# Sen. Robert Byrd to atheists: Leave the country. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 27, 2002, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274 "2002-06-27T22:09:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/21 "2002-06-28T14:04:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by EchoKitty \* > \*\*We need a revolution. \*\* [Ask, and you shall receive](http://godlessamericans.org/main.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![EchoKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@EchoKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EchoKitty)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/22 "2002-06-28T14:11:38Z")
Thanks, Beelzebubba! I’m marking my calendar. I’m just infuriated with this whole thing. I’ll probably end up on some Pinko Commie list somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/23 "2002-06-28T14:25:27Z")
Usually when somebody reports something outrageous, somebody will come along and ask for a verifiable cite before getting all out of whack. Apparently attacks against atheists don’t require verification. :rolleyes: This article is sourced to Chuck Raasch, yet I can’t find it at his vBulletin Home Page"]index of columns…or at the website of the [Cincinnati Enquirer](http://enquirer.com/today/)… or at [msnbc.com](http://msnbc.com) or at the [washingtonpost.com](http://washingtonpost.com) …at [foxnews](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,56322,00.html) he is only quoted (among several others) as calling the ruling “stupid, stupid stupid”…kind of an unexciting quote compared to telling atheists to leave. at [cnn.com](http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/06/26/senate.resolution.pledge/index.html) he is quoted as saying > [@](#): > > In an impassioned speech on the Senate floor just before the resolution vote, Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia, said he is the only remaining member of Congress who voted for the addition of “under God” on June 7, 1954. He warned the judges who declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional to never come before him because “he’ll be blackballed.” > > “I wonder if that judge would hold the Declaration of Independence unconstitutional,” said Byrd. Nope still nothing about kicking atheists out… So. Let me get this straight. The president pro temporeof the U.S. Senate wants to kick atheists out of the country, but **none** of the major media outlets deems this important enough to report? :rolleyes: But ya know…don’t let that get in the middle of your outrage and all… ---
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/24 "2002-06-28T14:54:06Z")
I checked the [congressional record](http://thomas.loc.gov) for June 26, and found Sen. Byrd’s remarks. Yes, he did tell atheists they could leave: > [@](#): > > I say the people of America are not going to stand for this. I, for one, am not going to stand for this country’s being ruled by a bunch of atheists. **If they do not like it, let them leave.** They do not have to worship my God, but I will worship my God and no atheist and no court is going to tell me I cannot do so whether at a school commencement or anywhere else. I say let’s let the people speak. I honestly went there expecting to find that he had been taken out of context, but he really said it, and as a Democrat I’m embarrassed. Unbelievable. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/25 "2002-06-28T15:16:23Z")
OK, Sen. Byrd, I _will_ leave. And since you are so happy to sponsor my leaving the U.S., I am hereby putting in a requisition for a Green Card for the UK, first-class accomodations on British Airways, lifting of the quarantine laws for my cats, and a two-bedroom flat overlooking Hyde Park. And I _will not let you_ worship your God till I get all these things—_BWAhahahahaha!_ ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/26 "2002-06-28T15:27:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by beagledave \* > \*\*So. Let me get this straight. The president pro temporeof the U.S. Senate wants to kick atheists out of the country, but **none** of the major media outlets deems this important enough to report? \*\* Pretty fuckin’ scary, huh? ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/27 "2002-06-28T15:44:10Z")
Thanks for the cite JohnM…that’s all I was looking for. Yes it is a pretty dumb thing for Byrd to say. I don’t want to sound like I’m defending him, but when he says… > [@](#): > > I, for one, am not going to stand for this country’s being ruled by a bunch of atheists. If they do not like it, let them leave. Is the “let them leave” part referring to atheists in general, or those that Byrd perceives “want to rule the country” (I guess by doing this kind of constitutional interpretation). Either meaning would be dumb…the former would be more bothersome IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![CRorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CRorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRorex)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/28 "2002-06-28T15:50:43Z")
