Robert Byrd

[[File:Robert Byrd Majority Portrait.jpg|thumb|165px|Senate Majority Leader portrait.]]{{uspolitics}}{{cquote|The drive for same-sex marriage is, in effect, an effort to make a sneak attack on society by encoding this aberrant behavior in legal form before society itself has decided it should be legal. [...] Let us defend the oldest institution, the institution of marriage between male and female as set forth in the Holy Bible.||| Robert Byrd in 1996}}
'''Robert Carlyle Byrd''' {{lived|1917|2010}} was the longest-serving Senator in the [[US Senate]], having joined the Senate on the very same day that [[Alaska]] was [[State|admitted to the Union]]. A [[Dixiecrat]], Byrd was elected as a [[New Deal]]er on economics.<ref>Longley, Robert (October 30, 2019). [https://www.thoughtco.com/robert-byrd-kkk-4147055 Senator Robert Byrd and the Ku Klux Klan]. ThoughtCo.com. Retrieved March 2, 2021.</ref> He was the only person to vote against both [[Supreme Court]] Justices [[Thurgood Marshall]]<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/90-1967/s176 CONFIRMATION OF NOMINATION OF THURGOOD MARSHALL, THE FIRST NEGRO APPOINTED TO THE SUPREME COURT.]. GovTrack. Retrieved March 3, 2021.</ref> and [[Clarence Thomas]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/16/us/the-thomas-confirmation-how-the-senators-voted-on-thomas.html THE THOMAS CONFIRMATION; How the Senators Voted on Thomas]. Associated Press via The New York Times. Retrieved March 3, 2021.</ref> He was also a former member of the [[Ku Klux Klan]], though he had since rebuked them. He was best known for the massive amounts of [[pork]] he brought to [[West Virginia]] and for his attempts to get his colleagues to read what they vote on.

Also, despite his [[racist]] past (and the opinions of his constituents), he endorsed [[Barack Obama]] for [[President of the United States|President]] of the US over [[Hillary Clinton]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080520223856/http://wvgazette.com/News/200805190255 Byrd endorses Obama for president]</ref> In 2003, he became well-known for being one of the few members of Congress who gave speech after speech on the floor denouncing [[George W. Bush|Bush]]'s drive to invade [[Iraq]], at a time when few were willing to dissent.<ref>Byrd, Robert (February 17, 2003). [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/feb/18/usa.iraq We stand passively mute]. The Guardian. Retrieved March 15, 2021.</ref> However, this is countered by his role in cluttering up the formerly quiet and out of the way state of West Virginia with military and federal [[law enforcement]] pork-barrel projects that may well have played a role in changing the political makeup of the state from [[Blue state|blue]] to [[red state|red]], because of the type of people those projects inevitably attracted.

His history as a Klansman is often invoked by right-wingers and [[wingnut]]s to insist that LIBRULS R TEH REAL RACISTS. They often overlook the fact that he denounced and regretted his time with the Klan.<ref>[https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2002/12/what-about-byrd.html What About Byrd?]</ref> Some also share a fake picture on the internet of Byrd supposedly wearing a KKK outfit despite the fact that the head is merely photoshopped from his Senate portrait, as he had quit the Klan decades ago.<ref>[https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/robert-byrd-kkk-photo/ Senator Robert Byrd in Ku Klux Klan Garb?]</ref> Other times his Klan membership is greatly exaggerated with some claiming that he was actually a former Grand Wizard of the Klan when, in fact, the highest rank he attained was that of Kleagle (a recruiter.)<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-robert-byrd-photo-grand-wiz/fact-checkphotograph-does-not-show-robert-byrdbyrd-was-not-the-grand-wizard-of-the-ku-klux-klan-idUSKBN23O2K1 Fact check: Photograph does not show Robert Byrd; Byrd was not the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan] </ref>

==Time In The Senate==
Byrd was typically considered a moderate Democrat by his collages, getting a rating of about sixty five percent liberal from the ''National Journal''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090327092616/http://www.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/pdf/Centrists.pdf The Centrists]</ref> Given his tenure as the longest serving Senator in United States history,<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/senators/longest_serving_senators.htm Longest-Serving Senators]</ref> it's unsurprising his critics have no short list of objections to make.

