Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

GOP led passage of Civil Rights Act

To the Editors:

I usually choose to ignore letters to the editor from biased and uninformed writers, but the biased letter on Jan.16 from John Fishel, with his tirade against Republicans ticked me off.

He talked about the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and spoke of Republicans Barry Goldwater and Strom Thurmond ("that most rabid of racists"), who voted against it.

He failed to mention, though, that far more Democrats voted against the Civil Rights Act than Republicans. According to Wikipedia, "Most Democrats from the southern states opposed the bill and led an unsuccessful 83-day filibuster, including Senators Albert Gore Sr. (D-Tenn.); J. William Fulbright (D-Ark.)" (whom Bill Clinton claims as his mentor);" and Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), who personally filibustered for 14 hours straight."

Byrd was the longest-serving senator and yet his history as a leader and recruiter for the Ku Klux Klan might better earn him Mr. Fishel's title as the "Most rabid of racists." Wikipedia records a description by Robert Byrd of the black race written in a letter to another Democrat senator that is so offensive that I didn't feel I could repeat it here. You can look it up if you wish to.

Maybe the fact that blacks vote in greater numbers for Democrats is because the Democrats have been very effective in rewriting history when it comes to the Civil Rights Act.

Ginny Feenstra

Upper Leacock Township