The voice of reason for the past 10 years in the United States Senate has died.
He will be remembered for a long time.
Bob Byrd used to piss me off big time and his past, to say the least, is checkered.
Ultimately, he became one of the true liberals voices of reason in the senate. He raised his voice and opposed almost all the ridiculous aspects of the Bush doctrine that we are now paying heavily for. He was not afraid to speak out against both wars and the "patriot" act. He recently told WVians to grow up and get away from their coal mentality (my words but his intent).
He apologized for the rest of his life for his opposition to the civil rights act of 1968. Many politicians expressed regret for their opposition but few apologized and recanted their position like RCB did. His regrets for his past racist behaviors were true and honest.
I eventually learned to love the guy.
Take a moment and applaud the life of someone who always did what they thought was best, was willing to admit mistakes and humbly ask forgiveness and served his nation for his entire life.
Robert C. Byrd: A true patriot.
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2 comments:
True Byrd moved away from the dark side. But I wouldn't be too enthusiastic applauding someone for rejecting the Klan after he held a management position in an organization that burned and hung black folks. I'd bet the farm on his rejection being more to do with going with the flow politically like any good pol rather than a genuine change of heart. If that sh*t is in your heart to begin with, that's a pretty superhuman change. God might forgive that repenting sinner, but I'm not sure I would.
Sometimes it's worse to be consistent than to learn from your mistakes and evolve. I truly believe Byrd realized he was on the wrong side of history back then. That said, his speech given to Congress on March 19, 2003 as a lone dissenter to invading Iraq will go down as one of the best.
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