===Race (The Bad)===
Byrd took part in the filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, speaking for fourteen hours in hopes of stopping its passage.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/filibusters-cloture/civil-rights-filibuster-ended.htm Civil Rights Filibuster Ended]</ref>

Later in his life, despite doing the best he can to make it up to the black population, Byrd still had some racist habits. In a 2001 interview with Tony Snow, Byrd talked about how "There are white niggers. I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time, if you want to use that word," in order to express his new colorblind views.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnO6ai0Ktro&t=73s Senator Robert Byrd Says White Niggers]</ref> The use of a racial slur obviously got him into some hot water, and he later apologized for this.<ref>[https://edition.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/03/04/byrd.slur/ Top Senate Democrat apologizes for slur]</ref>

===Race (The Good)===
Byrd hired one of the first black Congressional aides in United States history in 1959.<ref name=old>[https://www.gq.com/story/senator-robert-byrd-congress Old as the Hill]</ref>

Byrd, who had called [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] a "self-seeking rabble-rouser" shortly before his assassination, supported the creation of a federal holiday named after the man, saying "I'm the only one in the Senate who must vote for this bill."<ref name=old/>

===LGBT Issues===
Similar to his positions on race, many have described his opinions on LGBT rights as mixed. ("Over the years he’s had a very mixed record on LGBT equality", says Allison Herwitt, director of legislative affairs for the Human Rights Campaign.<ref>[https://www.washingtonblade.com/2010/06/28/byrd-%E2%80%98evolved%E2%80%99-on-lgbt-issues/ Byrd ‘evolved’ on LGBT issues]</ref>) Byrd originally opposed allowing homosexuals to serve in the military,<ref>[https://www.ontheissues.org/Domestic/Robert_Byrd_Civil_Rights.htm Robert Byrd on Civil Rights]</ref> but went on to support the repeal of "[[Don't Ask, Don't Tell]]" later in life.<ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/robert-byrd-supports-repealing-dont-ask-dont-tell-214086 Robert Byrd Supports Repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell']</ref> Byrd also supported [[DOMA]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/11/us/senators-reject-both-job-bias-ban-and-gay-marriage.html?pagewanted=all SENATORS REJECT BOTH JOB-BIAS BAN AND GAY MARRIAGE]</ref> He was a critic of the Federal Marriage Amendment.<ref name=marriage>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090104220045/http://byrd.senate.gov/newsroom/news_june/marriage_amdt.html Standing Up for Marriage While Defending the Constitution]</ref> With that said, he still had to cloud his criticism in homophobia, writing that he was no fan of [[same-sex marriage]] despite his opposition:

{{quotebox|I believe that marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman. I am against gay marriage. Gay marriage is banned in West Virginia, and I strongly support the state’s actions.

Marriage, in both my book and in the Good Book, is between a man and a woman. I voted for the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between a husband and a wife and allows West Virginia to refuse to recognize any other state’s marriage that is not a union of a man and woman. That law is working. It has survived court challenges. West Virginia and every other state already has the power to ban gay marriages. That is why I would not support a Constitutional amendment on gay marriage.<ref name=marriage/>|}}

===Other Highlights===
*He fought against a measure that would allow Congress and state governments to overturn ''Roe v. Wade''.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/11/us/abortion-curbs-endorsed-10-7-by-senate-panel.html ABORTION CURBS ENDORSED, 10-7, BY SENATE PANEL]</ref>
*He was a supporter of campaign finance reform.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/02/us/senate-votes-to-curb-donations-from-outside-campaign-groups.html Senate Votes to Curb Donations From Outside Campaign Groups]</ref>
*He loosened the rules regarding what projects the National Endowment of the Arts were allowed to fund.<ref>[https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/10/24/Senate-votes-to-loosen-NEA-restrictions/2112656740800/ Senate votes to loosen NEA restrictions]</ref>
*He fought against the push by Republicans to give the President a line item veto, which would do nothing but greatly increase the power of the Executive Branch.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/28/us/senate-rejects-a-line-item-veto.html Senate Rejects a Line-Item Veto]</ref>
*He fought against another nonsensical push by Republicans through opposing a Constitutional Amendment requiring a balanced budget.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/03/us/byrd-predicts-senate-will-defeat-amendment-for-balanced-budget.html Byrd Predicts Senate Will Defeat Amendment for Balanced Budget]</ref>
*He attempted to filibuster the bill which gave [[George W. Bush]] the power to invade Iraq at a time where most politicians were too scared of being seen as "pro-terrorist" to even criticize such a measure.<ref>[https://edition.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/11/iraq.us/index.html Senate approves Iraq war resolution]</ref>

===. . . And Lowlights===
*Byrd voted in favor of the "Partial Birth Abortion" ban.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1081/vote_108_1_00402.htm Roll Call Vote 108th Congress - 1st Session]</ref>
*Byrd voted against a Senate measure which could have led to the abolition of the Electoral College.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1970/04/24/archives/senate-unit-asks-popular-election-of-the-president-amendment-to.html SENATE UNIT ASKS POPULAR ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT]</ref>
*Buying into Republican criticisms of the media, Byrd said the press was unfairly biased against poor [[Richard Nixon]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1972/05/31/archives/senator-scores-newspapers-for-shoddy-production.html Senator Scores Newspapers For ‘Shoddy’ Production]</ref>

==External links==
*[[Slacktivist]]: [http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2016/09/19/oh-yeah-well-what-about-robert-byrd/ Oh yeah? Well what about Robert Byrd?]

==References==
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