From Corruptapedia

Robert Byrd
Assumed Office January 3, 1959
State	West Virginia
Party	Democrat
Preceded By	W. Chapman Revercomb
Succeeded By	Incumbent (2013)
Born	November 20, 1917 Wilkesboro, North Carolina

Robert Carlyle Byrd (born November 20, 1917) is the senior United States Senator from West Virginia and a member of the Democratic Party. Byrd has held the office since January 3, 1959; he is the longest-serving member in the history of the Senate. He is also the longest-serving, and oldest, current member of the United States Congress.

Byrd is President pro tempore of the United States Senate of the 110th United States Congress, a position that puts him third in line to the presidency, behind Vice President Dick Cheney and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He held this post also in 1989–1995, briefly in January 2001, and in June 2001 – January 2003.

He has been dubbed the "Conscience of the Senate" and is known to quote Shakespeare on the Senate Floor.

[edit] Affiliations

[edit] Ku Klux Klan

It well known that Robert Byrd was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. It is not something he is shy about. He describes it as a mistake of his youth. He explains he joined the Klan because it "offered excitement" and was an "effective force" in "promoting traditional American values." He also obtained the rank of Kleagle, or recruiter, for the Klan. As Kleagle he was very successful and formed his own chapter by recruiting 150 members, collecting their $10 joining fee and $3 charge for robe and hood. The Grand Dragon came down to officially organize the chapter and Byrd was unanimously elected Exalted Cyclops [1], or leader, of his local chapter. He left the Klan about the age of 25 and chalks up the events as being a mistake of his youth. However, long after he left the Klan there were many incidents which have questioned his political views.

In 1971, a letter Byrd wrote to the Klan's Imperial Wizard came to light that was written three years after he claims to have parted ideologies with the Klan. In the letter Byrd identifies himself as a former Kleagle and says "The Klan is needed today as never before and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia... It is necessary that the order be promoted immediately and in every state in the Union. Will you please inform me as to the possibilities of rebuilding the Klan realm of W. Va?[2]"

After he was elected to the State Senate of West Virginia he wrote he would "never submit to fight beneath that banner [the American flag] with a Negro by my side. Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackbear specimen from the wilds.[3][4]"

After his election to the United States Senate he became one of the most adamant members of the Democratic bloc who fought against civil rights legislation. He personally filibustered more than fourteen hours trying to defeat the historic 1964 Civil Rights Act[5]. He holds the distinction of being the only senator to vote against the only two black Supreme Court nominees in US history-Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas[6]. When these men were being voted on Byrd was still a segregationist were opposed to the idea of a black integrationist being placed on the court. Byrd even asked FBI Director John Edgar Hoover to investigate Marshall unfounded claims of a communist past.

In recent years his racial controversies have died down. However in 2001, he used the term "white niggers" in a TV interview[7].

Byrd now says he regrest fillibustering the Civil Rights Act and would change his behavior if he could. Robert Byrd has said the main event that changed his views on race relations was the death of his grandson in a 1982 car accident which is when he says he came to realization that black people love their children as much as he does[8].

It is interesting to note that in 1944 the Ku Klux Klan was dissolved due to an IRS lien[9]. In 1944 when the Klan dissolved, Byrd was 25 years old. The same age Byrd departed from the Klan. It is widely accepted that Byrd left the Klan because the Klan dissolved, rather than through his own intentions. His letter which was released in 1971, but written in 1947 supports this idea.

[edit] Pork

The non-partisan Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has named Byrd the "King of Pork."[10] CAGW claims that in 2001 Byrd "managed to claw $232 million in pork for West Virginia, or $128 for every single resident." Byrd consistently boasts himself through arrogant statements such statements as "West Virginia has always had four friends, God Almighty, Sears Roebuck, Carter's Liver Pills, and Robert C. Byrd."[11] Byrd even erected an illegal statue of himself on state property violating a state law prohibiting statues of government officials until they have been dead for half a century[12].

Byrd makes humor of his dubbed title "King of Pork."

• "They call me 'The Pork King,' they don't know how much I enjoy it." - Sen. Robert Byrd[13]

Some examples of Byrd pork or Byrd droppings as they are sometimes referred to[14]:

• Robert C. Byrd Drive, from Beckley to Sophia (Byrd's hometown)
• Robert C. Byrd National Technology Transfer Center at Wheeling Jesuit University
• Robert C. Byrd Highway
• Robert C. Byrd Federal Correctional Institution
• Robert C. Byrd High School
• Robert C. Byrd Freeway
• Robert C. Byrd Center for Hospitality and Tourism
• Robert C. Byrd Science Center
• Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center of West Virginia
• Robert C. Byrd Cancer Research Center
• Robert C. Byrd Technology Center at Alderson-Broaddus College
• Robert C. Byrd Hardwood Technologies Center, near Princeton
• Robert C. Byrd Bridge between Huntington and Chesapeake, Ohio
• Robert C. Byrd addition to the lodge at Oglebay Park, Wheeling
• Robert C. Byrd Community Center, Pine Grove
• Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarships
• Robert C. Byrd Expressway, U.S. 52 near Weirton
• Robert C. Byrd Institute in Charleston
• Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible Manufacturing
• Robert C. Byrd Visitor Center at Harpers Ferry National Historic Park
• Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse
• Robert C. Byrd Academic and Technology Center
• Robert C. Byrd United Technical Center
• Robert C. Byrd Federal Building (there are two)
• Robert C. Byrd Hilltop Office Complex
• Robert C. Byrd Library and Robert C. Byrd Learning Resource Center
• Robert C. Byrd Rural Health Center
• Robert C. Byrd Clinical Addition to the veteran's hospital in Huntington
• Robert C. Byrd Industrial Park, Hardy County
• Robert C. Byrd Scholastic Recognition Award
• Robert C. Byrd Community Center in the naval station, Sugar Grove
• Robert C. Byrd Clinic at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
• Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center at Marshall University