Lets all give Sen. Byrd a break here. Sure, he was in the KKK. But its not like he was a Klan leader, or anything like that.
Oh, wait. Byrd was an Exalted Cyclops. So he wasnt just a Klansman. He was the local Klan leader. Numero uno. The boss man.
Elected to the post because of his KKK recruiting efforts.