Zzzzzzzzzzzz
Posted on 01/02/2015 4:57:55 PM PST by mdittmar
Today our country has lost a true American original, my friend and mentor Robert C. Byrd.
Senator Byrd was a man of surpassing eloquence and nobility. And I will remember him for many things, but most of all for a heartfelt comment he made to me in the dark days following the attack on our country on 9/11. My state of New York was reeling and we were scrambling to provide support and relief. “Think of me as the third senator from New York,” he said. And he meant it. Thanks to the leadership of Senator Byrd, who chaired the Appropriations Committee, New Yorkers and Americans got the help we needed. I will never forget his devotion and his friendship in that critical time.
It is almost impossible to imagine the United States Senate without Robert Byrd. He was not just its longest serving member, he was its heart, its soul, and its historian. From my first day in the Senate, I sought out his guidance, and he was always generous with his time and his wisdom. I admired his tireless advocacy for his West Virginia constituents, his fierce defense of the Constitution and the traditions of the Senate, and his passion for a government that improves the lives of the people it serves.
As Secretary of State, I continued to rely on his advice and counsel. I‘ve been grateful for the support he provided as a leader of the Appropriations Committee to our diplomats and development workers as they serve our country and advance our interests all over the world.
Robert C. Byrd led by the power of his example, and he made all of us who had the honor of serving as his colleagues better public servants and better citizens. After more than five decades of service, he left an indelible imprint on the Senate, on West Virginia, and on our nation. We will not see his like again.
I am heartened to know that Senator Byrd is now reunited with his beloved Erma, the high-school sweetheart who became his wife of nearly 70 years, the love and light of his life. My thoughts and prayers are with their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Robert C. Byrd left such a legacy.
“Sheets” Byrd.
Good thing she didn’t say something nice about him on his birthday. That might have cost her seat. /s
He was a “friend and mentor” to hillary.
IIRC, when Slick Willie gave the eulogy he stated “Sheets” was forced to join the KKK if he was running as a Demoncrat.
He was adopted but was still related to the Byrd’s of Virginia. They were a very distinguished family.
He used to really make me mad at times but he sometimes would do the right thing. Hillary never does the right thing.
It would be a shame if Cankles has to make a similar speech about Harry Reid soon.
"I ain't in no ways tired" Take my hood as a token of our appreciation.
“a man of surpassing eloquence and nobility”
Hillary’s speechwriter sure can ladle the s***.
Eventhough Robert Byrd was a member of KKK, I will give him this credit. He was the first to go on the floor and warned Obama that he was overstepping his presidential powers boundary. I believe Obama was in his first or second year of his first term.
And a member of the KKK...
I remember him as a KKK Grand Dragon. Most people tend to forget that.
The KKK guy and given a pass. Not so with Trent Lott and the Strom Thurmond caper. Reverse the roles and you know where the ‘outrage’ from the Left would be.
Robert Byrd[edit]
oooooooops! they left this out!
Senator Robert Byrd was a Kleagle, a Klan recruiter, in his 20s and 30s.
West Virginia’s Democratic United States Senator Robert C. Byrd was a recruiter for the Klan while in his 20s and 30s, rising to the title of Kleagle and Exalted Cyclops of his local chapter. After leaving the group, Byrd spoke in favor of the Klan during his early political career. Though he claimed to have left the organization in 1943, Byrd wrote a letter in 1946 to the group’s Imperial Wizard stating “The Klan is needed today as never before, and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia.” Byrd defended the Klan in his 1958 U.S. Senate campaign when he was 41 years old.[9]
Despite being the only Senator to vote against both African American U.S. Supreme Court nominees (liberal Thurgood Marshall and conservative Clarence Thomas) and filibustering the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Byrd has since said joining the Klan was his “greatest mistake.” The NAACP gave him a 100% rating on their issues during the 108th Congress.[10] However, in a 2001 incident Byrd repeatedly used the phrase “white niggers” on a national television broadcast.[11]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.