“I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side… Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.” - Robert Byrd in letter to Mississippi Senator Theodore Bilbo in 1944. The U.S. Senate’s longest-serving member, West Virginia Democrat Robert C. Byrd, died in a Washington, DC-area hospital today. The 92-year-old Byrd had been hospitalized since late last week, his office said in a statement. Byrd originally was believed to be suffering from heat exhaustion and severe dehydration but other medical conditions have developed.
Byrd began his career in Washington in 1952 with his election to the House. His elevation to the Senate came six years later. Political critics have denigrated him as a professional politician with no real world experience, but the denizens of the mainstream media practically genuflect at the mention of his name.
His Democrat colleagues have elected him to more leadership positions than any senator in history. He has cast more than 18,000 votes and has a nearly 98 percent attendance record over the course of his career.
Well-respected by the Democrat Party and liberals, Byrd is often given a “pass” on his earlier affiliation with a white supremacist group. Senator Byrd served as an active member of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) attaining the offices of Kleagle (recruiter) and Exalted Cyclops.
Byrd joined the KKK when he was 24 in 1942. His local chapter unanimously elected him the top officer of their unit.
According to Byrd, a Klan official told him, “You have a talent for leadership, Bob… The country needs young men like you in the leadership of the nation.” Byrd later recalled, “Suddenly lights flashed in my mind! Someone important had recognized my abilities! I was only 23 or 24 years old, and the thought of a political career had never really hit me. But strike me that night, it did.”
