Senator Robert C. Byrd (1917-2010)

Senator Byrd, Rest in Peace (4.00 / 3)

I first met Senator Byrd at an event in Ranson, West Virginia. He spoke at length of Roman history and his breadth of knowledge was amazing.

A musician, a historian, one of the most influential and effective Senators in our nation's history, he was a Renaissance man for the people of West Virginia. A true public servant in every sense of the word, he loved to be with the people.

On a tourist visit with a group from Martinsburg to the Capitol, Senator Byrd could not have been more gracious and kind to my oldest, then around eight years old.

In the runup to the Iraq war, there was no greater voice of reason anywhere than Senator Byrd. He also was a great champion for liberty when too many willingly surrended freedoms to the imperial presidency of George W. Bush. Senator Byrd was no coward and fought to protect our rights and our beloved Constitution.

He was called home before his work was done because his work will never be finished. But he has earned his eternal rest.

When a man embarks upon a crime, he is morally guilty of any other crime which may spring from it. Sherlock Holmes.

---

by: Carnacki @ Mon Jun 28, 2010 at 13:16:52 PM UTC

enriching lives (4.00 / 3)

Unlike so many Congresspeople who leave office with millions of dollars more than they arrive, Sen. Byrd sought only to enrich the lives of millions of others, thereby enriching his own. He was a true public servant and will be sorely missed.

---

by: Clem Guttata @ Mon Jun 28, 2010 at 13:23:08 PM UTC

Tried my best (4.00 / 3)

to make #NetherRegionsofGlennbeckistan trending on twitter.

Rest in peace, Robert. You are now with your Erma.

NFTT: Support My Team or I Will Dance

---

by: CA Berkeley WV @ Mon Jun 28, 2010 at 13:30:54 PM UTC

I Will Never Forget Senator Byrd's Commitment to WV and the Constitution (4.00 / 2)

Senator Byrd will be greatly missed. His commitment to the people of West Virginia and the U.S. Constitution was unparalleled.

He finally is reunited with his dear bride - not to mention the authors of the Constitution that he defended so vigorously.

God bless him.

In a good conversation everyone speaks.  In a great conversation some even listen.

---

by: Wabi-Sabi @ Mon Jun 28, 2010 at 14:27:33 PM UTC

Byrd's endorsement of Obama (4.00 / 1)

Sam Stein at Huffington Post has a good piece on the moral and historical importance of Senator Byrd's endorsement of then presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008.

For all of this, he spent much of his life expressing contrition. Appropriating money for memorials to civil rights icons was a start. But backing the first black presidential candidate with a legitimate chance at victory was a far more profound act.

The two created an anachronistic pairing. But Obama's aides understood how a Byrd endorsement could help complete the moral arc of his candidacy as well as the senator's career. And they worked hard to ensure that voters understood its importance as well.

"We were going through a rough patch and his endorsement -- and the strength of it -- helped stabilize the political situation of the moment, creating a strong permission structure for others to commit to us at a crucial time," recalled David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager.

"Senator Byrd's endorsement carried a degree of moral credibility as well as political credibility that was powerful," said Anita Dunn, Obama's communications director and a former Byrd aide herself. " Byrd's moral stature within the Democratic Party following the Iraq war resolution was extraordinary. His political credibility -- as a former leader coming from a state where the endorsement could only hurt him and as a 'wise elder' of the party -- was substantial. And of course the symbolism of RCB casting his lot with a message about hope and unity seemed to parallel the journey the nation had taken to get to that moment."

Below the surface there was some skepticism among staff members about the idea of Obama hitching a reformed KKK member to his campaign's bandwagon. But the president was, above all, a politician. And as one former campaign aide noted, at the time Obama was "being painted as someone who couldn't win white votes and wasn't born in this country." Byrd eased those concerns.

