Oldest Member of Congress, Democrat WV Sen. Robert Byrd Dies at Age 92 (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on June 28, 2010
Yesterday, West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd died at the age of 92. Sen. Byrd, who was the longest serving member of Congress, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1952. He was appointed to the Senate six years later. His early political views were controversial, including his racist views and membership in the KKK. The senator’s stance on race issues, however, changed over the years, and he denounced his previous despicable views.
Rest in peace, Senator.
Associated Press: Democrat Senator Byrd Dies at 92
From San Francisco Chronicle, Robert Byrd, Longest-Serving U.S. Senator, Dies at 92:
Robert Byrd, the U.S. senator who set records for longevity in Congress while becoming known for his powerful oratory and mastery of legislative rules and traditions, has died. He was 92.
Byrd died at a suburban Washington hospital early today, according to his spokesman, Jesse Jacobs. He was hospitalized for symptoms of heat exhaustion and dehydration last week as temperatures in the region were in the upper 90s. Doctors subsequently discovered other, more serious conditions, his office said.
The West Virginia Democrat’s death leaves his party with 58 votes in the Senate, two shy of the number necessary to overcome Republican opposition to financial regulatory overhaul and the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. The seat likely will stay in Democratic hands as West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, a Democrat, has authority to appoint a replacement.
The longest-serving member of Congress in history, with six years in the House followed by 51 years in the Senate, Byrd was a throwback to the days when lawmakers delivered fist-pounding speeches and unapologetically steered money to their home state.
President Barack Obama called Byrd “true champion” for West Virginia and “a voice of principle and reason” for the country.
From NBC NY, With Byrd’s Death, NJ’s Lautenberg Becomes Senate’s Oldest Member:
New Jersey’s Frank Lautenberg became the oldest serving U.S. Senator Monday morning with the passing of West Virginia’s Robert Byrd.
Byrd was 92, and had served in the Senate for just over half a century, the longest of any individual in its 207 year history.
Lautenberg, 86, has been elected five times to the upper house of the Congress, although he retired once, in 2000, and then came out of retirement to run again in 2002.
That was the year of the so-called ‘Torricelli Switcheroo,’ when then-Senator Robert Torricelli dropped out of his re-election race after a rapid drop in the polls because of ethics allegations made against him.
On an early October evening a month before election day, Democratic party leaders huddled in Trenton and at the Governor’s mansion in Princeton to try to decide who to pick as Torricelli’s replacement.
Former Senator Bill Bradley was considered, and reportedly an offer was actually made to U.S. Representative Frank Pallone(D-Monmouth) who turned it down for personal reasons before Lautenberg was asked if he would take on the job.
After surviving a court challenge by Republicans, Lautenberg went on to overcome the polling lead of Republican Doug Forrester in a matter of just four weeks and win election to what was then his fourth term in the Senate.
This year, Lautenberg was diagnosed with stomach cancer, but just this past weekend announced at a dinner of Garden State Equality that he is now “cancer free,” with his doctors last week telling him his cancer is in remission after aggressive treatment at Sloan Kettering.
Today, he paid respects to his Byrd, saying ” We loved him, we miss, and I take no joy in becoming the oldest Senator. Obviously if I had my choice I’d be the youngest.”
Video of Sen. Byrd back in 2007 ejecting unruly members of Code Pink… love it.
From The Powers That Be, Robert Byrd Dies:
Last night I wrote at Michelle Malkin’s blog the West Virginia rules for filling a vacant Senate seat. The long and short of it is if the West Virginia Governor declares the seat vacant before this coming Saturday, there will be a special election in November to decide who will fill the remaining two years of Byrd’s term. If the seat is declared vacant after this coming Saturday, the appointee will serve the remainder of Byrd’s term until 2012 and presumably run for re-election then.
Remember that the West Virginia Governor is a Democrat with possible Senate aspirations of his own, so the odds that the seat will be declared vacant (unless there’s a law I’m unaware of that would compel him to do so) before Saturday, which would give the Republicans a shot at winning the seat in November, are slim and none.
Byrd served 51 years in the Senate, so this should also lead to a discussion about term limits.
From Thomas Lifson, American Thinker:
As one would expect, many media are downplaying the disgraceful past of Byrd, solely because he is a Democrat. Adam Clymer of the New York Times wrote an obituary that took 18 paragraphs to get to a mention of the Klan. Andrew Taylor of AP took 23 paragraphs. Joe Holley of the WaPo took only five grafs, which is almost fair. But ask yourself if a leading Republican with a racist background had died, would it take multiple paragraphs before it was mentioned? Come to think of it, are there any leading Republicans with such a racist background?
On the plus side, Sen. Byrd liked to quote Cicero, and knew the Senate rules very well.
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