Robert Byrd Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Robert Carlyle Byrd (born November 20, 1917) is a West Virginia Democrat serving in the United States Senate. As of 2004, he is the second longest-serving member of Congress, behind John Dingell of the House of Representatives.
Some consider Byrd to be a "walking encyclopedia" on the history of both the American and Roman senates. He has risen to national prominence as the oldest member of the Senate (after the retirement of Strom Thurmond) and recently as being a critic of the Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive war and the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Byrd was born in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina in 1917. Byrd attended West Virginia public schools and was later a student at Beckley College, Concord College, Morris Harvey College, and Marshall College, all in West Virginia. He graduated from American University Law School in 1963.
Byrd was a member of the Ku Klux Klan for a period of time in the early 1940s. In a 1946 letter, he wrote, "The Klan is needed today as never before and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia." However, when running for Congress in 1952, he announced, "After about a year, I became disinterested, quit paying my dues, and dropped my membership in the organization. During the nine years that have followed, I have never been interested in the Klan."
He was first elected to the Senate in 1958 and has held the position ever since. Byrd is currently the "Father of the Senate" - the Senator with the longest continuous service. As the longest-serving Democratic Senator, he has held the office of President Pro Tempore of the Senate three times, most recently from 2001-2003. He has served as a member of the Appropriations Committee since the 1950s and is chairman of the committee when the Democratic party is in the Senate majority.
In 1965, the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program was created by Congress as a federally funded, state-administered program. It awards $1500 per year to graduating high school seniors who continue on to higher education on the basis of academic merit.
In 1976 Byrd, at the time the Senate Majority Whip, announced that he would run for President as a "favorite son" candidate, only campaigning in his home state of West Virginia. Like many Democrats, Byrd thought that perhaps if the Convention were deadlocked, he could use his delegates to hold some influence in the selection of a nominee.
Every other Democrat but George Wallace stayed off the W.Va. ballot in deference to Byrd, and even Wallace didn't campaign in the state. Byrd won by a near 9-1 margin. However, he was never a serious candidate for the nomination, and Byrd had set his sights instead on the position of Senate Majority Leader, after the retirement of Mike Mansfield. Byrd focused most of his time on campaigning for the majority leader seat, more so than for re-election to the Senate, as he was unopposed for his fourth term. By the time the vote for majority leader was at hand, he had it so wrapped up that his lone rival, Minnesota's Hubert Humphrey, withdrew before the balloting took place.
Byrd has a cameo role as a Confederate general in the Warner Brothers film Gods and Generals (2003).
| Table of contents |
|
2 2001 racial remark controversy 3 Opposition to war in Iraq 4 Robert C. Byrd Placenames 5 External links |
On March 4, 2001, an interview with FOX News Sunday host Tony Snow was aired. In the interview Byrd was asked about race relations: "They are much, much better than they've ever been in my lifetime," Byrd said. "I think we talk about race too much. I think those problems are largely behind us... I just think we talk so much about it that we help to create somewhat of an illusion. I think we try to have good will. My old mom told me, 'Robert, you can't go to heaven if you hate anybody.' We practice that." Then Byrd warned: "There are white niggers. I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time; I'm going to use that word."
"We just need to work together to make our country a better country, and I'd just as soon quit talking about it so much."
Byrd's office later issued an apology.
"I apologize for the characterization I used on this program. The phrase dates back to my boyhood and has no place in today's society. As for my language, I had no intention of casting aspersions on anyone of another race."
American conservatives have pointed to Byrd's comments as evidence of a double standard in the treatment of Democratic and Republican political figures in regards to controversial statements about race (see Trent Lott, Rush Limbaugh).
On March 19, 2003, when President George W. Bush ordered the invasion after failing to receive United Nations approval, Byrd told the Senate floor:
"Today I weep for my country. I have watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart. No more is the image of America one of strong, yet benevolent peacekeeper. The image of America has changed. Around the globe, our friends mistrust us, our word is disputed, our intentions are questioned. Instead of reasoning with those with whom we disagree, we demand obedience or threaten recrimination."
Byrd also criticized Bush for his speech declaring the "end of major combat operations" in Iraq, which Bush made on the USS Abraham Lincoln while wearing a fighter pilot’s uniform. Byrd told the Senate:
"I do question the motives of a deskbound President who assumes the garb of a warrior for the purposes of a speech."
Byrd’s criticism has made him the unlikely hero of the anti-war movement who spread his speeches via e-mail.
In July 2004, Byrd released the book Losing America: Confronting a Reckless and Arrogant Presidency about the Bush presidency and the war in Iraq.
This is an Article on Robert Byrd. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Robert Byrd Political timeline
2001 racial remark controversy
Opposition to war in Iraq
Byrd was one of the Senate’s most outspoken critics of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the Bush Doctrine’s support of unilateralism and preemptive warfare. Robert C. Byrd Placenames
External links