He became a member of the powerful appropriations committee. According to Christopher Reed : "This access to the federal purse allowed him to funnel monet to his home state, and over the decades he was reckoned to have appropriated a billion dollars on behalf of his constituents. Byrd joined southern colleagues in a Senate filibuster of the Civil Rights Act.
He also opposed the nomination of the African-American supreme court justice, Thurgood Marshall in Byrd was also a hawk on the Vietnam War.
Byrd was also chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee to In Byrd changed his mind on the subject of civil rights. He later explained that it was the death of his teenage grandson in a road accident that brought about a change of attitude: ""The death of my grandson caused me to stop and think. I came to realise that black people love their children as much as I do mine. Byrd was a strong critic of President George Bush who he argued: "undermined, undercut, and brought under attack".
He also opposed the invasion of Iraq. On 12th February, , Byrd argued in the Senate: "To contemplate war is to think about the most horrible of human experiences. As this nation stands at the brink of battle, every American must be contemplating the horrors of war. Yet, this chamber is, for the most part, silent - ominously, dreadfully silent. There is no debate, no discussion, no attempt to lay out for the nation the pros and cons of this particular war.
We stand passively mute in the United States Senate, paralysed by our own uncertainty, seemingly stunned by the sheer turmoil of events. And this is no small conflagration we contemplate. This is no simple attempt to defang a villain. This coming battle, if it materialises, represents a turning point in US foreign policy.
In November he took the record in the longest-serving member of Congress. Soon, you will be asked to vote on a resolution authorizing the United States to overthrow the government of Iraq by military force. Its passage, we read on all sides, is a foregone conclusion, as if what the country now faces is not a decision but the disclosure of a fate.
The nation marches as if in a trance to war. In the House, twenty of your number, led by Dennis Kucinich, have announced their opposition to the war. In the Senate, Robert Byrd has mounted a campaign against the version of the resolution already proposed by the Bush Administration.
He has said that the resolution's unconstitutionality will prevent him from voting for it. Telephone calls and the mail to your offices run strongly against it. Polls and news stories reveal a divided and uncertain public. Yet debate in your chambers is restricted to peripheral questions, such as the timing of the vote, or the resolution's precise scope.
You are a deliberative body, but you do not deliberate. You are representatives, but you do not represent. In the event of a war with Iraq, might the United States be facing the possibility of reaping what it has sown? The role that the U. The Bush administration is also discussing whether to arm groups of ethnic dissidents, such as the Kurds, in Iraq.
Could the US be laying the groundwork for a brutal civil war in Iraq? Could this proposed policy change precipitate a deadly border conflict between the Kurds and Turkey? Decisions involving war and peace, should never be rushed or muscled through in haste.
Our founding fathers understood that, and wisely vested in the Congress, not the president, the power to declare war. To contemplate war is to think about the most horrible of human experiences.
This nation is about to embark upon the first test of a revolutionary doctrine applied in an extraordinary way at an unfortunate time. The doctrine of pre-emption - the idea that the United States or any other nation can attack a nation that is not imminently threatening but may be in the future - is a radical new twist on the traditional idea of self-defence.
It appears to be in contravention of international law and the UN charter. And it is being tested at a time of worldwide terrorism, making many countries around the globe wonder if they will soon be on our - or some other nation's - hit list. High-level administration figures recently refused to take nuclear weapons off of the table when discussing a possible attack against Iraq.
What could be more destabilising than this type of uncertainty? There are huge cracks emerging in our alliances, and US intentions are suddenly subject to worldwide speculation. Anti Americanism based on mistrust, misinformation, suspicion and alarming rhetoric from US leaders is fracturing the once solid alliance against global terrorism which existed after September Here at home, people are warned of terrorist attacks with little guidance as to when or where such attacks might occur.
Family members are being called to active military duty, with no idea of what horrors they may face. The mood of the nation is grim. The economy is stumbling. Fuel prices are rising. This administration, now in power for a little over two years, must be judged on its record.
This administration has fostered policies which have slowed economic growth. This administration has ignored urgent matters such as the crisis in health care for our elderly. This administration has been slow to provide adequate funding for homeland security. This administration has been reluctant to better protect our borders. This administration has failed to find Osama bin Laden. This administration has split traditional alliances, possibly crippling for all time order-keeping entities like the United Nations and Nato.
