Democratic Senator Robert Byrd from West Virginia, the longest-serving member of the US Congress in history, who served 51 years in the Senate following 6 years in the House, has died at age 92.
Senator Byrd, who was known for his robust speech-making and vast institutional memory, leaves what I'll politely describe as a complicated legacy. He was essentially a Dixiecrat who never turned Republican; he was a member of the KKK when he started his political career in the 1940s, and he filibustered against the Civil Rights Act and other civil rights legislation, on the basis that such legislation infringed on States' Rights—the same bullshit that Democrats, Byrd himself among them, have used to justify failing to support LGBTQI rights in recent years. He supported the Vietnam War, and he was a fan of bipartisan compromise (i.e. acting like a Republican) literally before Barack Obama was even born.
In later years (which is still some 40 years ago—dude was around forever), he had a change of heart about civil rights legislation and began to throw his support behind it. He also changed his mind about interventionist warfare and was a critic of the Iraq War before it became fashionable in the Beltway.
I never got a good feel for Byrd; I can't say I ever really had a guess one way or another whether he was to be respected as a man who learned from his mistakes, or disdained as a man whose principles changed based on political expediency.
Maybe the truth is that there was a little bit of both the penitent and the opportunist to Senator Byrd.
West Virgina currently has a Democratic governor, but whether he appoints Byrd's replacement depends on when the seat vacancy is declared. If it before this Saturday, there will be a special election held to elect Byrd's replacement; if the declaration is made next week, Governor Joe Manchin will pick Byrd's successor. Reportedly, Manchin wants the seat himself, but will not appoint himself, so look for him to appoint a place-holder to keep the seat warm until the next election.
[Note: Please feel welcome to comment on the entirety of Senator Byrd's work and life in this thread.]
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