Published: January 08, 2009 10:25 pm      

Byrd praised for half century of service in U.S. Senate

If you’re old enough to remember Cadillac’s longest fins ever, Fidel Castro’s rise to power, the maiden run of the Daytona 500 and the tragic deaths of rockers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper, you should make one other historical note.

That was 1959, and a feisty, self-made politician from the hills of West Virginia with a fiddle under his chin made his historic arrival in the U.S. Senate chambers.

Half a century later, Robert Carlisle Byrd is still holding down the job, and the 91-year-old onetime coal camp butcher was honored this week for his lengthy service.

“I have had the privilege not only to witness but also to participate in much history,” Byrd said as colleagues gathered to honor him.

“From the apex of the Cold War to the collapse of the Soviet Union, from my opposition to the 1964 Civil Rights Act to my vote in securing the funds for the building of the memorial to Martin Luther King, from my support for the war in Vietnam to my opposition to Mr. Bush’s war with Iraq, I have served here and I have loved every minute of it.”

Byrd has often been ostracized by some who won’t let go of his youthful association with the Ku Klux Klan, even though blacks came not only to forgive but embrace his re-election efforts.

And Byrd last year was among the initial supporters of Barack Obama in his historic presidential bid.

Much has changed since Byrd’s first swearing-in. Back then, a movie ticket and women’s stockings went for the same price — $1. Gas was 25 cents per gallon and bread 20 cents a loaf. A new car bore an average sticker of $2,200. The downside was, the average bread earner took home a mere $5,010 a year.

Byrd acknowledged some “profound” changes in the Senate, not all of them to his liking.

“During my tenure, especially in recent years, this chamber has become bitter partisan,” he said.

Byrd lamented the staggering costs of running a Senate campaign, noting that in 1958 he and the late Sen. Jennings Randolph, also D-W.Va., shelled out a combined $50,000 to win their seats.

In today’s market, the cost of one campaign runs some $7 million.

Byrd also voiced dismay the president has taken on power that rivals “royalty” and that Senate hearings lack the thorough scrutiny they once knew.

On the upside, he said the Senate has become more open and diverse. Only one woman served in his first term, and today there are 17. Nor were any blacks around back in 1959, and in his half century there, three have won election.

“We have come a very long way,” Byrd said, pointing to Obama’s election in November.

Fully two decades after he was elected, Byrd was named by U.S. and News Report as the most influential member of the Senate. A 10-foot bronze statue of Byrd inside the West Virginia State Capitol pays tribute to the service of the North Carolina native.

Byrd recently was removed from his long-held role as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee in deference to ongoing health problems.

“Mr. President, let me conclude my remarks by simply acknowledging that it has been a wonderful 50 years serving in this ‘great forum of constitutional American liberty,’ and that I look forward to the next 50,” he added.

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com