Another Change

In 1952, a young racist KKK member named Robert Byrd was elected to the United States Senate; two years later my parents would be born. Today, that man died, but he was an example of how we can change our lives.

Robert Byrd was elected on the KKK vote originally. He was strictly against de-segregation, he was strictly against civil rights of any form, and threatened to filibuster the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Somewhere along the line though, things changed for Byrd...he became a champion of civil rights over the years, the same that he had once threatened to filibuster. By the last Presidential Election, he endorsed candidate Barack Obama at great personal cost; he was going to lose for endorsing a black man come re-election next year.

Many people are now trying to disgrace his memory by pointing out all his earmarking for federal funds that went to my state. Yelling that he's a perfect example of why we need term limits. And far more hateful things about how he deserves to burn in Hell.

So before I end this post, a few things most people don't know about the late Senator Robert Byrd:
1) Nixon considered him for a spot on the Supreme Court.
2) He was the last Constitutional Scholar in the Senate; his law degree specialized in Constitutional Law.
3) He wouldn't meet with you if you weren't from West Virginia, thus making him one of the most powerful yet least lobbied politicians in D.C.
4) He considered the Senate Cafeteria to be a waste of taxpayer money, and packed a bologna sandwich every day for lunch.
5) He and Ted Kennedy had hoped to have health care reform as their legacy.
6) He went from KKK member to pre-eminent champion of civil rights.
7) He loved his wife to the day she died.
8) He was the only member of the Senate to vote "no" on the subject of going to war with Iraq.
9) He was never without a copy of the United States Constitution on his body.
10)He was key in organizing Constitution Day.