This administration has called into question the traditional worldwide perception of the United States as well-intentioned peacekeeper. This administration has turned the patient art of diplomacy into threats, labelling and name-calling. We may have massive military might, but we cannot fight a war on terrorism alone. We need the cooperation of our allies as well as the newer friends.
He described the organization as a group of "upstanding people" — doctors, lawyers, clergy, judges — who he thought could "provide an outlet for [his] talents and ambitions" and also supported his opposition to communism. Byrd was a member of his klavern for only a year, which he said had basically become a money-making organization, which never physically inflicted violence on anyone while he was a member.
After he raised several ranks within the group, Byrd lost interest and stopped paying his dues. He would later refer to his time with the KKK as "the most egregious mistake I've ever made.
His allegiance to the KKK, however, did help push Byrd into the political arena. During his campaign, Byrd carried his fiddle in his briefcase and played at each stop on his speaking tour. His skill with the instrument helped to get people's attention on the stump, and had a hand in helping him win the election. From that point forward, Byrd would never lose an election.
After his re-election to the House of Delegates in , Byrd campaigned and won, a spot on the State Senate. Two years later, he would win a seat in the U. House of Representatives. Self-educated and well read, Byrd became known for his encyclopedic knowledge of parliamentary procedure, which allowed him to outmaneuvering Republicans with his mastery of the Senate's arcane rules.
But he still didn't have a college degree. After winning his seat in the House of Representatives for a second time in , the politician managed to enroll in night courses for law school, despite lacking a bachelor's degree. He was still attending school in , when he defeated the Republican incumbent, W. Chapman Rivercomb, for a spot in the U. In , after 10 years of classes, Byrd graduated cum laude with his Juris Doctor from American University. President Kennedy, the school's commencement speaker, handed Byrd his diploma.
After receiving his degree, Byrd started the Scholastic Recognition Award in , which awards the valedictorian at each West Virginia public and private high school with a savings bond. His financial generosity didn't stop there; appointed a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee in , Byrd became known for using his coveted position as a way to garner additional funds for poverty-stricken West Virginia. He delivered millions in federal aid to his state to build roads, schools and hospitals.
The move made him very popular with his constituency, earning him the title "West Virginian of the 20th Century. Byrd's early votes in Congress reflected his roots in Southern anti-Black, anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic teachings.
Byrd initially denounced civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. He also voted against the Voting Rights Act, which protected the voting rights of American minorities, making a hour filibuster speech in an attempt to keep the legislation from passing.
He later apologized for both these votes. After beating out incumbent senator Ted Kennedy for the position of Senate majority whip in , the second-highest ranking Democrat in the Senate, Byrd's name was mentioned as a possible Supreme Court candidate. His lack of law experience and his ties to the KKK, however, prevented his nomination.
This didn't prevent him from winning re-election as the majority whip, then earning the title of Senate majority leader in The country needs young men like you in the leadership of the nation. Flattered by the official's observation, Byrd continued his leadership role in the Klan and was eventually elected Exalted Cyclops of the local group. In a letter to segregationist Mississippi Senator Theodore G.
Bilbo, Byrd wrote,. Running for the U. House of Representatives in , Byrd worked to distance himself from his Klan activities. He claimed he lost interest in it after a year and dropped his membership in the group. Byrd also said that he joined just for the excitement and because they were opposed to communism.
In his autobiography, Byrd wrote that he had become a KKK member because he. Byrd's career in public service began on November 4, , when the people of West Virginia elected him to his first term in the U.
House of Representatives. He campaigned as a New Deal Democrat. Byrd served six years in the House before being elected to the U. Senate in He would continue to serve in the Senate for the next 51 years, until his death at age 92 on June 28, During his time in office, Byrd was one of the Senate's most powerful members. Byrd served as secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus from to and as Senate Majority Whip from to His leadership positions were numerous, including Senate majority leader, Senate minority leader, and president pro tempore of the Senate.
In four separate terms as president pro tempore, Byrd stood third in the line of presidential succession , after the vice president and the speaker of the House of Representatives. In , Byrd led a filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of But while he voted against civil rights legislation, Byrd also hired one of the first Black congressional aides on Capitol Hill in and initiated the racial integration of the United States Capitol Police for the first time since Reconstruction.
Decades later, Byrd would speak with regret about his earlier stances on race.
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