The snake bites hardest just before it dies

Looks like Robert Byrd has really hit a nerve. Frist: Byrd's KKK Past a Legitimate Issue Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., broke a cardinal rule of modern Washington politics Wednesday afternoon when he dared to point out that Sen. Robert Byrd's 1940s membership in the Ku Klux Klan might be a relevant issue. Asked whether Byrd's night-riding, hood-wearing days were an appropriate target of criticism in light of last year's Trent Lott fiasco, Frist told nationally syndicated radio host Sean Hannity, "It's fair, it's fair." "We always have to be careful in politics to draw too straight a line from the past. But I think the facts are the facts and they say something about the person. And therefore, I think, of course it's fair [to bring it up.]," the Senate's top Republican said. Frist suggested that Byrd's criticism on Tuesday of President Bush's decision to visit the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln last week was tainted by his former membership in the anti-black hate group. This has all the marks of desperation. It is a clear attack-the-messenger-not-the-message attempt to distract attention from something they KNOW will hurt them. This should be taken as a sign by Democrats everywhere to INCREASE the pressure. "Clearly a person is their past combined with the reflection of statements that are being made at any point in time," he told Hannity. Does the same rule apply to Dubya, Dr. Frist? Do you really want to go there, Dr. Frist? (And all those Democrats who think it is a mistake to go after Bush on this can just stuff it as far as I'm concerned). Update: The more I think about this the more I realize that Frist's attack is totally off-base, irrelevent and a clear sign that Byrd and the Democrats have struck gold on this issue. The Republicans are SCARED folks. They know that they be hurt if this story continues to get airplay. So they go around growling at the Democrats expecting them to cower like they usually do (see my previous comments about the cowards in the Democratic party who want to do just that). Let's surprise them shall we?