That’s it. I’m calling it quits. This country is fucked. The great experiment in democrasy is circling the drain. We do need God to help run this country. Look at the Roman Catholic church, they’re run by god. Look how fair, just and noble they are. You know what would suprise the hell out of me. The one thing that would shatter my cynical belief in human nature? If some priests stepped up and said, “No, this country needs to remove god from the government. President Bush, fuck you and your ideas of having good christians running the courts.” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/29 "2002-06-28T15:51:30Z")
just hollow rhetoric, nothing to get too worked up about. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/30 "2002-06-28T16:14:03Z")
Hey Chicken Little, the sky ain’t fallin’! Really, people, you can stow all that “Ah’m leaving this country” BS. So some politician makes a thoughtless, stupid comment; what else is new? Are you just going to cut and run because Sen. Byrd thinks you should? Then go, bon voyage, later! I choose to stay here and assert my rights as a citizen of the United States. I am an American, and no dumbass, redneck Congressman from the second-most backward state in the Union is going to tell me otherwise. We are a free people. We don’t have religious police enforcing repressive laws, as in Saudi Arabia. We don’t have religious tests for office. Our head of state is not the head of the established church, as in the UK. Marilyn Manson (back when he was a star) could tear pages out of the Bible at concerts and not be thrown in jail. In the US, Moslems, Jews, Hindus, Christians, and [your religion here] can worship freely and openly. The is POA nonsense will bow over, and the US will still be a free nation, despite the best efforts of Fundamentalist Christians, who are the true enemies of freedom. ---
**Author:** ![EchoKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@EchoKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EchoKitty)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/31 "2002-06-28T16:30:10Z")
Right freakin’ on, Gobear. I’m not gonna let some racist, bible-thumping zealot harsh MY patriotic buzz! We have ways of expressing our displeasure (nay, our horror!) and with any luck, the evil SCOTUS judges will be replaced by people who actually read the constitution. It may not happen next month, or next year, but SOMEONE is going to see it like it is and make some changes. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/32 "2002-06-28T16:46:20Z")
Oh come _on_, Gobear. I got an extra bedroom overlooking Hyde Park! ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/33 "2002-06-28T16:52:16Z")
Well, **Eve** , as lovely as an apartment overlooking Hyde Park sounds, I’d prefer a flat on the Isle of Dogs. It’s quieter and you have lovely views of the Thames. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/34 "2002-06-28T16:57:47Z")
**Gobear** , what’s the first most backward state in the Union? Daniel waiting in anticipation ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/35 "2002-06-28T17:11:38Z")
Mississippi–lowest literacy rate, chronic poverty, lack of infrastructure, and so on. Not to mention it’s responsible for John Grisham. On the other hand, it did give us William Faulkner. Eudora Welty, and Stephen Ambrose. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/36 "2002-06-28T17:43:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > \*\*I’m seriously considering permanently vamoosing the Democratic Party because of Byrd’s boneheaded remark. \*\* The Libertarians are always ready to accept free-thinkers. With the way the Religious Wrong is hijacking the GOP, I don´t think you want to be giving your support to the Repubs. (I used to be a Republican, but I found myself getting angrier and angrier with their `Family Values´ social policy BS. Pure Religious Wrong there, so I jumped ship and found the Libertarians ready and waiting.) ---
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/37 "2002-06-28T17:48:43Z")
**gobear** , I spent many years in WV, and a popular bumper sticker was “Thank God for Mississippi”. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/38 "2002-06-28T18:44:31Z")
gobear: Not doubting you, but when did MM tear pages from a Bible on stage? I already know about his tacky stunt pulling pages from a Book of Mormon. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/39 "2002-06-28T19:03:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Not doubting you, but when did MM tear pages from a Bible on stage? I already know about his tacky stunt pulling pages from a Book of Mormon. Tearing up Bibles was his “schtick”–he did it at nearly every concert, including his 1997 appearance at the MTV Music Awards. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274/40 "2002-06-28T19:18:23Z")
Ah, so he’s an equal opportunity asshole. Thanks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-robert-byrd-to-atheists-leave-the-country/116274.md?page=3)