Fucking crazy racist guy, who fathered his first legitimate child when he was 69. Dirty old man.

June 2003 was a high point in American history: Sir Lynch-a-Lot finally got his one way ticket to Hell and the USSC ruled that states could no longer throw people in jail for their choice of sexual positions.

I'm not so sure that he's really dead, this ghoul might be walking around with a hockey mask- or perhaps the Eastern religions are correct- he's just reborn as a new scumbag upon death. Possibly the all-time vilest guy in 20th century American politics. Before he was this insane, sinister, hypocritical incarnation of evil, my best guess is that he was Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Confederate general who was one of the originators of The KKK.

Dig him up and hang him!

Poster child for term-limits. . .I give Strom credit- he didn't care how embarrassing he was, he didn't leave.

Interesting to trace his development from a ardent segregationist to a man who had African-Americans on his staff. A contradictory figure.

He may be dead, but the old coot is probably still on the ballot.

Here is piece of history for better or for worse, whether you like him or not. Incredibly he made the transition from the old politics to the new politics and held his seat.

There was a story going around that when Sonny Bono got elected to the House of Representatives, he was flattered at first when Strom Thurmond called him Sonny. But then he learned that Strom Thurmond called EVERYONE Sonny. (hyuk yuk yuk)

Kind of an ass.

I am so pleased to see that there are some people who are willing to forgive Robert Byrd's Klan activities because he did it like 100 years ago. In order to avoid the label of hypocrite, the only conclusion that one can reach is that these same people are also willing to forgive Strom Thurmond for his stand on segregation, and for two very good reasons. First, Thurmond was a segregationist and never went as far as Byrd and joined the Ku Klux Klan. Therefore a lesser sin is easier to forgive. Second, in case it has been forgotten, at the time during which Thurmond was a segregationist, he was also a Democrat, and we all know that Democrats can't possibly hold any racist views. It's so heartwarming to see people coming together in the spirit of forgiveness, isn't it?

A racist, marble-mouthed Southern mummy. An embarassment and a disgrace that we can still produce politicians of this ilk. It did come as a surprise that he had died; somebody must have run out of tanna leaves.

see you in hell strom

I hope that dirtbag is burning with the devil. Anyone who rapes someone and then disowns the child is a pathedic a-hole!!!

Dead. The world is better off that way.

racist piece of slime

Molest your maid lately? Well, I guess you can't do it when you're DEAD!

Racist, and a hypocrite. Gave both parties a bad name (he started as a Democrat).

like him or hate him, he ran for president when bill clinton was two years old, and left the senate after clinton's presidency ended.

Former Senator Strom Thurmond's career really represents the link between the Old South and the New South. In many ways Thurmond lived a paradoxical life. On one side, he ran a racially charged campaign for President in 1948 under the Dixiecrat ticket which split from the Democrats because of President Truman's stance on civil rights, which were monumental for the times (desegregation of the armed forces, federal anti-lynching laws). His campaign was by and large a regional one that was designed to bring national Democrats back in line. The liberal wing, as exemplied by such people as Eleanor Roosevelt and Hubert Humphrey, a young candidate for Senate from Minnesota, was becoming a strong force in the party and this wasn't sitting well with conservative Southern and Western Democrats. Thurmond wanted to make the most of this split by throwing the election into the House, where he could really put pressure on Truman to reform. It didn't turn out that way because he was able to win without the South. Like most Southern politicians of his era, he was not afraid to use race as a wedge issue to get votes, which by the way he was pretty good at doing. In fact, in the mid-1950's, he was elected to the Senate by write in vote, this was the only time a Senator was elected that way. Yet he also represented the New South in many ways. He became the first Southern Democrat to become a Republican in 1964. He was really the one who was responsible for the South's new trend toward the Republican party, which had voted Democratic since the end of Reconstruction. When this happened, the party became decidedly more right wing on social issues, which were becoming political issues in the 1960's. Although he campaigned against federal civil rights protections, he always defended the rights of blacks. As governor of South Carolina in 1946 he supported anti-lynching laws and an expanded social welfare network for poor blacks. In the late 1960's he became the first Senator to hire a black assistant. Additionally throughout his entire career as a US Senator he never failed to represent his black constituents. They were treated just like everyone else; their schools and communities were represented and funded like everyone else. I believe that Thurmond didn't hate blacks; his attitudes, especially early one were colored by the dominant political culture of the South at the time. Plus a lot of his political beliefs were colored by states rights; which said that the federal government should intervere in the affairs of the state only when necessary. He viewed it as necessary to protecting individual freedoms; the Southern variant carries racial overtones like everything else does in that region. The real reason for states rights was to make sure that government wasn't concentrated in the hands of a strong federal government. It should be noted that by the 1980's Thurmond was no longer against civil rights like he was early in his career. He voted to extend the civil rights act and he voted to make Martin Luther King's birthday a national holiday; he was one of the few Southern senators to do this at the time. Even Strom himself acknowledged at the end of his life that people change and he changed as well. Like him or not, you have to admit that he lived quite a life. He began his political career when Herbert Hoover was President and ended it when George W. Bush was President. He was the longest serving Senator ever (48 years) and also the oldest one; he served until he was 100 years old. The last 2 years he couldn't do very much, but the rest of the time he had a very vigorous schedule. So much so that he had his last kid when he was in his 80's! He truly was a legend, even though his political past isn't exactly clean.

