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As a conservative Democrat with a segregationist background, US Senator Robert Byrd had spent half a century in Congress and was its oldest member when, on 12 February 2003, he was hailed as the nation's lonely voice of conscience after a historic speech. On the senate floor, Byrd, who has died aged 92, lambasted his "paralysed" colleagues for their craven submission to preparations for what he branded an illegal war in Iraq. They listened silently as he told them: "As this nation stands at the brink of battle, every American on some level must be contemplating the horrors of war....

But Darryl Paulson, a USF professor, who is an expert in the Klan, points to a case in which two Klansman with the United Klans of America were convicted of attacking 19-year-old Michael Donald in 1981 in Mobile, Alabama. Donald was beaten up and his throat was cut.

"Since he is filling Byrds seat, he will vote with the Pubbies at least until 2012, when he will have to run again"

In the midst of a tight race to retain his seat, Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev) said he takes his example of what a senator can be “from two of the greatest men to ever have served in the US Senate.” “Both these men overcame adversity and held their seats for decades,” Reid recalled. “Senator Byrd (D-W. Va) rose from scandalous beginnings as an Exalted Cyclops for the Ku Klux Klan to serve in the senate for more than 50 years. Senator Kennedy (D-Mass) killed a young woman in a drunk driving accident but was still reelected seven more times and...

The must-pass spending bill pending in the Senate includes a little-noticed provision that would pay the family of the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd for the salary he would have commanded in the next fiscal year. The Senate handbook says that upon the death of a senator who had been serving in office, “in the next appropriations bill, an item will be inserted for a gratuity to be paid to the widow(er) or other next- of-kin, in the amount of one-year’s compensation.” As a result, the bill calls for “equal shares” of the late senator’s $193,400 salary to be split...

Sen. Byrd's family denounces campaign attack ad By LAWRENCE MESSINA, Associated Press Writer Lawrence Messina, Associated Press Writer Sun Sep 5, 5:41 pm ET CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The family of the late Robert C. Byrd blasted the GOP nominee for his U.S. Senate seat Sunday after he used an image from Byrd's memorial service in a TV ad attacking the Democratic nominee. The ad by Republican John Raese's campaign seeks to link President Barack Obama to Gov. Joe Manchin by displaying an image of the two Democrats at the state Capitol ceremony marking Byrd's June 28 death. Raese and Manchin...

Sen. Byrd's family denounces campaign attack adBy Lawrence Messina, Associated Press Writer Sun Sep 5, 5:41 pm ET CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The family of the late Robert C. Byrd blasted the GOP nominee for his U.S. Senate seat Sunday after he used an image from Byrd's memorial service in a TV ad attacking the Democratic nominee. The ad by Republican John Raese's campaign seeks to link President Barack Obama to Gov. Joe Manchin by displaying an image of the two Democrats at the state Capitol ceremony marking Byrd's June 28 death. Raese and Manchin are running in a special election...

Rasmussen Reports post-primary survey of West Virginia’s U.S. Senate race, Democratic Governor Joe Manchin attracts 48% of the vote while Republican John Raese earns 42%. The latest statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows four percent (4%) prefer some other candidate while seven percent (7%) are undecided. Just after state legislators officially approved a special Senate election this year to replace the late Robert Byrd, Manchin led Raese by a 51% to 35% margin. The latest numbers move the West Virginia race from Solid Democratic to Leans Democratic in the Rasmussen Reports Senate Balance of Power Rankings. Manchin still earns...

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE, WHO NEEDS KEITH OLBERMANN?July 28, 2010 While engaging in astonishing viciousness, vulgarity and violence toward Republicans, liberals accuse cheerful, law-abiding Tea Party activists of being violent racists. Responding to these vile charges, conservative television pundits think it's a great comeback to say: "There is the fringe on both sides." Both sides? Really? How about: "That's a complete lie"? Did that occur to you simpering morons as a possible reply to the slanderous claim that conservatives are fiery racists? The most notorious accusations of "racism" at anti-Obama rallies so far has consisted of the allegation that...

