West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd Dies at 92

by Jordan Yerman | June 28, 2010 at 07:20 am

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Senator Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) Dies at Inova Hospital

Senator Robert Byrd, a Democrat representing West Virginia, died at age 92. Robert Byrd was the longest-serving member of Congress in US history, having held office since 1959. West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin will finish Byrd's term, which runs until 2013.

Robert Byrd's career ran the gamut from trying to filibuster the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to vehemently opposing the invasion of Iraq in 2003. to endorsing Barack Obama as a Presidential candidate.

Byrd has long renounced his involvement in the Ku Klux Klan and his opposition to the Civil Rights Act.

Passionate about history, Robert Byrd was also instrumental in getting Senate proceedings televisedon C-SPAN.

He was admitted to a Washington-area hospital late last week suffering from what a spokesman said was believed to be heat exhaustion and severe dehydration as a result of the high temperatures in the capital.

But Byrd's endorsement was imbued with a powerful symbolism that transcended electoral math. He was once in the Klu Klux Klan (and not in an insignificant capacity). He helped filibuster the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He was publicly embarrassed, as recently as 2001, for using the term "White N---er" during an interview with Fox News.