The first (and so far only) vice president appointed under the terms of the 25th Amendment,
Robert Byrd is more notable for his legislative career and longevity than his brief stint as Edmund Muskie's vice president. Born Cornelius Calvin Sale, Jr. in rural North Carolina, his mother died when he was still an infant, leaving him to be raised by his aunt and uncle in West Virginia per her wishes. Renamed Robert Byrd, he worked a series of odd jobs in his early adult years, including as a shipyard welder during World War II. It was in this period that Byrd joined the Ku Klux Klan, rising to lead the local chapter before losing interest in the organization by the mid-1940s. His time in the Klan would become his greatest shame and something he would apologize for repeatedly in later decades.
Byrd won elections first to the state House of Delegates, then state Senate before winning a seat in the House of Representatives in 1952. After three terms in the House, Byrd won election to the Senate in 1958, starting his service in the body that he came to love. His first decade of service would similarly come back to haunt Byrd in later years, mostly because of his opposition to desegregation
— including filibustering the Civil Rights Act of 1965 for 14 hours. By 1968, however, Byrd's views had begun to evolve and he became a reliable vote for the party line on civil rights by the time he left the Senate for the first time. In 1971, Byrd toppled Edward Kennedy from his position as the Democratic whip in a move that blindsided the heir to Camelot (although Kennedy would later say that his defeat was a blessing, allowing him to focus more on individual issues and policy work). As the second highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate and was set to become the majority leader when his boss, Mike Mansfield, decided to retire.
Everything changed for Byrd when President Humphrey died. The ascension of Vice President Muskie left a vacancy in the vice presidency, and heading into what was likely to be a rough election year, the new president quickly keyed in on Byrd as his vice presidential successor: in addition to being a southerner who could appeal to southern Democrats who had been alienated by the party for the past eight years, he would easily be confirmed by Congress. Byrd, although reluctant to leave the Senate, agreed with the conditions that he be involved in selecting cabinet officials if the ticket won in 1976 and that he be the main leader in the administration's education and transportation policies.
Byrd's 311-day vice presidency
—the shortest by a vice president who neither died in office or succeeded to the presidency
— was bittersweet. Policy disagreements between Muskie and Byrd, exacerbated by the knowledge that 1976 was destined to be a Republican year, caused a deterioration of their working relationship. However, Byrd was able to make his impact felt on the education and transportation fronts, notably helping to increase funding for history education in the nation's schools.
Out of office following the loss to George Bush and Bob Dole, Byrd toyed with running for president in 1980, but his past Klan membership and civil rights votes put an end to the run before it began. Instead, he returned to school and got his undergraduate degree (having attained his law degree while in the Senate in an era before undergraduate degrees were required). In 1984, with his former colleague Jennings Randolph retiring, Byrd ran for and easily won the election to succeed Randolph, returning to the Senate after an eight-year absence.
Laying low for his first Congress back, Byrd ran to succeed Alan Cranston as the Democratic leader in the Senate upon Cranston's retirement from that role in 1989. His absence from the Senate, however, resulted in the lack of support that he had enjoyed following his replacement of Kennedy in 1971 and he lost to Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye. In consolation, the Senate created the position of Deputy President
pro tempore, to be filled by any former president or vice president that served in the Senate, of which Byrd was made the first (and so far only) holder. In this role, Byrd was technically in the Senate leadership even during periods of Republican control of the Senate.
Following his failure to become the leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Byrd became a background figure, serving as a mentor to several senators, including his future successor as vice president, Joe Sestak. He also became infamous for using his influence to divert federal projects and funds to his constituents in West Virginia, something that undoubtedly helped him win re-election in landslide elections well into his nineties (winning re-election at age 91 in 2008 by a margin of 30 percent). He returned to national prominence as a key figure in scuttling the Gephardt administration's bid to begin to shift the national power grid towards more renewable energy sources (and away from coal and other fossil fuels).
The former vice president passed away while in office in June 2010, at 92 years of age, having finished his final volume of the history of the Senate just months before.
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