Robert Byrd took pride in excessive government spending, especially when he brought it back to his native West Virgina. The “King of Pork” never saw wasteful spending he didn’t like, as long as it benefited his state. Of course, this wasn’t the worst of Robert Byrd’s actions.

In case you weren’t aware, Robert Byrd was a proud member of the Ku Klux Klan before he entered Congress. According to him, it was a good way to start his political career, and later on he apologized for being a member. Personally, I never believed his explanation. If he would allegedly join the Ku Klux Klan because it was politically expedient, then wouldn’t this same man also not hesitate to criticize this group because of its current political expedience?

Let’s not forget that besides being a member of the Ku Klux Klan, he fought vehemently against the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and filibustered the bill. This was about 20 years after he left the Klan. It seems like his membership in the Klan might have been a bit more than a youthful indiscretion.

Of course, Byrd’s supporters would also tell you about how much he loved his country. Again, I feel this is exaggerated. If you need proof, just look at this letter Robert Byrd wrote to Senatore Theodore Bilbo of Mississippi in 1944, at the age of 26:

I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side… Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.

That doesn’t sound like a man who loved his country. That sounds like a devout racist who put his evil beliefs above his country. Robert C. Byrd was a racist who didn’t deserve to serve in the halls of Congress. There are also signs that his behavior continued well into his life:

As late as 2001, Byrd used the phrase “white niggers” in a nationally televised interview. He later apologized and said, “The phrase dates back to my boyhood and has no place in today’s society.”

Byrd endorsed Barack Obama for president in 2008, but waited until after West Virginia’s Democratic primary, which Obama lost badly.

What I find disgusting is the way people all over the country will pay tribute to this man. I have no doubt he will be honored by Democrats from around the United States. These are the same people who will call Republicans racists for opposing illegal immigration, yet they conveniently ignore the racist in their presence. I wonder if Robert Byrd ever lynched anyone when he was a young man?