The primaries to determine the candidates who will battle for the seat vacated by the late Senator Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) are little more than a month away. But most who are watching the race believe it will be a contest between Governor Joe Manchin (D) and Republican industrialist John Raese. The latest poll shows the Governor with a significant 16 point lead (51% - 35%) so should we put this one in the Democratic win column? Not yet.

First is the assumption that it is unfashionable for African-Americans, or anyone for that matter, to break from the liberal mantra that all good things come from the Democratic Party. Second, and equally unpopular, is the illumination of numerous pivotal points in history when republicans, not democrats, created opportunities for minorities to ascend to positions of justly earned greatness.Note: People can comment directly to article without putting their name or registering by clicking the (Site Comment) spot at the bottom right of the page.

Even after a compromise was reached by the state legislature allowing US Representative Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) to run both for the Senate and a sixth term in the House, Ms. Capito has decided she will not run to replace the late Senator Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia).

Mark Murray writes: The Charleston Daily Mail (WV) reports that GOP Rep. Shelley Moore Capito won't run in the special election for Robert Byrd's Senate seat, side-stepping what would have been a competitive contest against Gov. Joe Manchin (D), who is running for the seat.

W.Va. special election for Byrd's Senate seat setPosted: Jul 20, 2010 7:42 AM EDT CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- A last-minute legislative compromise has cleared the way for a November election to fill the late Robert C. Byrd's U.S. Senate seat. The measure, which sets an Aug. 28 primary and Nov. 2 general election, was passed 83-7 by the House and 29-0 by the Senate. The compromise allows Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito to run both for Byrd's seat and a sixth U.S. House term. She's considered the GOP's top prospect for winning the seat. Gov. Joe Manchin has said it's...

W.Va. special election for U.S. Senate seat in doubtJuly 18, 2010 CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A special election is now in doubt for the seat held by the late U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd. Pending legislation would put the seat on the Nov. 2 ballot following an Aug. 28 primary. But the Legislature recessed Sunday without acting on it. State officials had questioned whether they could follow the necessary election timetable if a bill wasn’t passed by Sunday. Gov. Joe Manchin’s office says it believes the special election can still go forward if a bill passes Monday. Without the legislation,...

Possibly by the middle of the week and definitely by the end of the week is when U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., will announce if she intends to run for West Virginia's vacant U.S. Senate seat. "The law hasn't been changed yet, so there is no decision to be made now," she said Saturday at the Berkeley County Republican Club's Reagan Picnic at Poor House Farm Park, where she was the featured speaker. State legislators continued to meet in special session Saturday to change the succession law to fill the late Robert C. Byrd's unexpired term, which runs through...

Break with the Past: Changing a dorm name makes a good Step towards healing UT's troubled racial history After several months of discussion within the University of Texas community in Austin, UT President William Powers Jr. will ask the school's board of regents today to consider renaming a dorm that now honors a former law professor, William Stewart Simkins, along with a neighboring park dedicated to his brother Eldred, a judge and UT regent. The reason? Simkins was not only a legal educator at UT from 1899-1929. He and his brother were members of the Ku Klux Klan during a...

'His heart belonged to you," President Obama told the hundreds of West Virginians who attended Robert Byrd's funeral last week. "Making life better here was his only agenda." Maybe so. But despite the $4 billion in pork that Byrd served his constituents over the past 19 years alone—not to mention the untold billions before observers started keeping tabs—West Virginia remains the third poorest state in the country. Government spending does not prosperity make. When Byrd became senator in 1959, West Virginia ranked No. 39 in median family income, and No. 42 in per capita income. Today, it's No. 48 in...

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin said Friday that "it's highly likely" that he'll run for the late Robert C. Byrd's Senate seat but will make a decision next week.

A special Senate election this November to replace the late Robert Byrd is still awaiting the green light from West Virginia’s attorney general, but popular Democratic Governor Joe Manchin is the early leader in hypothetical matchups with two of his possible Republican opponents. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in West Virginia, taken Thursday night, shows Manchin with 53% support, while Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito earns 39% of the vote. Three percent (3%) prefer another candidate in the race, and five percent (5%) are undecided. If former West Virginia Secretary of State Betty Ireland is his GOP...