{"id":3419,"date":"2010-06-28T09:53:07","date_gmt":"2010-06-28T13:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=3419"},"modified":"2010-06-28T09:53:07","modified_gmt":"2010-06-28T13:53:07","slug":"robert-byrd-longest-serving-u-s-senator-dies-at-92","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2010\/06\/28\/robert-byrd-longest-serving-u-s-senator-dies-at-92\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Byrd, Longest-Serving U.S. Senator, Dies at 92"},"content":{"rendered":"

West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd passed away<\/a> early this morning at Inova Hospital in Fairfax, Va. He was 92.<\/p>\n

Robert Byrd, the 92-year-old West Virginia Democrat who served in the U.S. Senate for 51 years, died Monday.<\/p>\n

A family spokesman said Mr. Byrd died peacefully at about 3 a.m. at Inova Hospital in Fairfax, Va. At first Mr. Byrd was believed to be suffering from heat exhaustion and severe dehydration, but other medical conditions developed. He had been in failing health for several years.<\/p>\n

A master of Senate procedures and orator whose Stentorian tones aimed to evoke the roots of the republic (if not Rome), Mr. Byrd served longer, voted more frequently, and probably used the arcane Senate rules to more effect than any previous denizen of the nation’s senior legislative house.<\/p>\n

Mr. Byrd inhabited numerous roles in a life that took him from a childhood in the coalfields of West Virginia to Senate Majority Leader. In his early years, he was a gas-station attendant, a welder, and self-taught butcher, then a West Virginia state legislator.<\/p>\n

After he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1952, his political positions veered widely between the now almost extinct Southern conservative Democrats of mid-century to that of the more conventional liberal of today. But his reputation never rested on ideology, but rather on his persuasiveness, his sheer effort, and occasionally, his willingness to filibuster.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Suffices to say I rarely agreed with Senator Byrd on policy, but that\u2019s irrelevant now\u2026 He was a husband, a father and a grandfather our thoughts and prayers belong with his family today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd passed away early this morning at Inova Hospital in Fairfax, Va. He was 92. Robert Byrd, the 92-year-old West Virginia Democrat who served in the U.S. Senate for 51 years, died Monday. A family spokesman said Mr. Byrd died peacefully at about 3 a.m. at Inova Hospital in Fairfax, Va. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[1021,185,1022],"class_list":{"0":"post-3419","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-politics","7":"tag-robert-byrd","8":"tag-senate","9":"tag-west-virginia","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfpI7-T9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2105,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/01\/mortgage-cramdown-bill-dies-in-senate\/","url_meta":{"origin":3419,"position":0},"title":"Mortgage Cramdown Bill Dies in Senate","author":"Jeff","date":"May 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Barack Obama's economic policy suffered a setback yesterday when a bill that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to force lenders to adjust the principal on mortgages failed in the Senate. The bill received 45 votes, 6 short of the 51 needed for passage... A dozen Democrats joined Republicans in opposing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Economy"","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/economy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2788,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/09\/29\/senate-finance-committee-rejects-public-option-twice\/","url_meta":{"origin":3419,"position":1},"title":"Senate Finance Committee Rejects Public Option — Twice","author":"Jeff","date":"September 29, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Senate Finance Committee rejected two amendments earlier today that would have add a government-run public health-insurance plan to the health care reform legislation currently before the committee: A key US committee on Tuesday rejected a push by liberal Democrats to have a government-run healthcare option included in the $856bn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health Care"","block_context":{"text":"Health Care","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/health-care\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1984,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/04\/22\/david-kellermann-freddie-macs-acting-cfo-found-dead\/","url_meta":{"origin":3419,"position":2},"title":"David Kellermann, Freddie Mac’s Acting CFO Found Dead","author":"Jeff","date":"April 22, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"David Kellermann, the acting CFO of Freddie Mac was found dead at his suburban Washington home early Wednesday. From the Wall Street Journal: The acting chief financial officer of Freddie Mac, David Kellermann, was found dead at his suburban Washington home early Wednesday. Officer Shelley Broderick of the Fairfax County\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Breaking News"","block_context":{"text":"Breaking News","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/breaking-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1451,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/02\/02\/daschles-tax-evasion\/","url_meta":{"origin":3419,"position":3},"title":"Daschle’s Tax Evasion","author":"Jeff","date":"February 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"By now you've all heard about Health and Human Services secretary nominee Tom Daschle's tax shenanigans. Tom Daschle, President Barack Obama's choice for secretary of Health and Human Services, paid about $140,000 in back taxes and interest after questions surfaced during the vetting of his nomination, according to documents being\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2544,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/07\/28\/ap-dodd-conrad-told-mortgage-deals-were-sweetened\/","url_meta":{"origin":3419,"position":4},"title":"AP: Dodd, Conrad Told Mortgage Deals Were Sweetened","author":"Jeff","date":"July 28, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Associated Press is reporting that Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd was told from the very start that hes was getting a VIP mortgage discount: Despite their denials, influential Democratic Sens. Kent Conrad and Chris Dodd were told from the start they were getting VIP mortgage discounts from one of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Culture of Corruption"","block_context":{"text":"Culture of Corruption","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/culture-of-corruption\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2324,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/10\/washington-times-us-house-restricts-ethics-probes\/","url_meta":{"origin":3419,"position":5},"title":"Washington Times: U.S. House Restricts Ethics Probes","author":"Jeff","date":"June 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I would love to be able to point a finger at the Democrats and say something like 'Most ethical Congress in history??? Heh!' But I can't Republicans are just as culpable as Democrats in fostering the culture of corruption that pervades Washington: When Democrats made their case during the 2006\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Culture of Corruption"","block_context":{"text":"Culture of Corruption","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/culture-of-corruption\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3419\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}