Sen. Byrd, longest-serving member of Congress, dies

W.Va. lawmaker was elected in 1952 and had cast more than 18,000 votes


WASHINGTON — Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, a fiery orator versed in the classics and a hard-charging power broker who steered billions of federal dollars to the state of his Depression-era upbringing, died Monday. He was 92.
A spokesman for the family said Byrd "died peacefully" at about 3 a.m. at Inova Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia. His health had been failing for several years.
Byrd, a Democrat, was the longest-serving senator in history, holding his seat for more than 50 years. He was the Senate's majority leader for six of those years and was third in the line of succession to the presidency, behind House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Byrd was elected to an unprecedented ninth term in November 2006. His colleagues elected him to more leadership positions than any senator in history. He cast more than 18,000 votes and had a nearly 98 percent attendance record over the course of his career.
"It has been my greatest privilege to serve with Robert C. Byrd in the United States Senate. I looked up to him, I fought next to him, and I am deeply saddened that he is gone," fellow West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller said in a statement.
"He leaves a void that simply can never be filled. But I am lifted by the knowledge of his deep and abiding faith in God, I have joy in the thought of him reunited with his dear Erma."
Byrd had been in frail health in recent years and was hospitalized three times in 2009. He was confined to a wheelchair, but was present and voted "yes" for final Senate passage of the health care reform bill in March.







Man I am glad I did not move back to WV! The gravy train just derailed. No more Sen. Byrd Highways, swimming pool, schools, parks, etc etc...

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"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad

There should be term limits for the Senate as well as age limits.

50 years & 92 years old. That's just rediculous.

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Yes we loved him, loved him very much he took care of us. Maybe know there will be no more gov. building up here so the the people with gov jobs will leave please. And leave us alone up here. The property was cheep your familys could stay together ,your childern could aford to buy a house close to there father/mother.you could have 2 ac. 3bed room house with the land 80,000.00 you can't know they bought up all the land ,They never stoped building up here those $300,000.00 homes. They come in and try to change things, go back to the city if you want to live like that. At 1 time I knew every body on my rd and we waved and said hi and talked, know I know about 1/2 and the other 1/2 don't wave or talk I guess they are to good for us hillybillys.

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30 yr's still in love

Term limits.

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- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600

I really can't tell if you are being ironic or serious.

Either way, this is a good argument for term limits.

the big city dwellers will NEVER understand country folk. wave at them? heck, they will give you the finger if you so much as smile at 'em.

Senator Byrd was the last of the true Southerners who had the courage to take on the yankee left. don't dare diss his home state or a fire storm would erupt.

it is a changing world, and it isn't changing for the better.

there is another side to the term limits argument. in the world we live in, experience counts. some people may think a heart surgeon straight out of med school is no different in abilities versus a heart surgeon with twenty years surgical experience. they can have the former, I'll take the latter, please.

Senator Byrd had an encyclopedic knowledge of the Senate Rules and on more than one occasion, used them to his advantage. as in all things, men with his knowledge and life experience are a dying breed.

Out with those with life experience and are knowledgeable, bring in the mindless drones.

The inevitability of gradualness.......

I would rather have a heart surgeon with 20 years of experience than one with 50 years. I'm not sure it is a good idea to allow serving in congress to be a lifetime occupation. As much bacon as he brought home, the state of WV is not exactly an economic powerhouse. Is it possible that their interests would have been better served by someone with less political experience and more real world experience?

Unfortunately, West Virginia has never been a real economic power. sometimes the state and the people are what they are.

on another note, men of his generation and the experience they possess are literally dying off. their knowledge will never be regained unless the drones decide to step up their game. since the new crowd is made up of mindless drones who are incapable of playing ball as well as their elders, we are sliding downhill FAST.

recently, my 81 year old grand father bought his own airplane and learned how to fly. his flight instructor was a pilot in the military in WWII, Korea and Vietnam and went on to fly for a major airline. the instructor was also 81 years old at the time he taught my grandfather how to fly. when a fuel tank rank low, the instructor switched fuel tanks as if he were a machine. sometimes old experience can still deliver the goods.

I understand the argument for experience; I'm not exactly young and I'm very good at what I do. It's also not about age, some 80 year olds have more capability than some 50 year olds. However, I'm not convinced that someone who has spent decades inside congress is always in the best position to serve the people who elected them.

I do think the state of WV needs to start thinking about a post-industrial future, or they will be left behind. Their current industrial base will not last forever.

It's funny, the "kids today" argument has been used by every generation in recorded history. In latter life, Jefferson and Adams made similar comments in their correspondence. Jefferson also famously said, "the world belongs to the living" and was on favor of revising the constitution every 20 years.

One KKK member down, many more to go.

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CENSORED due to not family friendly words

I understand that argument. however, I"ve recently spent some time with several of my elders and have come to realize their grasp of life, the language, of history and of politics far exceeds mine. when they die, they will certainly be missed.

Then why are you forced to retire from flying at an airline at 65?

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MB-less

because non-thinking government drones write the rules.

instead of testing each individual pilot on an individual basis, they write a blanket rule that forces every pilot into retirement, regardless of their abilities.