Stein also quote's from Obama's book on his first meeting Senator Byrd:

Listening to Senator Byrd I felt with full force all the essential contradictions of me in this new place, with its marble busts, its arcane traditions, its memories and its ghosts. I pondered the fact that, according to his own autobiography, Senator Byrd had received his first taste of leadership in his early twenties, as a member of the Raleigh County Ku Klux Klan, an association that he had long disavowed, an error he attributed -- no doubt correctly -- to the time and place in which he'd been raised, but which continued to surface as an issue throughout his career. I thought about how he had joined other giants of the Senate, like J. William Fulbright of Arkansas and Richard Russell of Georgia, in Southern resistance to civil rights legislation. I wondered if this would matter to the liberals who now lionized Senator Byrd for his principled opposition to the Iraq War resolution -- the MoveOn.org crowd, the heirs of the political counterculture the senator had spent much of his career disdaining.

I wondered if it should matter. Senator Byrd's life -- like most of ours -- has been the struggle of warring impulses, a twining of darkness and light. And in that sense I realized that he really was a proper emblem for the Senate, whose rules and design reflect the grand compromise of America's founding: the bargain between Northern states and Southern states, the Senate's role as a guardian against the passions of the moment, a defender of minority rights and state sovereignty, but also a tool to protect the wealthy from the rabble, and assure slaveholders of noninterference with their peculiar institution. Stamped into the very fiber of the Senate, within its genetic code, was the same contest between power and principle that characterized America as a whole, a lasting expression of that great debate among a few brilliant, flawed men that had concluded with the creation of a form of government unique in its genius--yet blind to the whip and the chain.

When a man embarks upon a crime, he is morally guilty of any other crime which may spring from it. Sherlock Holmes.

---

by: Carnacki @ Mon Jun 28, 2010 at 15:23:09 PM UTC

RIP Senator Byrd (4.00 / 3)

Byrd evolved on coal--maybe not as much as we would have liked, nor as soon, but as  Bill Price, of the WV Sierra Club said, "This was not an act of 'deathbed repentance' by Senator Byrd. Appalachia residents and supporters met with the Senator's staff many times and told their stories in such a way that caused the Senator to move his position. That is the epitome of organizing and should never be underestimated."

See: http://bethwellington.blogspot...

Al Cross of the Center for Rural Journalism on Byrd is here:
http://www.politico.com/arena/...

also

Alan Simpson:
http://www.politico.com/arena/...

George McGovern:
http://www.politico.com/arena/...

and others.

---

by: Beth Wellington @ Tue Jun 29, 2010 at 00:10:19 AM UTC

Statement from the Young Democrats of America on the death of Senator Robert C. Byrd (4.00 / 2)

"Today the Young Democrats of America mourn the loss of Senator Robert C. Byrd, the longest serving member of Congress in U.S. history. While his distinguished career has come to a close, his impact on our democracy will live on for many years to come. He leaves behind a heritage of public service and commitment to the Constitution that was unrivaled by any of his peers. In many ways, he emblemized the legislative branch of our government, and his presence will forever be felt in the halls of the United State Senate.

"Senator Byrd rose from humble beginnings and, in turn, dedicated his entire life to the working men and women of West Virginia. He was also a leader who sincerely acknowledged his own shortcomings and regrets, which is all too rare a quality in modern politics. The next generation of public servants would do well to follow his example.

"Most members of YDA only witnessed the closing years of his tenure in Congress, but by his own admission, those years contained some of the finest moments of his career. In 2002, at the age of 84, Senator Byrd inspired a new generation of political leaders through his courageous opposition to the Iraq War. In a memorable speech on the Senate floor he proclaimed, 'History will prove it was wrong to invade another country without provocation. That is wrong. That was wrong then, and it would be wrong fifty years from today.' In some respects, the Change that was achieved in 2006 and 2008 was born out of a movement that began with his powerful words.

"As a lifelong West Virginian, I was deeply honored to be not only his constituent but his friend. All West Virginians and all Americans have benefited from his tireless service for nearly six decades. While we have suffered an irreplaceable loss, Senator Byrd's legacy will long live on as the conscience of a nation."

Rod Snyder
Acting President
Young Democrats of America

---

by: rodsnyder @ Tue Jun 29, 2010 at 04:33:08 AM UTC