A dreadful, ancient fossil who should have retired decades ago instead of taking up useless space like he had since 1956. Another hypocrite of the GOP stripe in that he panders to the ignorant, moronic, good ol' boy, woman-hating, Klan-wannabe constituency, yet apparently fathered at least one child out of wedlock with an African-American woman. Apparently he enjoys it both ways: stroking redneck cracker yokels while getting some o' that fine jungle tail!!! Ah wish ah was in Dixie, sho' enough!!! But seriously, folks, if you've ever been to South Carolina and seen what a depressing and depressed, primitive and backward place it is, you'd wouldn't cast votes of confidence in the leadership of the Palmetto State's former senior Senator. SC has one of the worst educational systems in the country, an alarming degree of poverty and a disconcertingly high crime rate, a very slack business environment and a pervading antipathy toward workers' rights and wellbeing, a high degree of domestic violence and a serious problem in terms of broken families, an infrastructure that looks like something out of the early 1960s, and a frigthening number of archiac subhumans who worship that symbol of racism, treason and inhumanity, namely, the ol' Stars and Bars. Considering all this, one has to wonder what Strom had been doing all those years in the Senate to improve the quality of life for his fellow South Carolinians. It appears that he wasn't doing much. Yet his friends and family members and he himself seem to have done very well financially due to the fact that the geriatric horseturd was so well connected to the government teat. UPDATE 12/22/03: Great to see this ancient pile of dog barf now taking his well-deserved dirt nap has been finally outed as ultimate hypocritical bastard sire. This Mrs. Washington is only the first of his illegitimate progeny who's gone public, and there's certain to be more on the way. Ol' Strom has at least one other illegitimate daughter, who's said to be a very attractive and stylish mulatto Woman About Town in the Myrtle Beach area. This woman hasn't come forward yet, probably because the racist bowel movement who fathered her probably paid her off well. This is a different set-up from Mrs. Washington, who by all accounts so far seems to have been largely stiffed by the former sleepwalking senior U.S. Senator from the Toilet State. It's great to know that at night Ol' Strom was doing the jungle fever thing with the sistas while by day he was spearheading legislative initatives and other less official means to deny Afro Americans their inalienable rights, thereby refusing to grant equality and humanity to the selfsame race he himself had mixed with. What a great man!!! What a leader!!! What a conservative icon!!! It's not too surprising that the GOP and conservative element has been awfully quiet on this issue over the past few weeks. Go figure: when this fossilized bag of donkey puke was finally forcibly evicted from the Senate just a year ago, there were all these congratulatory send-offs and lionization of a fifth-rate human being, and the American public once again was subjected to the rightwing/broadcast media propaganda in an attempt to rewrite history and further mystify the non-comprehending average citizen. Now that the old reprobate and phony has been outed, the rightwingers seem to have developed laryngitis and the media is trying to bury this story with all due speed. And what's very interesting is that the Thurmond family, with donkeydust smeared across their collective face, has either tried to ignore this issue, hide from the media, discount the woman's assertions, refuse to accept her as part of their common legacy and have expressed resentment and hostility against Mrs. Washington instead of hanging their heads in shame, which, after all, would be the appropriate response to all of this. The Thurmond family is just as pukesome, arrogant, defiant, lacking in contrition and despicable as its patriarch, but that's no wonder: we're talking about lowlife Southerners here, the closest thing to royalty that exists in South Carolina. Tells you plenty about that latrine of a state.

He is probably the main reason why South Carolina has been having problems moving forward with the rest of the states. And this doesn't even begin to say anything about his racism. He should not be in government. Very scary.

Only in the USA. How could you be proud to be an American, when guys like this are able to be in positions of power.

Ha ha! He died! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Here is an actual quote from this idiotic pinhead: “I wanna tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that there’s not enough troops in the army to force the southern people to break down segregation and admit the black race into our theaters and swimming pools, into our homes and into our churches.” Real role model, huh?

