Today marks a sad day in West Virginia’s history, given the passing of U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, who has died at the age of 92.
It’s fascinating to recount the senator’s life. A man from humble beginnings who eventually became the longest-serving member of Congress, and perhaps its most knowledgeable of the U.S. Constitution.
Robert Byrd served the public in many positions.
First elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1946, voted into the state Senate in 1950, the U.S. House of Representatives in 1952, and finally elected to the U.S. Senate in 1958. There he assumed some of the Senate’s most significant positions, including two terms as majority leader and in later years, chairman of the appropriations committee.
More recently, he demonstrated courage when speaking out against the second Iraq war, he fought vigorously to preserve West Virginia’s National Guard, he helped establish significant projects such as West Virginia’s Corridor G and Corridor H, Clarksburg’s FBI center, along with numerous education and health facilities throughout the state.
Senator Byrd was a servant-leader, whose decisions were based on principle, not popularity. His life demonstrates that success is not defined by one’s past, but by the moral and ethical obligations we fulfill.
He is truly, from my perspective, West Virginia’s greatest statesman. We will miss his leadership, but we can find comfort in knowing Robert Byrd did his best to prepare us for the future.
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Sen. Byrd was admirable for many reasons, but I have been especially impressed by the fact that he learned and grew so much in office. Not only did he earn a law degree (in his spare time), but he became a master of the Constitution and the Senate rules. These things became the center of his beliefs, and he held to them with incredible tenacity and courage. I can think of no nationally prominent office-holder with his appetite for learning, his willingness to bend his views to new information, or his courage in standing, almost alone, with his convictions.
He was born in 1917, the same year as my Dad. It was a pretty good year.
I heard a recorded interview with RCB yesterday where he was asked about his involvement with the KKK. He was emotional, and said “I’ve said I was wrong, I’ve said I am sorry, how many more times do I need to say it?” Then he said, “I will say it again. I was wrong, I am sorry, and if my doing that again and again will help just one young person not make my mistakes, I will keep saying it forever.”
Many people can’t get past this aspect of his past, but I think it is important to view the man in total. As Mr. Cavendish says, he could change his mind, he had courage, and he was willing to stand alone. These are not traits easily replaced in the senate or elsewhere. I will miss Senator Byrd in many ways. I don’t anticipate I will see his like again in my lifetime.