Robert C. Byrd 1917-2010
Robert C. Bryd, 92, the Democratic US Senator from West Virginia, was admitted to Inova Fairfax Hospital in the Washington D.C. area on June 27, 2010 for what was initially described as heat exhaustion and dehydration related to the 100 degree temperatures in the area.
Doctors indicate that his condition quickly deteriorated. He died at 3:00 a.m. eastern time on Monday, June 28, 2010.
The elder statesman was the longest-serving Senator and oldest current member of the Congress, and is the first person to serve uninterrupted for half a century as a U.S. Senator. He assumed office on January 3, 1959. He was the Democratic leader of the Senate for 12 years in the 1970’s and 1980’s and served several times as chairman of the Appropriations Committee. He relinquished the gavel for the last time in November 2008.
He was the president-pro-tem of the Senate, the second-highest ranking official of the U.S. Senate behind Vice President Joe Biden, and third in line to the presidency behind the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.
Byrd’s most recent Senate floor appearances have been in a wheelchair, pushed by a personal aide. He was known as a fierce guardian of Congressional authority, including spending power, and is an authority on Senate procedure. Just last month he said, “The rules, precedents, customs, practices, traditions and courtesies of the Senate have been forged over hundreds of years and after much trial and experience. The Senate’s purpose is to carefully and critically examine, not to expedite.”
His absence from the Senate will pose a problem for Senate Democrats as they try to pass the final version of the financial overhaul bill and win other procedural battles before the 4th of July recess.
Byrd cast more than 18,000 votes during his life in politics. He became a hero to many liberals in 2003 when he denounced the invasion of Iraq, and he said he was appalled by the silence in the Senate on the eve of the war.
His career was not without controversy. He joined the Ku Klux Klan when he was 24 and was quickly elevated to the top officer in his unit. He denounced his association in 1952, while running for the US House of Representatives. In 2005 he said, “I now know I was wrong. Intolerance had no place in America. I apologized a thousand times…and I don’t mind apologizing over and over again.”
He also earned the title “King of Pork”, for using his influence on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee to steer federal spending to his home state — one of the poorest in the nation. He wasn’t offended by the title. He defended it by saying: “Pork, to the critic, is service to the people who enjoy some of the good things in life, and I’ve been happy to bring these projects to West Virginia. I have no apology for it.”
At an early age, Robert Byrd learned to play the fiddle, and he carried it with him everywhere, playing it in churches and on the campaign trail. He recorded his own album “Mountain Fiddler” in 1978. He has performed at the Kennedy Center, on “Hee Haw” and at the Grand Ole Opry.
More photos and his Grande Ole Opry performance video below:
Photos: PicApp