yes we’re your friendly, liberal, neighborhood, Klu Klux Klan
Ever since we got that lawyer and that public relations man
‘Course we did shoot one reporter
But he was just obscene
‘Cause ya can’t call us no filthy names
What does “Anglo-Saxon” mean?

Now we’re out to show the Congress
That we’re oh so nice and neat
Why we didn’t even take the fifth
‘Cause we drank that all last week
And ya never hear of shootin’s
Or hangin’ people high
“Cause we’re learnin’ to respect the law
And to have an alibi

Oh we’re your friendly, liberal, neighborhood Klu Klux Klan
Ever since we got that lawyer and that public relations man
So we’re sorry that we hung them
But they did have quite a tan
And it sure confused your friendly liberal, misunderstood
Your friendly neighborhood Klan that says
“What’s wrong with the hood?”
Your friendly, liberal neighborhood Klu Klux Klan.

UPDATE 1/28:

Jay Tea at Wizbang puts everything in perspective succinctly and with aplomb. He congratulates the Bush Administration on their forebearance:

Not once did they mention the irony of the first black woman to be nominated to such a high office being opposed by two white men—one a former Ku Klux Klan leader, the other a man who left a woman to drown in his car in a desperate attempt to avoid responsibility and save his political career.

But that’s right. The Democrats are the party that supports women and minorities. Unless, of course, they’re uppity enough to be conservative.

Kennedy’s foray was almost as funny as his criticism of “waterboarding” during the Gonzalez hearings. Why is it that this kind of irony is lost on the liberal mind? Because in order to understand irony, you must have empathy for your fellow man. Liberals don’t feel empathy. They have nothing but contempt for the people they brag about “protecting.” What they have is a smug, self-righteous, santimonious superiority that translates into a moral certitude about the “goodness” of their positions.

It’s not empathy. It’s bald faced hubris.