Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/06/28/obit.byrd/index.html?hpt=T1" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITI...l?hpt=T1</a> From the link: "He was 92, and the longest serving member of Congress. He was an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq, calling his 2002 vote against a "blind and improvident" authorization of military action the proudest moment of his career. When Byrd entered Congress in 1953, a postage stamp cost 3 cents and American kids were clamoring for a new toy called Mr. Potato Head. Dwight Eisenhower was president, Winston Churchill was Britain's prime minister and Josef Stalin was still the Soviet Union's leader. In November 2009, two days before his 92nd birthday, he passed Arizona Democrat Carl Hayden's record to become the longest-serving member of Congress. He opposed civil rights when he first ran for office, a stance he came to regret later in life. He blamed "that Southern atmosphere in which I grew up, with all of its prejudices and its feelings," for his opposition to equal rights, which included joining the Ku Klux Klan in the 1940s. He called the move "the greatest mistake of my life," an "albatross" that would always shadow his career. "It's a lesson to the young people of today, that once a major mistake has been made in one's life," he said, "it will always be there, and it will be in my obituary." He did not complete a college degree until 1963, when he earned a law degree from American University in Washington after taking night classes -- the only time a member of Congress has earned a law degree while holding office. He also received a political science degree from West Virginia's Marshall University in 1994, at age 76. Byrd said it was his October 2002 vote against the resolution that gave President George Bush the authority to launch the invasion of Iraq "of which I am most proud." He was one of 23 senators to oppose the authorization, warning that Congress was abdicating its constitutional power to declare war by giving the president what amounted to a blank check. "We are rushing into war without fully discussing why, without thoroughly considering the consequences, or without making any attempt to explore what steps we might take to avert conflict," he said. Four months later, with an American-led army poised to move across the frontier and U.N. weapons inspectors reporting no sign of Iraq's suspected weapons programs, Byrd returned to the Senate floor to condemn a "hauntingly silent" chamber. Four years after casting that vote, he called the invasion "the blunder of the age." Though he promised to support U.S. troops "to the last breath, the last dollar," he told CNN that he and other opponents of the war had been right. "History will prove it was wrong to invade another country without provocation. That is wrong. That was wrong then, and it would be wrong 50 years from today," he said.
Originally Posted By dshyates Byrd dis a lot to help the people of West Virginia. And was a man of great integrity. One of the last to not be beholden to orperate intrests.
Originally Posted By Labuda Wow, I was at unmoved this morning when I heard that a Republican Senator has died. After reading the above, though, I must say I'm say to see a man of such great integrity go. RIP.
Originally Posted By Labuda Nope, I made an error thanks to misreading a text message I got about it. See? I'm not a Politician - *I* can admit when I screw up.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy His stance against the Iraq War is particularly distinctive given the lack of courage by other politicians to speak out against the war in 2002 and 2003.
Originally Posted By tiggertoo Cheers to the longest serving member of Congress. Despite an questionable history, he truly morphed into an excellent public servant. But in moments of grief, it's always nice to smile on the good times. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocWuPkNLla4" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...uPkNLla4</a> RIP, Sen. Robert "Big Daddy" Bryd!
Originally Posted By barboy2 ///I was at unmoved this morning when I heard that a Republican Senator has died./// I was unmoved this morning when I heard that a senator has died........ but then I'd be unmoved if any USA high public figure died.
Originally Posted By dshyates I met Sen. Byrd on 3 seperate occasions, one of which was when he was touring a Veterans hospital. The care and compassion he showed our wounded soldiers was heartfelt. And the tears in his eyes when I interviewed him afterwards were no show. He was a real American, warts and all. Rest in Peace Bob Byrd. Job well done.
Originally Posted By DAR <<Wow, I was at unmoved this morning when I heard that a Republican Senator has died.>> But because it's a Democrat that died you are now moved? And the Republicans are the heartless ones? Hmm. As for Senator Byrd, I may not have agreed with his stance on the issues, but he served the people of West Virginia well, something rare in American politics these days.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 < but he served the people of West Virginia well> Arguably too well. From his position he was able (for many years) to steer an extremely high percentage of federal highway dollars to WV, a state with a small percentage of the nation's highways. While on one level that's just "bringing home the bacon" (to a poor state, so harder to begrudge), on the other hand that's dollars that states with crumbling infrastructure could have really used. On the other-other hand, his opposition to going into Iraq was right on the money, and far too rare among a congress mostly cowed by Bush/Cheney "you're with us or you're with the terrorists" rhetoric and the rush to war. He had indeed been a Klansman and a racist, but unlike others (Thurmond, Helms, et al) he legitimately changed his ways later in life and regretted what he done earlier. Particularly later in his life his all-but-assured reelections meant he could stand on principle more often than most. Yet he certainly wasn't immune from politics-as-usual as we know it. Pretty much anything right AND wrong with American politics can be found in Robert Byrd if one looks hard enough.
