Charles W. Pickering

“The Ku Klux Klan is a terrorist organization. I have been fighting the Klan for the last 30 years.”

“I did not want to send a message that cross-burning is not a terrible thing. It is a terrible thing.”

“I have said that my generation of white Mississippians, we are all racists in the sense that we grew up in a segregated society. We all have baggage. The question is what have we done with that baggage.”

“I think Mississippi has come further on the issue of race than any other state in the union.”

“This caricature of me as a racist and a bigot bears no resemblance to the man I am and the life I have led.”

“I would hope that we could get back to a time when we can have a civil debate on judicial philosophy without having to assassinate the character of the nominee.”