I'm glad he's dead. He won't be missed.

I know his past is shaky, but how can you not like a 100 year old man.

racist bastard

FASCIST CURMUDGEON - can we stuff him yet and dress him up as a lawn jockey so birds and the elements can exact poetic justice once and for all?

Strom Thurmond is one of the most bigoted politicians of the 20th century. There really is no issue of states' rights anymore. The guy is a freakin' nut. As has been mentioned, this nut job is older than dirt. He hasn't obviously had coherent thought ever since he maybe ran as a segragationist in the 1948 presidential election. Now Lott's views are coming to light after saying that the country would've been better off in the area of race relations if this now senile wack job got into office. It thoroughly angers me. I thought that racist would've died so long ago. It especially disgusts me that he still has influence when his views were the norm in about 1830!

Strom was the ultimate political opportunist. He was for state's rights when he needed that to be electd. Later he voted for the King holiday. he didn't "grow" he shifted, many times to stay in Washington. Meanwhile, South Carolina stays 50th opn all lists.

Interesting political and historical footnote.

This bozo is living proof that IQ points go down once you get on the other side of the Mason-Dixon line. Why else would they return him to office so many times?

This old kook should have been part of history before I left grade school! I’m sorry, but there comes a time when people need to realize they just aren’t as sharp as they once were. One of my grandmothers lived to be 102 years of age, was still in her right mind until she died but certainly should not or could not have been doing a job like this. That and the fact that we are talking major old-time bigot here should be enough to convince SOMEBODY that age limits can be a good thing.

Man, I'm glad I don't live in South Carolina because there's no way I'd want this ancient old fart representing me! He's older than dirt and should've gone home 30 years ago! Hello! Would someone just get him out of there. Congress is keeping him around to decorate the chambers as Most Distinguished Fossile. I'm not sure, but I think ol' Strom was at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

A mixed bag: Good: -No longer racist. -Opposed federally raising drinking age. -Actually stands for something(states rights), unlike his neighbor Jesse Helms who's just in congress to inflame people. Bad: -Used to be racist. -Shouldn't be in the senate at this age. -Despite no.2 above, he was incredibly tough on liquor while gov. of SC. Ugly: -Involved in the attempted deportation of John Lennon. nuff said.

Not that I really care, but his first wife was 44 years younger than him. That shows how crazy he is. And considering that he's been senator of South Carolina for about a hundred years by now, why are they STILL not getting rid of him. He always was a mad Republican, and now he's just plain mad. He should do what the other loony jerk CONservative Jesse HELLms did and retire. He belongs not in a Whitehouse or a House of the Senate, but in a nuthouse. If he has a five year plan, it must be "don't die".

WOW! thats all there is to say for a politican who can stay in it for that long!

Too bad there isn't a lower rating for an admitted racist. This clown was a former Southern Democrat-turned-Dixiecrat-turned-Republican in 1954 because he couldn't stomach the radical notion of allowing black people to be treated as--gasp!---human beings. States' rights? Come on, people! That's nothing more than a misnomer for allowing oneself to express bigoted sentiments without feeling guilty, under the guise of free speech and protecting oneself from that bug-a-boo, the federal government. Jesse Helms is a moderate compared with this yokel. This exalted South Carolinian was born December 5, 1902 in hardscrabble South Carolina backwoods country. (Edgecombe County, for all you Strominator buffs.) I thought you had to be dead to have a stamp---or, in S.T.'s case, a lake---named after you. How the good Palmetto State people could keep electing this buffoon to represent them and all that he exemplifies mystifies me. I suppose when the Strominator passes on to that great ol' Winn-Dixie in the sky, he'll be able to scarf down all the Royal Crowns and Moon Pies he wants. God bless Strom, and God help America!

Let's not forget Thurmond ran for president in 1948 on an unabashed policy of racism. Forget the states' rights BS -- the racists have been using that smokescreen since the days of slavery. He is an un-American dirtbag, plain and simple.

Racist, facist.

Is he still alive?

My least favorite Republican this side of John McCain and Trent Lott. While it's funny that a man who ran for President against Truman in 1948 continues to play a role in public life after Clinton, Thurmond is terribly inarticulate, has a shifty past when it comes to civil rights (a shame since the vast majority of Repubs are quite different from the stereotype), and has spent most of his career focused on constituent relations, wishing people happy birthday at taxpayer expense and other such nonsense. Worst of all, he is certain to die in the next six years, guaranteeing that the Repubs will lose control of Senate (since S.C. has a Dem governor). Granted, the S.C. appointee will have to be a more conservative Democrat than Ted Kennedy and his ilk, it's still a disaster for Repubs to be relying on Thurmond's health like this.